Staple rust removal • Collecting General • The Acaeum

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Staple rust removal
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Jar15a1
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Posted: Tue Jun 28, 2022 8:12 am

I’ve picked up a few treasures lately and the staple rust seems fairly common. Does anybody have any tricks to remove it?

mbassoc2003
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Posted: Tue Jun 28, 2022 10:51 am

That all depends on the value of the product.

If I had a something uncommon but not rare, and it were going to stay in my collection, I'd start by replacing the staples with stainless steel ones.
While the staples were out, I'd use a relatively firm pencil eraser to take away what I could of any moveable residue.
Now, I'm pretty used to using erasers in my career, so I have a good idea of what pressure I'm applying.
But remember that different papers have different tensile strengths, shed fibers differently, and that the paper may be aged and is already weak locally die to both the fold and the presence of the staple holes.

Now I'm talking here about what I may do with a $50 copy of CSIO or some such. I'm advocating doing anything to a $500 copy of PotVQ. I have a copy of Tortured Souls 2 in front of me (the fanzine, not the magazine.) It's worth maybe $50, but I won't be intervening with it in any way as it's one of maybe only five or six copies I know to exist. So regardless of actual value, I'll leave the staple rust as is on account of rarity.

This week I've been mostly eating . . . The white ones with the little red flecks in them.

dbartman
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Posted: Tue Jun 28, 2022 10:53 am

This topic comes up periodically, as staple rust is fairly common, especially with collectibles that are 20+ years old. Many of the older products did not use the highest quality staples, resulting in some products rarely escaping the rusty staple disease.

Here's a decent (and quite old) thread on the topic:

Rusty Staples...

Jar15a1
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Posted: Tue Jun 28, 2022 1:05 pm

Thanks for the insight. I read the 2003 thread and it seems the winning argument is to leave them in place to save the item’s value. I was considering using a small toothbrush but that may stain the paper. And since they are not being stored in a basement, I guess it’s safe to leave them be. Thanks again for the responses.

Tszii
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Posted: Thu Jun 30, 2022 8:23 am

Is it worse to have something "damaged" or "restored?"

I think it depends on the collectable. Restoring a coin or gun destroys the value. Restoring a car increases its value. I am in the damaged is good camp.

I dont want new stainless steel staples! Ide rather have little rust.

ExTSR
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Posted: Thu Jun 30, 2022 1:08 pm

I remove the staples.
If it's vintage, I soak the staples (standard rust remover), dry, and re-insert. (Careful, repeated bending will weaken the staple.)
If not vintage I just replace 'em with new.

for_the_love_of_the_stuff
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Posted: Thu Jun 30, 2022 8:53 pm

If I saw a 20+ year old RPG book with new staples, I would assume it was a fake TBH.

Removing the original staples is like removing the patina on a piece of antique furniture IMO

Tszii
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Posted: Thu Jun 30, 2022 10:16 pm

How about adding staples? 4th-6th S1. Illustrations were removed and made into their own booklets.

mbassoc2003
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Posted: Fri Jul 01, 2022 3:50 am

for_the_love_of_the_stuff wrote in Staple rust removal:If I saw a 20+ year old RPG book with new staples, I would assume it was a fake TBH.

That would be a bit of a stretch for me.
If I couldn't tell the difference between a real and a fake using the experience of the the collectors I trust, without speculation as to lack of rust on staples, I'd be amazed.
I'd also not expect a 20yo book to exhibit staple rust, nor can I think of anything 'rare' enough that I'd buy with rusted staples that young an age.

When you get to 40 years old, the odds of them being fakes are substantially lower, and the odds of them being good enough fakes that a competent buyer will be duped are lower still.
This brings to mind the three laser colour copies of ST1 that some schmuck said he's soaked in brine for a decade in his attic (or some such tale of inspirational stupidity to explain unearthing three copies of ST1).

Fakes from that era are obvious.
And TBH, if I were minded to 'fake' something, it's not like there's any shortage of authentically rusted staples to complete the job, available for less that $10 on eBay (or indeed in my own collection).

This week I've been mostly eating . . . The white ones with the little red flecks in them.

red_bus
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Posted: Fri Jul 01, 2022 5:12 am

Jar15a1 wrote in Staple rust removal:Thanks for the insight. I read the 2003 thread .

I just read the 2003 thread too and - ye gods! - was I about then collecting nearly 20 years ago?? I have been doing this for far too long

Let's go fly a kite
Up to the highest height!

mbassoc2003
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Posted: Fri Jul 01, 2022 6:43 am

This week I've been mostly eating . . . The white ones with the little red flecks in them.

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