Detecting color touch up.

[jduran1]

Will a black light detect all types of color touch up. Or are there other things to use to find color touch up on any books I buy.

[KingOfRulers]

I actually just recently bought a 365nm uv handlamp. It picks up some things and not others. For example, so far it hasn't picked up a ball point pen's black gel ink, and certain thin markers. It did pick up a highlighter very easily...but how often is a highlighter used? Maybe medium wave is better at picking some others up then long wave.

[Mr. Zipper]

Will a black light detect all types of color touch up. Or are there other things to use to find color touch up on any books I buy.

 

Your eyes.

 

CGC only uses a black light to confirm what they already suspect. I would learn to detect CTs visually... if you rely solely on a black light you can easily miss something.

 

[FFB]

Will a black light detect all types of color touch up. Or are there other things to use to find color touch up on any books I buy.

 

Your eyes.

 

CGC only uses a black light to confirm what they already suspect. I would learn to detect CTs visually... if you rely solely on a black light you can easily miss something.

 

 

Exactly right. Buy a couple of cheap PLODs with amateur and professional color touch, crack them out, and look for the restoration that is noted on the label. That's probably the best way to learn.

[Dark Knight]

Damn, I need to learn how to detect color touch ups too.. Never got around it

[FFB]

Damn, I need to learn how to detect color touch ups too.. Never got around it

 

Just look very closely at the book. If you see spots where there is stress but no color loss, see if the stress lines have been painted in or colored in. If it's not a golden age book, most stress lines will result in color loss because the ink layer isn't as thick as it was on GA books.

 

Amateur color touch will often bleed through and be visible from the interior cover. Perfectly matched and carefully applied professional color touch (if it is acrylic paint) can often be viewed by opening the book up and shining a bright light through the cover while looking at it from the inside. Inpainted areas will be less translucent than other areas and color touched spots/areas can really jump out at you when viewed with strong light through the inside cover.

 

You can also look for areas where the color has a different surface texture than other areas of the same color, which is evidence of inpainting.

 

Poor color matching is also easy to spot if you look closely. If someone wants to grab a scan of an extensively restored book with color touch and post it here, I'll show you specifically what to look for in a scan (which is a poor substitute for examination in hand, but it is still often possible to detect the color touch).

[Dark Knight]

Thanks for the tip FFB.. Ill try and look for an extensively restored book if no one has anything to post.

[143ksk]

If it's not a golden age book, most stress lines will result in color loss because the ink layer isn't as thick as it was on GA books.

 

That's an important point about GA books, since it's quite common to find stress lines without color loss. Sometimes that can look like restoration especially if you don't have a lot of experience with GA.

 

You can also look for areas where the color has a different surface texture than other areas of the same color, which is evidence of inpainting.

 

One of the giveaways for me is differences in gloss between the real cover colors and the color touch. Hold the book at an angle to catch the light and look for discrepancies in gloss. Frequently the color touched areas will be less glossy, but sometimes will be more.

[jduran1]

Damn, I need to learn how to detect color touch ups too.. Never got around it

 

Just look very closely at the book. If you see spots where there is stress but no color loss, see if the stress lines have been painted in or colored in. If it's not a golden age book, most stress lines will result in color loss because the ink layer isn't as thick as it was on GA books.

 

Amateur color touch will often bleed through and be visible from the interior cover. Perfectly matched and carefully applied professional color touch (if it is acrylic paint) can often be viewed by opening the book up and shining a bright light through the cover while looking at it from the inside. Inpainted areas will be less translucent than other areas and color touched spots/areas can really jump out at you when viewed with strong light through the inside cover.

 

You can also look for areas where the color has a different surface texture than other areas of the same color, which is evidence of inpainting.

 

Poor color matching is also easy to spot if you look closely. If someone wants to grab a scan of an extensively restored book with color touch and post it here, I'll show you specifically what to look for in a scan (which is a poor substitute for examination in hand, but it is still often possible to detect the color touch).

 

Good information thanks.

