Axelrod Posted July 7 Share Posted July 7 (edited) I feel like I know the answer to this question, but on the off chance there is something I am unaware of, I thought I would ask. I have a...fair...number of books with foxing issues. I am sure due to the way they were stored for years and years. What's annoying is that most of these books look really good, except for a singular spot of foxing, often on the back cover. This book is just one of many examples. So the question is, is there anything that fixes this? Easily? What I want, is just something I can apply, and it makes the spot...go away. I've seen youtube videos of people who purport to be able to remove foxing, and it usually involves some kind of soaking in a particular bleach/peroxide mixture, and then maybe subjecting the book to UV light treatments in a light box, and finally pressing back into shape. I don't have the ability to do any of that, even if it works. So, yeah, just curious if maybe there's something that does something here that I am unaware of which isn't too complex. Thanks! Edited July 7 by Axelrod Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vheflin Posted July 7 Share Posted July 7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marvelmaniac Posted July 7 Share Posted July 7 To help prevent foxing the books need to be stored in a constant humidity level of 40-50% and away from all sources of moisture. Foxing is biological in nature and even if removed it will probably return. https://www.loc.gov/preservation/outreach/tops/foxing/index.html https://www.loc.gov/preservation/care/books.html https://www.loc.gov/preservation/care/deterioratebrochure.html aardvark88, This is Who We Are and The Lions Den 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Axelrod Posted July 7 Author Share Posted July 7 On 7/7/2024 at 10:27 AM, vheflin said: So, hypothetically, how would one use this? Mix with water? In some ratio? And then, apply? In some amount? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Lions Den Posted July 7 Share Posted July 7 On 7/7/2024 at 10:05 AM, Axelrod said: I feel like I know the answer to this question, but on the off chance there is something I am unaware of, I thought I would ask. I have a...fair...number of books with foxing issues. I am sure due to the way they were stored for years and years. What's annoying is that most of these books look really good, except for a singular spot of foxing, often on the back cover. This book is just one of many examples. So the question is, is there anything that fixes this? Easily? What I want, is just something I can apply, and it makes the spot...go away. I've seen youtube videos of people who purport to be able to remove foxing, and it usually involves some kind of soaking in a particular bleach/peroxide mixture, and then maybe subjecting the book to UV light treatments in a light box, and finally pressing back into shape. I don't have the ability to do any of that, even if it works. So, yeah, just curious if maybe there's something that does something here that I am unaware of which isn't too complex. Thanks! Still allowable in NM as long as the rest of the book is trouble free... grendelbo, Tony S and This is Who We Are 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony S Posted July 8 Share Posted July 8 (edited) On 7/7/2024 at 5:02 PM, Axelrod said: So, hypothetically, how would one use this? Mix with water? In some ratio? And then, apply? In some amount? Just don't go there. The only way to remove the foxing will be with solvents or bleaching. Sodium borohydride mixed with water would be much like lye soap. A caustic agent. Things that burn skin, eyes, etc. There are indeed YouTube videos of people using hydrogen peroxide and UV lights to lighten and even sometimes remove stains. There are also Youtube videos of people crying "CGC WON"T LET ME CLEAN!!" because CGC caught on to them and started giving conserved or restored labels to their books. Dry cleaning of surface dirt and the like with erasers is allowed. Solvent cleaning or bleaching if detected by CGC will get a "cover cleaned" and conserved label. Send in a couple of books as a test to see what sort of grade you get (that is what the bit of foxing limits the grade to) If you don't like the grades assigned then stop. They are not - for you - good CGC grading candidates. Sell them and use the money to buy something more to your liking or just bag and board (you cannot see the back cover then, right?) and keep them that way. But if you start bleaching or using solvents or other agents on the cover you are going to experience all manner of problems and always risking the dreaded conserved label. You can end up with "reverse tide marks" Where the area cleaned is noticeably whiter than the surrounding paper. You can lift off the gloss of the paper - ending up with a spot where it's obvious the book has been worked on. The solution to tide marks and stripping of gloss is to treat the entire cover. But the more you do the more likely CGC will notice and say the book has been altered. No blue label for that book. So just don't. You will ultimately be happier for doing nothing. Except a normal, allowed, clean and press. Edited July 8 by Tony S El Toro Rojo, marvelmaniac and vheflin 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Axelrod Posted July 8 Author Share Posted July 8 To be clear, this for me isn't actually about removing the foxing so I can then send in the book to CGC for a higher grade. It's about removing it because I don't like the way it looks. I am not trying to "slip" anything by CGC. And I was wondering if there might happen to be something simple for these kinds of stains. That's really it. Tony S 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marvelmaniac Posted July 8 Share Posted July 8 On 7/8/2024 at 8:52 AM, Axelrod said: To be clear, this for me isn't actually about removing the foxing so I can then send in the book to CGC for a higher grade. It's about removing it because I don't like the way it looks. I am not trying to "slip" anything by CGC. And I was wondering if there might happen to be something simple for these kinds of stains. That's really it. Nothing simple according to... https://periodfinebindings.typepad.com/removing_foxing_and_milde/ https://mhnsw.au/guides/conservation-qanda-foxing-explained/ BTW, what book is this? Tony S 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Axelrod Posted July 8 Author Share Posted July 8 On 7/8/2024 at 12:38 PM, marvelmaniac said: Nothing simple according to... https://periodfinebindings.typepad.com/removing_foxing_and_milde/ https://mhnsw.au/guides/conservation-qanda-foxing-explained/ BTW, what book is this? That one happens to be an Avengers #223. (this one's not my book, just a reference image here) Not super valuable, but a cool cover. I just happen to have a number of books like it with similar, singular, small, bits of foxing. And I don't like it and it annoys me. Tony S and The Lions Den 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
