I Gave My Expensive New Comic Book a BATH then Sent it to CGC… A Comic Cleaning Story and UNBOXING!

[@comicspa]

I had a blast with you on this book Mike! Even for me it was great to see the book go step by step through the process. Water believe it or not when used properly can benefit paper. Paper contains some moisture in it. When you introduce humidity to the book it relaxes the paper and allows you to revert or improve defects like ticks and creases. I know subscribers have been asking how much I charge to do an Aqueous bath. If the FMV is less than $1,000 then I charge $40. If the FMV is greater than $1,000 then I charge $60. Glad you enjoyed the results Mike! And thanks again for the plug!😂

[@eriknieves8137]

@@comicspa thanks for the info. I'd be very interested in trying this

[@Rhavas]

@comicspa I really appreciate the cost breakdown, that really helps. Even at $60, going up a grade and a half is well worth it! I live in Eastern MA so I may hit you up some day.

[@comicspa]

@@Rhavas sounds good. I am backed up though. At least a year! I am a team of one so that makes it a slow process!

[@Rhavas]

@@comicspa Understood! Glad business is good!

[@e2comiccollector101]

Very impressive worrk. Can a bath help with removing minor color touch? Thanks!

[@cecilwampler8733]

I can't believe that worked. I kept thinking it was going to be an April Fool's joke at the end or something. Incredible work.

[@Moncomics]

That’s why I call him “Mr. wizard!” Jeff embodies every bit of professionalism a person wants when hiring a presser/cleaner to work on their prized possessions. This was a fantastic breakdown of his process and I’m thankful you introduced me to him as he’s just an awesome human too. Bravo gentleman!

[@comicspa]

Thank you for the high praise Brandon! I have enjoyed our relationship and look forward to many more great collaborations!

[@Moncomics]

@@comicspame too my friend!

[@jcp4162]

Before you try this at home, know that the current consensus among comic conservators is that distilled water is bad for long term conservation because it will remove metal ions leading to more rapid aging of the paper. It is better to include calcium hydroxide in the bath which adds a buffer against acidification. Also, silver age Marvels are likely to loose ink to flaking if left in the water in as little as 5 minutes, especially if they already have water damage. But I do like Jeff’s bolting method in the bath, and the large volume of water improves upon having to do many rinses in a shallow, developer’s tray.

[@Duqsteel1115]

I was tensing when Jeff was spraying it and putting it in water. 😂. This was incredible though. Jeff has to be a very patient guy. lol

[@glennlittle124]

That was awesome! Love seeing this play out from raw to cleaned, pressed, and then graded!! Might be using Jeff's services in the future!!

[@RonDale-jy8et]

Watching Jeff at work was Incredible...!!

[@JoshuaCunningham-e1w]

This might be my favorite video of yours. Thank you for breaking it all down and bringing us on the Journey.

[@BrianCenti-j4d]

Like i said in an earlier post, this is what separates you, mike from all the other's. Not only do we get humor, but vast knowledge of what comic cleaning truly is, and how to do it correctly. Mike, you and Jeff are Fabulous, thank 😊 both so much for this very informative video and learning experience 😀 So glad I'm a subscriber 😅😅😅

[@lunchmoneycomics]

@@BrianCenti-j4d aw thank you so much, we both really appreciate that!

[@comicspa]

Yes. Thank you. Mike is a wizard at his craft!

[@dougbotkin8553]

Jeff is an absolute wizard! The book turned out beautifully! Great video, gents!

[@comicspa]

Thank you! These books need love!

[@MalcomTyler]

Never like slabbing my books and CGC is a scam but this guy is a magician and worth the money spent

[@skytripa]

Glad I came across this video. I have a Star Wars #1 with something on the cover. I think this process would do wonders. I will need to reach out to Jeff to see what he can do.

[@JAYFARRELL31]

Fantastic video, what a huge difference to the comic so great to see the process from start to finish, great job guys 🙌

[@markalbert8135]

Jeff did an awesome job. He is truly talented. Thanks for sharing the process.

