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Comic Book Tips – Dry Cleaning Your Comic Books

December 29, 2014 By admin 11 Comments

Comic Book Dry Cleaning is a Must!

Paper Foxing, comic book defects, the comic doctor
“Foxing” is a reddish age-reated stain that can be found in older comic books

When comic book collectors approach me regarding the services I offer, they tend to focus primarily on my pressing service.  What I want to explore in this post is the dry cleaning service the Comic Doctor offers as well.  For comics that have not been stored properly over the years, a dry clean will work wonders.  Dry cleaning will remove dirt, grime and minor staining from comic books including led and wax pencil marks.  Dry cleaning will not remove foxing (age-related staining/ spotting), pen/ink stains or water stains.

Books that have been stored in damp areas often have a distinct smell and are grimy/ rough  to the touch.  This condition can be lessened greatly through dry cleaning.  If a book has mold and mildew staining (often green and/ or black), this sort of defect can only be corrected through restoration.

Dirty Comic Book
This sort of lead-like staining is reversible. Click on the image to get a better look.

Although many collectors change their bags and boards regularly, those that do not or have not may notice that dark staining has developed on the white areas of the cover – this condition is reversible.  Remember that the Comic Doctor includes a quick dry clean on all books that are received (if needed) for a press at no additional charge.  If a comic book is extremely dirty and requires extensive work, however, additional fees may be incurred.  See my pricing chart for more details.

While restorers will often use chemical washes to lighten pages and remove stains, the methods I employ are not invasive and  are not detectable by third-party grading companies like CGC.   In fact, CGC’s their own affiliate, CCS, likely uses similar methods when cleaning the books they service.  Aside from the tools involved,  the real trick to dry cleaning is patience.  Trying to get the job done quickly can result in areas being neglected, and worse, comic book damage.   In fact, the dry cleaning process is quite harmless, it is the actual handling of the book where potential damage can occur.  To ensure a comic book is not inadvertently damaged during the cleaning, maintaining an organized work space, and having tools within arms reach, is all important.

For more information about comic book dry cleaning, please look around this website or feel free to drop me an e-mail or give me a call.  Thank you!

Comic Book cleaning, the comic doctor
The back cover of X-Men 94 following 15 minutes of dry cleaning. Quite the difference.

 

Filed Under: Collecting Tips, Comic Care, Dry Cleaning

Comments

  1. Albert says

    April 19, 2017 at 4:03 am

    I am interested to see if your dry cleaning can remove wax from a wax pen stains from a back cover?

    Reply
    • Albert says

      April 19, 2017 at 4:03 am

      I want to s no you a pix to see the art of the possible

      Reply
      • admin says

        June 6, 2017 at 5:23 pm

        Sorry for the delay! Wax pencil should come off. Do you have a pic? Please send to info@thecomicdoctor.com

        Reply
    • admin says

      August 25, 2017 at 2:09 am

      Wax pencil can usually be reduced or removed entirely! 🙂

      Reply
  2. Allen says

    October 1, 2019 at 1:58 pm

    Hello, I have a mint condition fantastic four 107 that has a very light ink writing (11-17) on the yellow F isn’t the title cover. Can that be removed without “restoring”?

    Reply
  3. admin says

    February 21, 2020 at 2:15 am

    Ink cannot be removed using dry cleaning methods.

    Reply
  4. ben says

    February 9, 2021 at 1:30 am

    i have a comic store stamp on a white comic book cover. is there a way to remove it?

    Reply
    • admin says

      February 16, 2021 at 3:01 pm

      Hi Ben….Please send a pic to info@thecomicdoctor.com! Thank you!

      Reply
  5. Joe says

    March 14, 2021 at 9:02 am

    Can it remove coffee stains? I have two old books with a dime sized coffee stain on the front cover.

    Reply
    • admin says

      April 3, 2021 at 7:35 pm

      Coffee stains would require deep cleaning, which I do not get into.

      Reply
  6. Rich Feinberg says

    July 15, 2022 at 6:14 pm

    Any simple techniques for reducing a mildew smell on old comics or other magazines, even just a little bit? I’ve heard leave them out in the sun for a few hours (hopefully not so long that the colors fade), or pack them with drier sheets (tried that, didn’t notice a lot of improvement).

    Reply

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The Comic Doctor is located in Oshawa, Ontario, Canada.
You can also reach me by phone at 905-449-5680. The best time to call is after 3:30 pm.

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