Comic Book Dry Cleaning

DRY CLEANING COMIC BOOK TOOLBOX

Use all the tools in your toolbox for dry cleaning comics. This ranges from non-invasive to more aggressive stages of comic book dry cleaning.

 

The comic book dry cleaning tools used to safely and effectively clean comics. These products are highly recommended for cleaning comics.

 

You will use many different products to clean comics. These are the main tools you will need to use. All of these products should be used gently and lightly. Small circular motions, back and forth, left to right, diagonally. Try different light motions to see which motion will effectively lift a light stain or debris from comic book covers.

Here is a full list of tools from left to right, row by row:

1. Blotter Paper Used for drawing up light staining using very simple liquid wet cleaning methods.
2. Absorene Eraser Pad For removal of surface grime on covers. Cut into 1” or 2” strips for different cleaning maneuvers.
3. Makeup Remover Cotton Rounds For removal of surface grime on covers.
4. Tongue Depressor / Craft Sticks / Bone Folder Used instead of bone folder tool for pushing out spine ticks from inside.
5. Number 2 Pencils with Helix brand White Soft Eraser Caps – Recommended for corners, edges, and white/light areas.
6. UV Black Light Flashlight Place a sheet of copy paper under covers to detect pin holes. Avoid pin holes during cleaning.
7. Pocket Handheld Pen Flashlight Alternate light source for detecting surface dirt and pressable defects.
8. Q-Tips Dip Q-Tip in a water bottle cap. Use damp Q-Tip inside and outside a folded over crease before opening fold.
9. Small Flathead Screwdriver for opening a graded comic book case.
10. 1.5" Ball Bearing or Massage Roller Ball Used with a tack iron, for dent removal.
11. Massage Roller Ball Alternative to Ball Bearing.
12. Tiny Magnifying Plastic Lens Visual assistance tool for spine, staples, binding, edges.
13. Jeweler's Loupe Visual assistance tool for spine, staples, binding, edges. There are some with LED lights.
14. Dental Picks and Dental Mirror, Eyeglass Screwdriver Used for lifting/placing corner flaps, tears, and flaking. No fingernails.
15. PVC Plastic Erasers Soft PVC plastic erasers like Moo, Acurit Vanish, Tamaki or M&G brands are the primary dry-cleaning method.
16. Sea Sponge Abrasive cleaner not recommended for most covers or applications. Last resort.
17. Kneaded Eraser Another form of putty like eraser used to clean surface grime from spine, cover, and edges.
18. Absorene Book Cleaner Putty Roll small logs across cover surface to lift dirt and grime.
19. Travel Size Lotion Free Facial Tissues Start by wiping book cover surfaces before dry cleaning.
20. Infrared IR Thermometer Gun Verify temperature of tack iron to avoid burning book. Take readings from copy paper, not iron.
21. Mr. Clean Magic Erasers Abrasive cleaner recommended for white, or cardstock covers. Cut into 1” squares. Last resort.
22. Tack Iron Digital or analog. It can be used to heat up surface of book before dry cleaning. For dent removal.

Also, worthy of consideration is Swiffer brand dry mop dust sheets as cleaning pads. This product is great and will safely lift most dirt and grime layers off comic books. Try it!

 

My dry cleaning toolbox of various tools and cleaners. My most widely used items I placed inside a metal storage tin. The other less used items or items that take up space I placed in a larger plastic storage container. Take notice of the ball bearing, magnifying glass, jeweler's loop, kneaded eraser, natural sea sponges, pencils with eraser tops, UV blacklight flashlight, Absorene putty, and two Absorene book cleaner pads.

 

REMOVE FOREIGN SUBSTANCES BEFORE PRESSING
If a comic book has any food residue, sticky material (like hard candy or glue), or foreign debris on its surface, pressing it without cleaning will lock that material into the cover permanently. Heat and pressure from the press act like a laminator—melting or flattening the substance into the fibers of the paper. Once that happens, it’s almost impossible to reverse. Not only will the comic lose value, but you’ve also created a long-term stain or indentation.

Tools to Use for Safe Removal:

• Dental pick or electronics probe – Using sharp pointy tools like a dental pick should be used cautiously. Scraping with anything sharp and metal cause additional ink loss. Sharp metallic tools are destructive in nature but recommended mostly for restoration removal – for scraping color touch off spine ticks along the spine and cover.

• Small plastic putty knife – These are flat, smooth tools (similar to a bone folder but non-stick). They let you gently lift dried material without scratching gloss.

• Micro spatula – Thin and flexible for sliding under sticky candy or glue without gouging the paper.

• Q-tips & distilled water (sparingly) – For dried food or sugar spots, a very lightly dampened swab can soften the debris before carefully lifting it. Always test in a tiny area first.