[@dbulls33]

Wow! Fantastic video Mike! Watching the intricate details from the hands of Jeff was a blast! Thank you for sharing this with us!

[@michaelsaritelli]

This was so much fun. This was so interesting to watch. Lastly, you guys made me actually clap my hands when the grade was revealed. Congrats!

[@jamesvelez7509]

Great job for cleaning the comic awesome.

[@BZackheim]

The drama! Great job, Jeff! Thanks for sharing the whole process you guys.

[@DoughnutJunkie]

Wow, this guy is magic.

[@ComicHinterlands]

A great video Mike! I just think of all the trial and error that Jeff went through to get to this point in his profession! It was interesting- Aqueous, awqueous, potato potawto! Thanks guys!!

[@israelnieves7785]

Gotta be honest, my heart was racing when he started spraying the book…. 😅 amazing talent… 👍🏼

[@revoltpuppy]

My heart was racing through every new step of the process they showed!

[@dylanfrana]

Such an awesome video to see this from start to finish. Thanks! The only thing I wish you would add is estimated value before, estimate grade value, cost of cleaning and pressing, cost of grading compared to the value of a CGC 7.5.

[@lunchmoneycomics]

@@dylanfrana assuming it was a raw 6.0 (optimistic), probably worth about $500 before. Cleaning, grading, shipping, insurance etc around $150, and a graded 7.5 is worth about $1100, so $450 profit. Even using more cynical numbers we are looking at $400, but more importantly it presents much better and is a more desirable book to own

[@comicloverboy4518]

Howdy from Texas Me and my wife in joy watching your videos hope you having a good day

[@MT-zd2qj]

Thanks for sharing this amazing process with us. Great video as always

[@tonykmiec5777]

Very cool to see the process . I actually have a WWBN 32 that needs a crack and clean and press , might have to give him a crack at it =)

[@chrisbaer3571]

Great video! Thanks for showing the whole process! Awesome

[@KAPTKipper]

awesome process, yes terrifying. Thanks jeff

[@comicspa]

Couldn’t have done it without Mike as the director!

[@numberoneappgames]

Comic Spa is a talented man!! A super hero of comics for real!!!

[@comicspa]

Thank you for the praise. I love bringing life to these books again. I love this hobby!

[@arielsuero6458]

The nervousness in the voice is palpable lol. I was sweating bullets!

[@ScottTice1971]

Great vid! Love the BTS of the process.

[@frankjuralewicz2687]

Appreciate the informative video on the steps required to bump the grade. Great job, very tedious work but great results!

[@robphoenix1182]

It's crazy what you can do to save a comic. Thanks for sharing and going in depth with the process. Congrats on the 7.5, Mike and Jeff.

[@uncannyAce]

I’ve always wondered what the process was for pressing and cleaning! Great stuff Mike & Jeff!

[@BrettGambit]

Super interesting. Thanks for keeping things on the channel fun to watch :) Aquis bath is now in the vernacular

[@WarriorsforInfoTV]

Youre a Brave man to have that done.

[@pranaymerchant6899]

Very informative video Mike. It was great to see the hard work that goes behind making the comic better. Thanks for sharing

[@jimdickson9816]

What a process! Wow... I was nervous, on your behalf. lol Cool video... thanks for sharing. :)

[@OmegaManComics]

Mike , fascinating... love this video! Right on!!

[@mattinclemson]

REALLY enjoyed this video, Mike!!!

[@lunchmoneycomics]

@@mattinclemson thanks!

[@paytonardoin688]

Nice results! I love seeing other techniques for cleaning and pressing. It helps make me a better presser for sure. I’ve been using immacuclean from immaculate comics with amazing results and no restoration. It only removes dirt and stains, but doesn’t add anything detectable since it’s just distilled water based.

[@tom2point0]

I had no idea this was even a thing! Incredible!

