Restoration Kit

[Mac Man]

Okay, just a couple questions:

 

When it comes to detecting restoration on your books, I've heard a black light is necessary to spot color touches. How much do these run, and where do you typically find them? Are there any other things, tools, etc, used in detecting resto?

 

While I'm sure it will be disappointing to find any (and I'm sure there will be some hidden in there somewhere), I'd like to have a better grip on the exact condition of what I own. Thoughts, ideas, suggestions, etc, all welcome!

[Mr. Zipper]

A black light isn't necessary to spot color touch -- your own eyes will do. A black light might be handy to confirm a small speck, but it's an unreliable crutch if you rely on it 100%. BTW, rinky-dink black lights are not going to get the job done either... it has to be a powerful light to really work.

[Point Five]

Ditto... Professional restoration would be the toughest to spot, but if your collection is primarily low-to-mid-grade SA books, IMO it's unlikely that you have any professionally-restored books. Amateur restoration is easier to pick up...it's just using your eyes & knowing what kinds of things to look for.

 

If it helps, feel free to post any questionable books in the grading forum...

[Ze-man]

Pretty much everything you need to know can be found here.

 

How to spot resto thread.

 

The best way to learn how to spot resto is to get access, or buy a few books with known resto on them and know beforehand what it is you are looking at. That way you can see first hand what different types of tear seals look like. What the various methods of in filling or piece fill look like. And especially CT, you can learn to easily spot CT when you know what to look for. The tricky stuff is the very tiny amounts used sometimes. It can be as minor as 1 small dot with a black pen to fill in an ink chip. Or the black line of a spine is gone over to fill in missing ink.. And even though minor it is still there , just not as easy to spot if done well.

 

A good thing to buy is a loupe or even reading glasses work well. They help magnify what you are looking at and let you see what otherwise you might miss.

 

Also invest in good tabletop lighting.

 

Ze-

[OldGuy]

Pretty much everything you need to know can be found here.

 

How to spot resto thread.

 

That's just another useless "old school" thread Z. Everyone knows that all of the good threads have come in the last two years.