• Absorene putty or Absorene cleaning pad – For dry, crumbly substances that aren’t bonded too hard to the cover.

 

WHAT HAPPENS IF YOU DON'T REMOVE FOREIGN SUBSTANCES
Machine Damage: That foreign material can transfer to your press plates, and once the heated metal picks it up, it can re-transfer to the next comic you press—ruining multiple books.

Indentation or Divot: Yes, the press will actually push that lump into the cover and back cover, creating a permanent embossed divot. Even if you remove the substance later, the dented paper fibers will remain.

Heat Reaction: Sticky materials (like gum, tape, or glue) can melt under press heat and spread further, permanently fusing into the cover’s gloss layer.

Think of pressing as the final step—not the cleaning step. If the surface isn’t perfectly smooth and free of contaminants, you’re not just wasting your time pressing, you could be making the comic worse and damaging your equipment. Always take the extra 5–10 minutes to carefully remove anything foreign before the book ever touches your press

 

 

PRESSING FOLDS AND FLAPS
When pressing out folded over corners and flaps, it’s important to introduce localized humidity directly on each crease first before attempting to return the paper to its original position. Paper becomes dry, cracked, and brittle over time. If moisture isn’t applied first, the paper will tear.

 

1. Gather your supplies: bottled drinking water, a probe, and a clean fresh cotton Q-Tip.
2. Pour a tiny bit of water inside the cap. Dip Q-tip in water. Squeeze out the excess water from Q-tip using your fingertips. The Q-tip should now be damp and not dripping wet.
3. Apply the damp Q-tip to the outside edge of outermost crease first. Slowly open the first fold to see any additional folds underneath. Use either a probe or the Q-Tip to lift the fold.
4. If there are additional folds, apply the damp Q-tip to the outside edge of the next fold. Next, apply more moisture with the damp Q-tip on the inside of the first fold as well.
5. Once all folds have been humidified on both sides, return the paper to its original flatness. Blot dry any excess water beads or moisture using a dry cotton round or blotter paper.
6. Complete any required dry-cleaning steps. Proceed to use the humidity tank. Perform any dent removal procedures as needed. Press the book as usual while performing the basic comic book pressing procedure. Follow the recommended guidelines to the required matching formula page based off the year of publication.

 

 

DRY CLEANING ERASERS
The most important tool for dry cleaning is a good plastic PVC art eraser. The eraser must be super soft and pliable, so the cover doesn’t tear. The number one recommended product we prefer to use is a MOO art eraser. Unfortunately, the MOO company is no longer in business, so sourcing this eraser is difficult. There are sellers on eBay that offer the eraser typically from as low as $10 to as high as $30. This eraser is actually worth the $30. If you can find them, buy them. The closest eraser I have found that is almost identical to the MOO eraser is Acurit Vanish Four in One Eraser.

ALTERNATIVE ERASERS
In our conquest to find and purchase alternatives to a $30 eraser, we did find suitable replacements. We tested over 12 different brands from Amazon and Walmart. The key issue here is to use the softest eraser available. The softer the eraser, the easier it is to lift soiling from comic book covers. On Amazon there are some brands we thought were a close match (but not the same). Acurit Vanish, Tombow Mono, M&G and Tamaki brand erasers are the best soft plastic PVC erasers we could find for dry cleaning comic books.

 

CLEANING ERASERS

PRO TIP! The erasers used for dry cleaning comic books become quite soiled and dirty after each use. Fortunately, the erasers are reusable – all you have to do is clean the erasers using the Absorene book cleaner pad. Rub erasers back and forth across the book cleaner pad. The book cleaner pad is made of vulcanized rubber, so you are erasing the dirt from one eraser to another.

Helix brand pencil cap erasers are most effective around edges, corners, along the spine, and any white/light areas of comic book covers. Think of the pencil cap eraser as a fine edging tool for cleanup once the Absorene pad and soft PVC erasers have done most of the dry cleaning.

All erasers can be reused many times, cleaning hundreds of books. An eraser should be retired once all edges are warped and no longer flat, or if there is significant cracking.

 

 

 

DRY CLEANING COMICS IN STAGES

Approach every book with cautious cleaning tactics. See what is effective with the least effort. Less invasive first, to a more increased aggressive cleaning stage each time, to see what works. Start small, slowly increasing your efforts:

1. Start by carefully chipping or scraping away surface debris like boogers, candy, or mud with a dental pick. A plastic putty knife or eyeglass flathead screwdriver will also work.
2. For vintage stapled squarebound comics, press down staples flat with a plastic putty knife or flathead screwdriver.

Those 2 are priority before you begin any dry cleaning.