[@dansxmencomics]

Sweet! Looking forward to seeing the whole process play out

[@bronzevillecomics2581]

Congrats on the grade, awesome book! You'er so right about the process being nerve wracking.

[@OmegaManComics]

More vids like this Mike plz !!

[@barrysergent5905]

Thanks Mike and Jeff - GREAT video!

[@RonDale-jy8et]

LOvin' the WOLF MAN Tee... very appropriate!!

[@cmaples]

Thank you so much for showing us the clean and press process! This was so cool.

[@stevenlaroche7800]

A scary process on a scary book. Great vid as always sir!!

[@upnorthcomics]

Awesome job guys. Jeff is a master at his craft. Book came out amazing, and looks great in the slab with custom label. Congrats mike and thanks for sharing! 👍

[@seanmitchell8151]

Thanks for doing this. Incredible. Unbelievable. So impressed!

[@DiggerJim7202]

Great video. Love watching the cleaning and pressing.

[@joefranklin3845]

That's a beautiful book. Nice grade, too!

[@fxmoon7699]

Excited to have Jeff do his magic to a couple of my books, including WBN 32 and GSX 1. I think I'm not too far back on the list at this point 😀

[@fluxcap_collects]

@comicspa Awesome to see the whole process from end to end. Your a maestro of your craft Jeff!

[@Rebel_ScumComics]

Jeff is the man!!

[@comicspa]

Thank you Wes! Hope all is well with you and the family!

[@chris-ComicRaven]

That was a fantastic video to watch, thank you both! It answered a lot of my questions in regards to cleaning a book V's water and dry cleaning so very informative, you guys rock!

[@raph-retro-comics]

Thanks for such an in depth video on the aqueous bath cleaning! Very helpful and insightful on the cleaning process - but still pretty terrifying! I don't know if I'll every give it a try, but it's great to have youtubers demonstrate these processes. $40 seems very cheap for the amount of work (and stress) involved.

[@russhorii6290]

Thank you both for maybe the most thorough video I’ve ever watched on the bath process! Great work, Jeff! I love that you don’t use peroxide, too.

[@Kid-Comics]

Such an awesome book! The first comic book I ever collected was my dad’s Werewolf by Night #32! Pretty cool to see a cleaning for a book like this!

[@willthebeast8002]

Immersing paper in water just seems just so counterintuitive Lol. Anxiety on 10!

[@BrianCenti-j4d]

@@willthebeast8002 same here. I gasped when he put it in the water 💧 🤣

[@willthebeast8002]

@@BrianCenti-j4d Lol

[@willthebeast8002]

Book came out sensational.

[@DezGamingTTV]

People think the same when I put circuit boards in the sink and wash them. They are under the impression that it would harm it however as long as you discharge all capacitors which is quite simple and be sure the board is thoroughly dry before repowering you will never have an issue. Refurbishing old arcade and pinball boards it's the best way to clean those extremely dirty ones. Just remove socketed chips and be gentle around serial number stickers and labels. Works great for retro cartridge based video games as well.

[@Paul_the_Bruh]

I knew it was going to be quite a bit whiter when I saw how yellow that dirty water was after the bath was done. Great job.

[@williambethea8703]

Good deal. This was an excellent video. I learned a lot.

[@dalemoyers8881]

Very cool video. Thanks for sharing the process of cleaning a comic. I have a couple of books that need cleaning and I’ve been curious about how it’s done. Keep up the good work. 😎

[@kyoufuu]

Congrats on avoiding the dreaded purple label. Washing is definitely a….contentious topic in the pressing community. It shows that Jeff is an expert with the process since he was able to put the book back without cgc tagging it as restored.

[@comicspa]

It shouldn’t be restored if I don’t put chemicals in the water.

[@kyoufuu]

@@comicspa Definitely was a case of me not paying full attention while watching the video, since you specifically talk about that lol. Give credit where credit is due on an awesome and well done job! This is a method that I've never used before so now I'll have to go do some learning.

[@AndrewSunada]

This was so fun to watch!

