Preserving books

At the California Antiquarian Book fair, I graduated from the $500
dollar level to the 1K level. I fell in love with the book. I can take
reasonable care of most books. but I really want to take care of this
baby. (I was far more casual with my own baby.) I now have it wrapped in
the Fair bag. I am reluctant to toss it on the shelf.

Is there a product that I can seal it in that will not exude plasticine
binders? I am willing to take it out for an occasional walk if necessary.

Stave II

I think I need a permanent shelf for my more extravagant purchases. My
thoughts go to a lawyers bookshelf. Again, I worry about the finish.
Should I buy unfinished and use a known finish. If so, what is the
safest coating for books?

I have looked at preservationist sites, but sadly they do not have a
section entitled numb skulls with books.

On Feb 22, 4:53 pm, Ted Jones wrote:

[...]

Should I buy unfinished and use a known finish. If so, what is the
safest coating for books?

[...]

The best advice I can give you is to forget about
"coating" your books with ANYTHING, be it
shellac, tar, honey or anthing else.. You don't
protect books by coating them. It's a crazy idea;
get over it.

[Memo from the upstairs office.]

"Ted Jones" wrote in message
...
At the California Antiquarian Book fair, I graduated from the $500 dollar
level to the 1K level. I fell in love with the book. I can take reasonable
care of most books. but I really want to take care of this baby. (I was
far more casual with my own baby.) I now have it wrapped in the Fair bag.
I am reluctant to toss it on the shelf.

Is there a product that I can seal it in that will not exude plasticine
binders? I am willing to take it out for an occasional walk if necessary.

Stave II

I think I need a permanent shelf for my more extravagant purchases. My
thoughts go to a lawyers bookshelf. Again, I worry about the finish.
Should I buy unfinished and use a known finish. If so, what is the safest
coating for books?

I have looked at preservationist sites, but sadly they do not have a
section entitled numb skulls with books.


Congratulations on your new family member.

If you haven't yet found it, this group has an excellent FAQ, begun in the
days when the signal to noise ratio was much higher. You may find some
useful information in Item 4, *The Care and Feeding of Your Collection*.

Alice

--
Book collecting terms illustrated. Used and out of print books for sale.
http://www.mywingsbooks.com/

wrote in message
ps.com...
On Feb 22, 4:53 pm, Ted Jones wrote:

[...]

Should I buy unfinished and use a known finish. If so, what is the
safest coating for books?

[...]

The best advice I can give you is to forget about
"coating" your books with ANYTHING, be it
shellac, tar, honey or anthing else.. You don't
protect books by coating them. It's a crazy idea;
get over it.

http://www.johnkirchner.com/images/book20.jpg

On Feb 23, 3:07 am, wrote:
On Feb 22, 4:53 pm, Ted Jones wrote:

[...]

Should I buy unfinished and use a known finish. If so, what is the
safest coating for books?

[...]

The best advice I can give you is to forget about
"coating" your books with ANYTHING, be it
shellac, tar, honey or anthing else.. You don't
protect books by coating them. It's a crazy idea;
get over it.

palmjob, you insufferable ninny, I know you have a grammar school
reading level but even a stool sample such as you should have been
able to detect that the OP was asking about a coating for his book
shelves, not his books.
Lay off that self abuse in your "upstairs office"!

On 23 Feb 2007 05:57:38 -0800, "Bob F." wrote:

On Feb 23, 3:07 am, wrote:
On Feb 22, 4:53 pm, Ted Jones wrote:

[...]

Should I buy unfinished and use a known finish. If so, what is the
safest coating for books?

[...]

The best advice I can give you is to forget about
"coating" your books with ANYTHING, be it
shellac, tar, honey or anthing else.. You don't
protect books by coating them. It's a crazy idea;
get over it.

palmjob, you insufferable ninny, I know you have a grammar school
reading level but even a stool sample such as you should have been
able to detect that the OP was asking about a coating for his book
shelves, not his books.
Lay off that self abuse in your "upstairs office"!



Bob,

CSBBOMM!! (coffee-soaked-bagel-bits-on-my-monitor)

Anyway, for the OP:

Do not use any retail water clean-up clear finish on your bookshelves.
A non-petroleum solvent finish - shellac or lacquer - is a superior
way to go. These types of finish dry fast for rapid re-coat and are
hard enough to use in (some cases) just a day.
There is a down side to these:

They are very flammable (liquid and vapors).
The fumes during application are merely annoying to toxic, depending
on the product used.
Since they dry so-o-o fast and depending on your skills, it may appear
that you used a rabid woodchuck on crack to apply the finish, instead
of a brush.
Hope this helps.

