My comic book store gave me bad advice on grading and now my Action Comics #1 reprint is ruined

I took a 1980s reprint of Action Comics #1 to my local shop in Austin to see if it was worth grading. The guy behind the counter told me to clean it with a magic eraser to fix some stains. I did that and it took the ink right off the cover. Now it looks worse than before. Has anyone else had a store employee give them terrible restoration advice? What do you even do in that situation?

2 comments

2 Comments

williams.amy25d agoProlific Poster

Actually had the same thing happen to me with an old Fantastic Four reprint. The magic eraser is basically super fine sandpaper, it'll always take off ink. Your best bet now is finding a professional resto person who can touch up the cover with color matched paint, but for a reprint it might cost more than it's worth. I'd just call it a learning experience and grab another copy off eBay for like $15.

oscar_hunt6125d ago

Did you ever try that old trick with a white eraser on glossy covers? I remember scrubbing a Spider-Man comic as a kid thinking I was cleaning it, and I just made a big smeary mess on the webbing. For reprints it's definitely better to just grab another copy and save yourself the headache.