[@spaceferretcollectibles]

CONRATS! Great grade and video. Cool to actually see the steps of the process! 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻

[@benjaminhutchison4955]

love the video and werewolf by night 32 is the top book im hunting for rn

[@O_G_HELLBOY]

Awesome video. Definitely a nice change and very informative.

[@billjackson-mk7fw]

Thank you very much for let us see how Comic Spa works and seeing the outcome .

[@ethanparks5736]

Loved seeing the process. Wish i lived closer for Jeff to work on some of my books.

[@lunchmoneycomics]

@@ethanparks5736he provides services via mail as well

[@justinvertefeuille9630]

@@lunchmoneycomicsdoes he have a website?

[@lunchmoneycomics]

@@justinvertefeuille9630 no, just Instagram and email, [e-mail]

[@justinvertefeuille9630]

@@lunchmoneycomicsawesome thanks!

[@allisknu11]

Jeff is a true professional.

[@comicspa]

Thank you 🙏

[@shadowman8786]

Always great to see this process play out.

[@davidrenfrew111]

Great presentation and grade on the comic...

[@collectplayandenjoy2800]

This video was so much fun to watch. I must admit your nerves were shared by those of us watching. I was wondering if that purple label was going to show but it’s still blue.

[@BrokeBoyComics]

This was an awesome video! The whole process was super interesting and I definitely learned a lot! Congrats on the grade the book looks great!

[@jyates007]

This video was amazing😮

[@jolightlytoasted]

Great video! Very informative. I think my concern is if this book enters the cgc census as a universal blue label when it was clearly restored. Do you think this book should still get a blue label even tho it was restored? Staple removal to me moves past just cleaning and pressing.

[@jolightlytoasted]

I don’t know the blue label just feels like lying to the census to me…

[@lunchmoneycomics]

@@jolightlytoasted I think it should be blue because according to CGC’s own published definitions, this isn’t restoration. A lot of people seem to have false assumptions on what constitutes restoration especially in regard to the staples. As long as nothing is added to the book that wasn’t originally there it should be blue. These staples are still the original ones

[@jolightlytoasted]

@@lunchmoneycomics to each their own. Everyone has their own way of collecting. To me, even tho CGC gives it a blue label you clearly restored the book extensively. If I bought that from someone I would be disappointed if that wasn't transparent. Thats all I'm saying

[@jolightlytoasted]

@@lunchmoneycomics also, under restoration on the cgc site, it does say this type of cleaning is restoration…. “CLEANING - There are three basic types of cleaning; water, solvent and dry. Dry cleaning is not considered restoration. Solvent cleaning involves soaking a cover or pages in a chemical bath to remove certain kinds of tanning or foreign substance. Water cleaning involves a water bath that may contain chemicals that whiten or deacidify paper, or aids in the removal of stains, tanning and creases.”

[@jolightlytoasted]

It also states “STAPLE REPLACEMENT OR CLEANING - This involves replacing one or both original staples of a comic book with new or vintage staples, usually done when the original staples have become rusty or broken. Sometimes the original staples are chemically cleaned to remove rust or discoloration.”

[@itsmyremoteviewingjourney6656]

Very cool to see the process

[@THectOrtiz]

Simply amazing work!

[@toddcunningham524]

Very fascinating process

[@GrumpyColoradoDad]

Jeff does such a great job. I just picked this book up today and probably will also get it graded.

[@abbycecil5791]

I think it looks amazing.

[@bethanduke2566]

There is a thing I use in crafting that gives you a side to push the card stock against for folding things and then a burnishing tool. They also use used tumble dryer sheets to remove finger print oils from paper so they can use embossing powders. I wonder how it might affect a comic

[@comicspa]

Oh I would be interested in the device you used. I am always looking for improvement on my process!

[@bethanduke2566]

@@comicspa it was by crafters companion it is called the ultimate pro but personally I'd watch their videos because they talk about how they use it and you could obviously adapt something you already have

[@comicspa]

@@bethanduke2566 Sounds good. Thank you!

