Friday, March 29, 2013

Book Mending Mini-Series --Water Damaged Book Repair


Water damaged book? 



Here's how to fix it . . .

First: Is there mold? If there is mold, discard the book. It is not worth keeping, mold spreads. Get it out of your home.

Second: Ask, is this book worth the time and effort to fix? Is it easily replaceable? If the answer is yes, don't spend your time and money on a repair that ends up being more expensive than a replacement.

Are you still willing to do the mend?

 Supplies:

Misting Sprayer
Mylar
Pellon Liner
Blotter Paper
Press Board
Weights


1- Isolate the page to be mended. Mylar or another water barrier needs to be placed both UNDER and on the NEXT page of the book. Large pieces please, you really don't want to create more work for yourself.

2- TEST your ink! Do you have a personalization on the page? It's usually been done with water soluble ink. Again, you will be creating a worse mess if you proceed.

 3- Still ready to proceed?

Start your Water Damage Sandwich --

Mylar protection sheet ON TOP of any bottom pages.
Blotter paper ON the Mylar
Pellon Liner ON the Blotter paper
--damaged page on top

(remember to have Mylar on the opposite pages for their protection)


 Lightly mist your damaged page. Yes, it's 'Hair of the Dog' for mending water damage.
 . . . the water will relax the fibers in your paper, allowing you to press them back into shape.
 4. After misting your page, it's time to finish your Water Damage Sandwich:


 Pellon Liner ON the page
 Blotter Paper on the Pellon
Close the book
Board on top of the book
 Weights on the Board
 Let dry
 


Tada! Done.

What if your ENTIRE book is water damaged?

First: Are the cover boards warped? You are looking at a bigger repair than what I am covering here. You will need a rebinding, not just water damage repair.

Supplies:
- Large tub with a lid -- large enough to hold your book if it is standing upright.

-Smaller tub that JUST fits inside the first tub with a few inches between where it can be suspended above the bottom of the first tub. --it's a tricky fit. Look closely at the picture. YOU DO NOT WANT the interior tub to flip over and thusly SOAK your book during the process!

-Lots of  HOT water.

1- Fill bigger tub with HOT water, up to the bottom of the interior tub.
 2- Fan book out inside interior tub
 3- Use a comb if the book won't stay open
 Like this...
 4- Close the lid. Let sit overnight.
5- Remove moisturized book, now put it in a press until dry.






No comments: