S3 E1 Building a BLED Light Box for Whitening Comic Books by KaptainMyke

[@kaptainmyke]

CORRECTION: The size of holes drilled into light box should be 1/2" inch, and not 1/4" inch. Thank you.

[@RonJibs]

Hi and thank you again for this video and your book. Great stuff, doing a lot of experimenting especially with HOP. However I wanted to post that I've been running some BLED tests on both books encased in the CGC holder or in a Mylar storage will give you the same positive results! I tested a CGC'ed FF #73 F & B and there was a huge whitening difference after 4 BLEDs. I had always been disappointed with the slight tan color of both and now they are sparkling. Another example was a DD #9 back that looks amazing. Thought I'd pass on this good news!

[@kaptainmyke]

Thank you for your feedback! Yes, you can whiten books while they are inside the cgc cases, which is pretty neat. It's great for low value books in cases that you don't want to have regraded but have better eye appeal. Thanks!

[@johnjenkins8918]

Epic Video as always! Thank You!

[@kaptainmyke]

I was also told that a soldering iron works well for making the holes instead of using a drill. Most people have a drill but not a soldering iron.

[@murrayc9615]

@2:28 is the method I was using with a black UV light bulb. I had noticable results, but I'm looking forward to trying this new method

[@bluhock88]

damn damn awsome

[@zukodany]

If I build this exactly as described… how far into the future can I travel?

[@kaptainmyke]

Only by 11 minutes, 11 seconds then it defaults to 8th grade gym class and you have to relive the entire time again until your present age.

[@zukodany]

@@kaptainmyke 😆😆 excellent videos btw and thanks for sharing!

[@Jmener69]

If exposure time is so important then why no reference to any time amounts? Also you showed the things you need to use water, hydrogen peroxide were shown but you didn't include what you do with them, if they were for the humidity box that you make separate then why show them for this? If the lid is propped up from the chip clips then why drill holes, the top being off is far more ventilation than the holes?

[@kaptainmyke]

All of the information is contained in the new book. This video is highlighting how to make the light box. How to use it is in the new book.

[@vcowens89]

Thanks for the video. Just bought the book. I’m about to build the box. My question is: what is the purpose of the aluminum foil?

[@kaptainmyke]

It's for creating a reflective surface area for the blue led light. You can also use foil tape, or you could even spray paint the inside of the box with white paint. Using a white storage tub is another alternative.

[@shawnrustin]

Thanks for the video. I just ordered the book, in the mean time I am getting the supplies together. I cant find a tub that is 13 inches tall with a clear top. they are all around 12 inches or over 13 inches. is the 13 inches including the 1 in spacing at the top? if not is the main concern holes 3 inches above the comic and a certain distance from the bulbs? if so can the spacers be adjusted? and lastly the foil does it matter which side of the foil is facing the inside the dull or the shinny? again thanks

[@mattbrosch]

12 inches will be fine. Honestly 1 inch difference in the spacing of the vent holes isn't a big issue. I built a similar box and my holes/ spacing are different but the effect is the same. The primary concern is ensuring there isn't humidity or heat build-up in the tub, otherwise the book will curl/ deform. Use the meter to keep both in check and you'll be fine. You want the shiny side facing the book. The idea is to reflect as much blue light back at the book as possible. Hope that helps!

[@shawnrustin]

thanks, I did end up finding a container at target that was exactly 13 inches.

[@mattbrosch]

@shawn rustin Did you purchase the book offered by Myke btw? It goes into alot more detail, and the blue lights by themselves won't do much. They have to act in concert with a chemical reagent. They cover that in the book as well.

[@shawnrustin]

@@mattbrosch I did. I actually got both. I did watch some videos from immaculate comics and he did show some results with just light. I have seen people getting purple labels for signs of chemicals I was wondering if the hydrogen is what they are detecting.

[@mattbrosch]

@user-wn9vq4pz6v I'd recommend experimenting with light itself 1st, but I've gotten essentially 0 results from that method, despite exposure times as long as 72 hours and having the light at varying distances. CGC is not able to detect the hydrogen peroxide directly but will flag it as 'restored' if there are signs it has been employed (speckling from an inconsistent layer of the chemical, the inner page being tanned while the front cover is white/OW, the paper itself feels too soft/ cotton-like). So if you're intending on submitting for grading I'd recommend using as little as possible, making sure it's evenly layered, and that there isn't a stark difference in page color. As a caveat, the hydrogen peroxide also damages the paper, which is why it ends up feeling softer. It can also make pages more brittle. I'd really recommend learning more about paper conservation in general before embarking, its a quite complicated process.

[@Steve-cb2cg]

Does the UV light have to be in the 450nm-460nm range or could you use lower like 395nm-410nm??

[@kaptainmyke]

No lower wave length does not produce the same results

[@anthonymaravola3966]

Did you try using a metallic/reflective paint on the interior as opposed to aluminum foil? Is there any reason it wouldn't work?

[@kaptainmyke]

I chose foil as the reflective surface. I don't see why a metallic silver spray couldn't work. Try it! Everyone has foil in their kitchen so it's a commonly used item. If you have metallic spray paint you should try it and let us know how reflective it is. I was also told that a soldering iron works wonders for making the holes instead of using a drill. Most people have a drill but not a soldering iron, though for what it's worth.

[@johnevans9156]

“High reflective white” flat paint reflects more light than a mirror, let alone any foils. Checked with a light meter.

[@kaptainmyke]

Anything can be used as a reflective surface, really. The light bulbs are so bright anything contained inside the light box will achieve the same results. We tested placing a simple sheet of copy paper over a cover and compared it side by side with a matching book that was uncovered. Initially I thought the cover under the sheet of paper was actually getting brighter and whiter but it was the opposite. I suspected accelerated color fading so I did a few more matching pairs of books and got varying results, depending on the ink colors on the red spectrums and blue spectrums.

[@connectingcomics]

Possibly Mylar as well.

[@copetcapulin]

For how long I need to keep the UV lights on to complete the process?

[@kaptainmyke]

Read the book “comic book stain removal and whitening” at www.comicbookcpr2.com

[@rogeredgar7595]

Those are LEDs right? How much heat do they generate?

[@mattbrosch]

Blue LEDs - make sure they actually produce blue spectrum light in the 460nm+ range. They don't generate a ton of heat, but you don't want it to build up in there otherwise the heat and relative humidity will either dry out or oversaturate your book and it will deform, causing undesirable defects in the book and harming the paper fibers. This is why the vent holes are imperative. I skipped them on my 1st box to my detriment lol.

[@DaveTravelsinTime]

Left cbcs hope your doing good

[@DaveTravelsinTime]

I left yesterday

[@djmoonchild01]

Are vintage cards ok for this? The 1966 marvel donruss cards get tanning on back alot and sometimes on fronts as well.

[@kaptainmyke]

You could try it out on some beater cards first to see if the results are favorable.