The restoration choice

[batman_fan]

I would take the 6.0 Slight without a doubt

[action1kid]

Ditto !

[benz]

I would take the 6.0 Slight without a doubt

 

i would be on the same boat too.

[Dark Knight]

6.0 slight as well. The less restoration, the better the book since I hate extensively restored books. Gotta avoid them frankenbooks

[FFB]

As was discussed in lately in the re-glossing thread, when a book is wet cleaned , clay and other elements are floated off.(Pov would know more about this) Leaving behind a more pourous feel to the paper. Hence the need for some to want to try and mimic that feel by "re glossing" the cover.

 

Z -

 

Isn't that the purpose of "resizing?" Restoring the natural feel and stiffness to the cover after a wet bath?

 

I have a book that was wet cleaned. It still has good gloss and feels natural, however, the cover stock does seem slightly flimsy.

 

Resizing can lengthen the life of the paper and increase its strength, but it doesn't really recreate the original condition of the paper because you're not using the original materials. Vintage comic book cover stock was not originally sized with gelatin or methyl cellulose (which is what a conservator would use). It was sized with alum rosin sizing, which is acidic (and therefore not typically used by conservators to resize a book).

 

Also, the gloss on the cover stock is caused by impregnating the cover stock with kaolinite (clay) during the manufacturing process, and then running it through calendaring rollers (big, smooth steel rollers under heavy pressure), which results in glossy cover stock. The inks also can have a glossy sheen, which can wear off with time and damage. You can add a kind of surface gloss by using methyl cellulose or gelatin size, but it's not the same exact look that the cover had when the gloss was coming from the glossy cover stock or the fresh inks. I think that is what Kenny is talking about.

 

Having said all of that, washing the cover or interior wraps will result in a loss of original sizing, as will a solvent bath to some extent, and the paper will be somewhat weaker because of it.