Storing Comics - Part 2
“Do you have natural
chemistry?”
Let’s
talk about a subject that everyone can get stoked
about, chemistry. Now, before you go plunging a
rusty knife into your frontal lobe, please hear what
I have to say. In our hobby a big deal is made
about acid free boards and archive quality bags.
But in the end it will be like the man who never
leaves his house for fear of toxic chemicals only to
be poisoned by Radon gas in his own home. You see,
the vast majority of comics are printed on acidic
paper! It is the kind of paper that discolors and
becomes brittle naturally, with no help from you.
It wasn’t until the mid 80’s that paper companies
started making any real changes to correct the
acidic content in paper, thanks to the EPA.
During
the paper making process lignin and other acidic
additives are incorporated in the mixture. To add
to this acid fest, pollution can cause acid levels
to rise. Even the aging process of paper
contributes to the increase in acid. One of the
worst things about acid and paper is that the acid
feeds off of itself, like a snowball rolling down a
hill. While those acid free board won’t add to the
rapidly growing acidic nature of your comics they
are not stopping anything either. So what is a
diligent collector to do?
Buff
up! No, this doesn’t involve working out or pumping
iron or getting a 6-pack of abs. A buffer is
something (for our application, an alkaline paper)
that maintains an almost constant PH when in contact
with strong acids. Inserting a buffer paper can
stabilize the ph value of a comic and that is a very
good thing my friend. There are buffer papers that
contain a chemical (usually calcium carbonate) added
to them that can neutralize acids. Calcium
carbonate is commonly used in antacids, which makes
perfect sense. Basically a buffer has an alkaline
reserve that counteracts acids right now and in the
future. Buffer papers aren’t eternal though, there
comes a time when the buffer has reached its limit
of acid absorption and has to be changed. That is
why CGC suggests that the buffer enclosed inside
comics that they grade be changed every 7 years.
I’ve
also done some experiments with deacidification
sprays that you can buy from any scrapbooking
store. They are extremely easy to use and contain
no water that might warp your comic. After spraying
a couple worthless comic books I noticed a slight
chalkiness where there was too much spray in certain
areas. It was easily removed but it made me
uncomfortable. Primarily because sprays will
eventually have to be reapplied as the natural
acidity of paper reestablishes itself. So layer
after layer of deacidification spray will eventually
cloud the cover.
So
unless you have access to a mass deacidification
facility the only real option is buffer paper. I
would strongly suggest that you start taking steps
to protect your collection from itself. You can
find buffer paper supplies at these 3 websites and
probably many more.
Eclipse Paper
Conservation By Design
Comic Supply
Until next time and a journey through humidity,
happy reading comic book fan.
Ron Cloer
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