Start small and work your way down the list, in order, one-by-one, as needed:

1. WIPE - Swiffer Duster Dry Wipe Sheets, Lotion free tissue, or a cotton round.
2. ERASERS – Use soft PVC erasers like M&G, MOO, or TAMAKI. Alternatively, use white polymer eraser head caps with a number 2 pencils. Avoid pink erasers.
3. DRYER SHEETS - Unscented Dryer Sheet with pencil and eraser head as a "handle".
4. PAPER TOWELS - Unscented Paper Towel with pencil and eraser head as a "handle".
5. ABSORENE ERASER PAD - Great for bright colored inks on cover.
6. ABSORENE PUTTY - Roll into logs across book cover surface gently.
7. MAGIC ERASER - Use with caution across white and light areas. Avoid black, red, and yellow inks with this product. Recommended for white cardstock covers and sketch covers.
8. DRAFTING ERASER PAD - Use with caution. The little, tiny bits of eraser shavings will get everywhere – all over your workstation area and comic book. Make sure you have wiped up all shavings or you will press divots into both book covers.
9. COTTON ROUND – Use a makeup remover cotton round at the end to polish finish any remaining debris from dry cleaning. Alternatively, use a Swiffer Sweeper Dry Wipe Sheet.

Alternate between all of them and you will yield better results. The primary dry-cleaning tools should be 1-5. Tools 6-8 are abrasive and have been known to cause problems for most amateur dry-cleaning enthusiasts. Use the abrasive tools 6-8 sparingly. Finish off dry cleaning with a cotton round as a final polishing step.

As long as the book is not brittle or rigid… Look for corner flaps and tears that need to be set in place. This step should be done first while the book is dry and not under any heat or pressure. You will use a dental pick and scraper for this step. If the book is too brittle or old, then you should use the humidity chamber approach after cleaning the covers instead.

It may be tempting to just use your fingernail, but could potentially rip or tear the crease worse. Dirt and oil under your fingernails could get trapped in the paper fibers as well. Golden age books are very forgiving with corner flaps and minor tears.

You want to do this step first before cleaning or pressing. This step is important to try to inspect the book carefully and turn each page for inspection. You are also looking for cutouts, missing pages, and missing centerfolds during this stage.

 

 

Absorene Dirt Eraser Pads are the greatest tool to start with dry cleaning the cover of your book. Get one here at this link on Amazon.

 

 

 

BASIC DRY CLEANING TIPS

 

ABSORENE BOOK CLEANER PUTTY WARNING
Absorene Book Cleaner Putty should be used only on older books with covers that are not glossy or shiny. Avoid modern comic books with paper thin covers. The putty can easily rub into the book cover and cause severe and permanent damage. This is why I would suggest trying a pencil eraser or kneaded eraser on Modern Age books, instead. The Absorene Book Cleaner Putty works best on Silver Age, Copper Age, Dark Age and even most Bronze Age books. Any book produced after the year 2000 should be tested out on a reader copy first when considering the Absorene Putty. See below:

2018 Marvel Comics VENOM #3 San Diego Comic Con Exclusive

 

 

MELAMINE FOAM ERASERS TRAP DIRT INSIDE CREASES
When a comic book develops a crease, stress line, or small dent, that damaged spot creates a tiny “valley” in the paper. Dirt and dust easily settle into these low areas, and once they sink in, they’re almost impossible to remove. Using a foam eraser pushes this dirt inside these valleys along the spine. This problem stands out most on lighter covers, like white or yellow, where the trapped dirt makes the crease look darker and more distracting. Products like Absorene book cleaner putty can lift surface dirt, but anything buried deep inside the crease usually stays there.

Professional grading companies pay close attention to this. Trapped dirt inside creases nearly always lowers a book’s final grade. On top of that, graders can usually tell the difference between normal aging dirt and damage caused by a cleaning attempt. For example, if someone used a harsh eraser, it often leaves surface scuffing, missing gloss, or even tiny bits of color loss—clear signs of overcleaning. That’s why prevention matters most: handle books carefully to avoid new creases, and if cleaning is needed, stick only to gentle tools and light passes so you don’t make the defect worse.

 

 

 

JOIN US
There is a dedicated Facebook Group called "KaptainMyke Comic Book Pressing" for anyone to join and contribute ideas open for discussion. Ask questions about this guide or show off your own books! Anyone is welcome to join. I firmly believe the spread of accurate free information will help us all keep books preserved and conserved. You may find the Facebook Group at this link here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/kaptainmykecomicpressing

 

 

 

 

CONCLUSION
Try to be non-invasive with your books. Start small and work your way up to more aggressive tactics when removing stubborn stains or writing. These tips will hopefully save you money, and guide you along the way as YOU learn and pick up new ideas and better ways to accomplish things.

I've had a number of people ask me via email if I have a paypal account for sending donations as a way of saying "thanks" for the continuing efforts of this "living document" teaching people how to safely press comic books.

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Thank you!

KaptainMyke