I would like to hear of any flourishes of refurbishment which connoiseurs here may use to remove eyesores from imperfect books they own because they would like to read them rather than sell them on. I understand the principle of not touching something at all if you plan to sell it on.

However a book which you have decided to keep and to use can be made serviceable and a more pleasant read with minor improvements if there are obvious flaws. I am talking about scotch tape (invisible tape) for pages about to fall out and careful cleaning of covers with light stains. I have gone as far a trimming mms from page ends with a razor sharp craft knife if they are grubby.

The specific issue which is prompting this thread is my recent purchase of a third printing of the PHB with the nice thick pages. Im very happy with the book which I won for $20 but it does have say two dozen brown spots about this size --> 00 <-- which I feel I could touch up either with Tipp-Ex or even dab with some off-white paint on the tip of a small brush. If I try to touch the spots up and it looks daft I'll just leave it. Anyway Im interested to hear any tips.

TheHistorian wrote:1. Price stickers.  I remove them in most cases.  Yes, there are some items for which that is impossible without damaging the item, due to the cover material or type of sticker, but I've gotten quite good at it.  Out of 100 items, I can get a successful result 96 times, determine that 3 cannot be removed safely, and cause damage to 1.  Those are pretty good odds.  My weapons of choice are Goo Gone, Q-tips, and paper towels.  This isn't as easy as it sounds though.  I recommend a LOT of practicing with inexpensive items.  Having a mindset that allows you to know when to give up is necessary too.

CDs with impossible to remove stickers used to bug me. The kind that leaves a residue like a thin film of concrete behind. I just throw away the jewel cases now. I always remove price tags too on books - they really are eyesores. I'll have to track down some of this Goo Gone.

TheHistorian wrote:2. "Fingernail restoration".  Locate a 30-year old crumb of potato chip/cookie/unidentifiable crud somewhat pressed into a page of a book.  Put your fingernail next to it and flick it out.  I'm not sure why something that small bugs me, but I see it a lot and always fix it.

That is what Im getting at. I don't want to touch biological matter in a book I will read or consult. Our fingers apparently are filthy articles and many D&Ders like to eat and slobber when reading over their books.

May be worth considering re-titling this thread....

Invincible Overlord wrote:Price stickers add to the provenance of the item.

IMHO they should never effect the value of the item in a negative way.

Depends on the sticker. An LGS from long ago or far away, or one much beloved, sure. The Half-Price Books sticker placed on a decades-old item, which strips off the ink when you try to remove it? Not so much.

ashmire13 wrote:May be worth considering re-titling this thread....

I was thinking the same or is this one of those times when it has a different meaning in UK to rest of world?

I have had good success with removing cigarette smoke smell, but my method takes lots of time.  I simply open the book/module/mag to the first page and let it air out for a day or two and then keep turning the pages one by one until you reach the end.