Removal Service Click to Enlarge Before and after restoration removal. This book involved the removal of a very minor amount of acrylic color touch on part of the spine. Because of the pro- fessional nature of the touch-up, Removal was a safe choice. It's happened so many times. A collector feels ready to send his comics to CGC for grading. He's collected high grade comics for many years, and has tried his hardest to make sure none of the books were restored. The grades start coming back from CGC, and he's pleased. Then it happens… the dreaded purple label! Turns out his gorgeous Flash #110, bought 20 years ago from a local dealer, graded CGC apparent 8.5 slight (P). It has a small hit of black color touch at the bottom of the spine, and is now considered "restored." What to do? In a restored holder, the CGC 8.5 Flash is worth only a percentage of an unrestored 8.5, which is about $1,400 according to GPAnalysis. A slightly restored 8.5 is only $500, almost a thousand dollars less. But given the small nature of the color touch, it's possible the restoration can be safely removed with little affect to the grade. The book is sent to Classics Incorporated for proscreen. We determine that the black color touch can be removed for $75, and we estimate the grade will be 7.5 - 8.0 after the work is completed. Even though the Flash could drop one or two points in grade, it's still worth more than if the color touch was left on (unrestored 8.0 value is about $1200). Click to Enlarge In this case a few stress lines were color touched in the box, as well as the purple banner below it. The removal resulted in more noticeable defects, thus lowering the grade.   Even though restoration removal can increase the value of a comic like the Flash #110 above, the long-term effects of this service must be weighed carefully. Many times removal involves defacement of the comic. Even when removing slight restoration, it is sometimes necessary to scrape, dig, cut, and obliterate parts of the comic to achieve an unrestored grade. This is especially true for removing amateur restoration, such as glue, and color touch that has bled through the paper. The grade of a comic will almost always suffer upon removal because the restoration was likely hiding defects underneath, such as color breaks or tears. The best candidates exhibit professional restoration that can be safely removed with minimal risk to the book itself. This includes tear seals and support using rice paper and water-soluble adhesive, and acrylic and water-based color touch. Our pressing service can also be used in conjunction with removal to minimize grade loss. When considering your books for restoration removal, please note that cleaned covers are irreversible, as well as trimming, re-glossing and replaced staples. Moderately or extensively restored comics are not acceptable candidates because these books were probably lower grade copies to begin with, and their restoration was necessary. Click to Enlarge A great example of an excellent removal candidate; the color touch removal was so minor that the grade was barely affected. From our experience, we've determined that roughly 80% of slightly restored comics cannot be safely reversed. When we do perform restoration removal, we tend to take a conservative approach, subscribing to the notion that it is better to remove too little restoration and risk a purple label from a grading company, rather than go too far and cause a significant decrease in grade. We feel that an extra submission fee is worth saving a book from losing one, two or even three points of grade, simply to guarantee that the book will get a universal label the "first time around." If a comic does receive a restored grade despite our best efforts, we cannot pay the resubmission fees, but we will attempt further removal at no charge until the restoration is fully removed. To submit comics for removal, or any other service please go here. Important Note: Unlike our other services, restoration removal does not restore or increase the grade of a comic. By doing the opposite, removal actually seems contrary to our goals of preservation. We offer it as a means for collectors to recover or protect their investment, especially when they are faced with potential loss of money, like in the Flash #110 example above. Click to Enlarge Another good example of very minor color touch removal. Black parts of the cover are the most commonly touched areas on restored books. This one was acrylic. Consideration should be given to the long term. Right now, the desire for unrestored, blue-label comics is at an all-time high, encouraging collectors to seek out restoration removal for financial gain. And yet restored comics have been rising in value over the last few years. Because restoration removal usually causes a comic to drop in grade, it's possible that the potential profit margin could shrink to a point where removal is rarely a viable option. If you're aware of restoration on some of your books, but you don't plan on selling anytime soon, you may want to consider waiting.