[jduran1]

HI you are too new to to make fun of my question

 

I am more concerned about color touch up done by the pros and not the novice. That is easy to see with the eye when a fan boy does it but have I submitted a couple of books to CGC that came back with color touchup in the middle of the book that man I never saw..........

[Darrell F]

Is it hard to detect glue on a book?

 

[FFB]

Is it hard to detect glue on a book?

 

 

Yes, you're usually not going to be able to spot a little bit of glue on the spine just from looking at a scan. It's easy to spot with the book in hand.

[comic_lot]

Here's a link to an ebay seller that sells black light products. I had one of these once and was unable to detect color touch noted by CGC.

 

http://cgi.ebay.com/BLAZING-BLACKLIGHT-6...1QQcmdZViewItem

[Mr. Zipper]

Also look for the four color dot pattern. Most colors on comic covers are composed with the four color dot pattern which is very easy to see with a magnifying glass... you can see the individual color dots.

 

Obviously, a color touch is not going to have the four dot pattern... so look for patches of solid color in the four dot color field.

 

Note, that black is typically a solid color during the printing process, the dot pattern will not apply to black.

 

Further note: I have heard that some high end restorationists can recreate the 4 color dot effect, but it a very costly option and not commonly done.

[Mr. Zipper]

Here's a link to an ebay seller that sells black light products. I had one of these once and was unable to detect color touch noted by CGC.

 

http://cgi.ebay.com/BLAZING-BLACKLIGHT-6...1QQcmdZViewItem

 

I think the ability for blacklights to detect color touch is overstated. First, most blacklights are fairly weak, and secondly, I'd imagine you have to be in a pitch black room for it to work.

 

Unless it was a huge area of inpainting, I don't think color touch is going to glow brightly under the light. I suspect small dot like hits wouldn't glow much at all.

[Nostalgic Attic]

Here's a link to an ebay seller that sells black light products. I had one of these once and was unable to detect color touch noted by CGC.

 

http://cgi.ebay.com/BLAZING-BLACKLIGHT-6...1QQcmdZViewItem

 

I think the ability for blacklights to detect color touch is overstated. First, most blacklights are fairly weak, and secondly, I'd imagine you have to be in a pitch black room for it to work.

 

Unless it was a huge area of inpainting, I don't think color touch is going to glow brightly under the light. I suspect small dot like hits wouldn't glow much at all.

 

I had a book CGC indicated had color touch. So I bought a black light from Home Depot and gave it a try at detecting the CT. Nothing showed up. I don't have the specs on the light however and was not aware various black lights could yield differing results.

[FFB]

Also look for the four color dot pattern. Most colors on comic covers are composed with the four color dot pattern which is very easy to see with a magnifying glass... you can see the individual color dots.

 

Depends on the book. Most books have solid fields of color in parts that are not dot pattern. But where there is a dot pattern, solid painted areas will stand out.

 

Further note: I have heard that some high end restorationists can recreate the 4 color dot effect, but it a very costly option and not commonly done.

 

True, but this is typically done when parts of the book are recreated. When that is the case, the work is easy to spot upon examination. The book looks good at arm's length, but it's not going to be hard to detect if you're looking for it. I have a restored book where the dot pattern was recreated and it is not hard to see where the recreation was done.

[FFB]

Here's a link to an ebay seller that sells black light products. I had one of these once and was unable to detect color touch noted by CGC.

 

http://cgi.ebay.com/BLAZING-BLACKLIGHT-6...1QQcmdZViewItem

 

I think the ability for blacklights to detect color touch is overstated.

 

I agree completely. In my experience, color touch is easier to spot using regular lighting. A bright light source and close examination is more reliable than a black light.

 

Glue can be easier to spot with black light though because a lot of it fluoresces brightly and becomes a lot more visible in UV than in regular lighting.

[Comicdey]

My black light picks up all the lint on the cover in a dark room...

 

beyond that, it picks up things I can see under a good light.

[Mr. Zipper]

My black light picks up all the lint on the cover in a dark room...

 

beyond that, it picks up things I can see under a good light.

 

I tried using a blacklight in my walk-in closet... pitch black when I shut the door.

 

All my white shirts glowed. I can't say it showed anything on the comic.