[@dahger7]

Would love to see you walk us through the whole CGC submission process.

[@roberthein2156]

Do they wear gloves ?

[@mikestukes801]

Great job done. Learned a lot. 😎👊🏿🤓

[@GaryZenkerStoryteller]

Have never understood what the cleaning and pressing process was. Thanks for the deep dive!

[@jimkhana007]

Absolutely facinating 😮

[@joshpeterson8168]

This is a GREAT video. Thank you for making it. I've always been curious about restoration, how it happens, what it actually achieves, and how much it helps. A cool follow-up video would be if you got an already graded / slabbed book, got it worked on, then resubmitted it to see how much it improved the grade. Thanks for making the video!

[@lunchmoneycomics]

@@joshpeterson8168 we actually did that! I did a video last year showing my X-men 101 which Jeff cracked out, worked on it, and resubmitted to CGC for a Claremont signature. If you look back through my videos you can probably find it!

[@comicspa]

We should mention that this is not restoration. At least in my opinion it isn’t. I’m not putting anything in the book. I’m just taking things out. I know this will be argued but I worked for a paper company and the water I used is way cleaner than what I saw being used at work. I don’t think I would drink it.

[@texaspatriot4215]

This video was very interesting and informative, thank you.

[@CretanBullComics]

This is a great video, really interesting and informative. Congrats on the nice grade bump!

[@JonathanNg4]

This was so interesting and scary at the same time! Thanks Mike for posting this. I've always wondered how this process was done. Thank you Jeff for sharing. Never knew how accurate your name "Comic Spa" actually was!

[@comicspa]

The water gave me the idea for the name.. people enjoy the Spa so………why not a book😂

[@murrayc9615]

I've been cleaning and pressing for roughly five years now, and I always enjoy learning something new. I do have a few questions if I may? 1. How many times can you use the Reemay paper? 2. Do you prefer a particular brand of Reemay paper? 3. Are there particular variations in the Reemay paper? (i.e. thickness or how tight the grain is?) 4. What was the temperature of the water? 5. Would it be better to use filtered water? Some municipalities have very heavy minerals in their tap water, is that a factor to take into consideration? thanks in advance!

[@CliffOnComics]

Jeff defiantly belongs in the wizards club.

[@MattK0074]

Very cool video. Even cooler looking book. :)

[@JJNM56]

Great improvement.next time I fly up to Western MA ..I will reach out to Jeff !! Great content !! You should have him on again !

[@doctorplagas]

Staple removal made me sweat lol. This was awesome

[@lunchmoneycomics]

@@doctorplagas you can imagine how I felt!

[@SeansAnthology]

This was amazing. Wet paper freaks me out.

[@JaBsEP]

Ah-quos…A-quos…Aye-quos…even after you guys said it a few times, I still can’t pronounce it right 🤣 Mike, how nervous were you watching your book go in the water? I was sweating and it’s not even my book. Jeff, you make it seem so easy with your calmness but do you still get jitters when wetting a book? Super interesting video. Thanks for sharing. And even though I’ve seen his videos and have him do work on some of my books, I’m still in awe of Jeff’s prowess. Truly a master at his craft 🫡

[@lunchmoneycomics]

@@JaBsEP I wasn’t too nervous because I completely trust Jeff and his expertise. The staples being put back IN was quite harrowing though lol

[@comicspa]

Thank you for the praise. I’ve learned over time that if you stick to the process it will take care of itself. You get comfortable.

[@Rhavas]

Great video! Very cool to see the entire process. I was terrified when the cover and pages went into the water. What I would have liked to know is what the process costs and when it's worth doing. So, buy a book at a 6 and treat it versus buying a higher quality book.

[@jeffstanley6013]

Kudos, Mike. I don't think I'd have the courage to watch someone dismantle my book. LOL

[@comicspa]

He was squirming……

[@lunchmoneycomics]

@@comicspa haha I trust you completely!