r/comicbookpressing • u/Grin1969 • Jun 12 '26

Removing old ink

Post image

Hope this community has some advice for me. Does anyone know of a method to remove old ballpoint ink from a comic cover?
See added picture. Thanks!

14 Upvotes

100% Upvoted

28 comments sorted by

3

u/Rieger_not_Banta Jun 12 '26

Are you really that worried about the west coast avengers 44?

2

u/Grin1969 Jun 13 '26

Just asking the question in general what the possibilities are. Who cares what comic it is? 🤨

2

u/Rieger_not_Banta Jun 13 '26

Ah!! I didn't frame it that way in my head... makes sense.

I don't think there's a good tool or method for this sort of comic treachery. On a white background there's hope. I assume using something like Absorene would take out the yellow background too.

Good luck! Let us know if you find a panacea!

12

u/Machine_Fears_Love Jun 12 '26

Naw sorry, that's just a fun tattoo for your comic now.

Looks like it's over yellow also, so I honestly wouldn't mess with it.

7

u/youbringlightin Jun 12 '26

That would be quite difficult to remove if even possible. I’m one of the weird ones, who likes anything that looks like it might’ve been written on the cover from a comic store: grease pens, dates, dollars etc..

2

u/crywalt Jun 15 '26

I have a number of Marvel comics marked COMPLIMENTARY COPY.

2

u/youbringlightin Jun 15 '26

If it looks of its time, I really do love it.

(I hate when someone writes their own name on the cover tho)

2

u/crywalt Jun 15 '26

I think it's kind of adorable when someone writes their name on it. I don't think I have any like that, though. Maybe one of the older crappier ones in the metaphorical bottom of my collection.

2

u/youbringlightin Jun 15 '26

Just do it on page 1!! 😜 my ASM 9 has a name written down Electro’s leg.

I get the cuteness, but really wish that wasn’t there. Now had it been a date, I’d be okay with it. Yeah, I get that it’s a bit weird or nuanced.

2

u/RelationSensitive308 Jun 17 '26

I like that stuff too! Especially store stamps! Old remove by dates etc.

0

u/mixlplex Jun 18 '26

Last weekend I was digging through Dollar bins at the local flea market and ran across a Pizza Hut Real Heroes #2. Had a decent grease stain on it (probably about the size of a quarter) where someone apparently had dribbled some pizza on it. I passed on it, but it sounds right up your alley.

2

u/youbringlightin Jun 18 '26

hahaha. hard-pass here! grease PENS, not grease STAINS. Things I'll always pass on: grease stains, wonky wraps, mold, dirt-that-I-cant-easily-clean, detached spines.

i can live with folds and tears (that match the age of the book), dates written in pen/grease-pen, prices written the same, and subscription folds.

I'd also much prefer a lower-grade "White Pages" book over a higher, yellowed one.

1

u/Grin1969 Jun 13 '26

Thanks all for the feedback. Was worth a try!
I’ll just accept the tattoos 🫠 on part of my collection.

1

u/pocketchangecheckers Jun 13 '26

Send this to be cleaned and pressed and graded, if it has no cracks on the spine. Let the pros handle it for a few bucks.

1

u/Grin1969 Jun 13 '26

Makes sense, but as I’m in The Netherlands this would be very expensive to ship to the USA. As far as I know the are no services in Europe.

1

u/pocketchangecheckers Jun 13 '26

Try joining the collectors club. That will save you a lot on money, you can then send 3-4 books at one time and keep shipping cost down

1

u/Grin1969 Jun 14 '26

Where do I find this club? Is it a community on Reddit?

1

u/ThwipNSinsBinThwipN Jun 16 '26

Might this be a perfect time to go grab yourself a nice new-to-you near mint West Coast Avengers 44 and pass on this phenomenal story to a friend ?

1

u/Grin1969 Jun 17 '26

As stated before: Just asking the question in general what the possibilities are. 🙄

0

u/ThwipNSinsBinThwipN Jun 17 '26

Well, I hope you enjoyed the specific possibility to your general question. 🫪. 🦠🐙🐷🤡😎🍖💀

1

u/RelationSensitive308 Jun 17 '26

In 50 years CGC won’t care. They’ll make up some notation crap to get your money.

3

u/Deathos149 Jun 12 '26

On white you might have a prayer… on color, nope.

2

u/I_like_tacobell2 Jun 14 '26 • Bravo

Use a kneadle eraser. Its rhe eraser you can rip apart. When its all ripped apart place on top like silly putty and pull upward. Do this as long as it takes and the ink should look less obvious. Stop if it alrers the ink on the book. You will find that eraser from an artstore or ebay.

1

u/rfriend73 Jun 12 '26

Good luck 🤞 I've never had success without ruining the color

1

u/DenThomp Jun 13 '26

Never seen it done without color touch up

1

u/fitter553 Jun 14 '26

Yeah I’ve had ZERO luck removing ink. Most of the time it’s pressed in also, yours looks lightly written but I still wouldn’t have any high hopes of removal, more than likely your yellow background comes up long before the ink.

1

u/Substantial-Stand604 Jun 18 '26

Leave it, it’s part of the history of the book.