Oh, and don't use CLOROX on the shelving or your books, you'll thank
me later.

Dave

"Dave" wrote in message
...

A non-petroleum solvent finish - shellac or lacquer - is a superior
way to go. These types of finish dry fast for rapid re-coat and are
hard enough to use in (some cases) just a day.

This is bad advice: do not act on it.
To be specific, do not use any finished bookshelf
until 24 hours after the finish has tested bone dry to both
the touch of your hand and a gentle wipe with a
solvent-impregnated tack rag. This usually means
allowing twice as much drying time as is printed on
the container. Humidity and temperature both affect
drying time and you have no way of knowing how
closely humidity and temperature in your workshop
approximated those in the finish company's laboratory.

You can spoil the appearance (and market value) of
scores of books simply by shelving them a few hours
too early.

--
Don Phillipson
Carlsbad Springs
(Ottawa, Canada)

On Fri, 23 Feb 2007 13:52:37 -0500, "Don Phillipson"
wrote:

"Dave" wrote in message
.. .

A non-petroleum solvent finish - shellac or lacquer - is a superior
way to go. These types of finish dry fast for rapid re-coat and are
hard enough to use in (some cases) just a day.

This is bad advice: do not act on it.
I assume you are referring to the second half of the above quote and
not the first? There *is* a qualifier in that sentence.
To be specific, do not use any finished bookshelf
until 24 hours after the finish has tested bone dry to both
the touch of your hand and a gentle wipe with a
solvent-impregnated tack rag. This usually means
allowing twice as much drying time as is printed on
the container. Humidity and temperature both affect
drying time and you have no way of knowing how
closely humidity and temperature in your workshop
approximated those in the finish company's laboratory.

Agreed
You can spoil the appearance (and market value) of
scores of books simply by shelving them a few hours
too early.

Agree, again.

How about this:
"Don't listen to anonymous posters on the 'Net, go and talk to someone
at your local professional paint store (not the Big Box stores) to get
advice for your specific geographical area. What might be good
products to use in California or Arizona this time of year might not
be appropriate in New Hampshire or the Commonwealth of Canada".

YMMV, past performance is no guarantee of future results, check with
your doctor.......

Dave

On Feb 23, 5:57 am, "Bob F." wrote:
On Feb 23, 3:07 am, wrote:

On Feb 22, 4:53 pm, Ted Jones wrote:

[...]

Should I buy unfinished and use a known finish. If so, what is the
safest coating for books?

[...]

The best advice I can give you is to forget about
"coating" your books with ANYTHING, be it
shellac, tar, honey or anthing else.. You don't
protect books by coating them. It's a crazy idea;
get over it.

palmjob, you insufferable ninny, I know you have a grammar school
reading level but even a stool sample such as you should have been
able to detect that the OP was asking about a coating for his book
shelves, not his books.
Lay off that self abuse in your "upstairs office"!

Congratulations on winning the "DUH Award."
You are the quintessential fall-guy/nitwit,
Finnan! You are also the only dullard who fell for it.
Where is your sense of humor, you pompous,
hyper-inflated bag of hot air? No doubt everyone else
was howling with laughter, but you -- dim bulb that you
clearly are -- felt called upon to "set me straight" and
dashed off a post that once again demonstrated
for all readers your exceptionally low IQ. Have a
WONDERFUL day.

[Memo from the upstairs office.]

On Feb 24, 2:08 am, wrote:
On Feb 23, 5:57 am, "Bob F." wrote:





On Feb 23, 3:07 am, wrote:

On Feb 22, 4:53 pm, Ted Jones wrote:

[...]

Should I buy unfinished and use a known finish. If so, what is the
safest coating for books?

[...]

The best advice I can give you is to forget about
"coating" your books with ANYTHING, be it
shellac, tar, honey or anthing else.. You don't
protect books by coating them. It's a crazy idea;
get over it.

palmjob, you insufferable ninny, I know you have a grammar school
reading level but even a stool sample such as you should have been
able to detect that the OP was asking about a coating for his book
shelves, not his books.
Lay off that self abuse in your "upstairs office"!

Congratulations on winning the "DUH Award."
You are the quintessential fall-guy/nitwit,
Finnan! You are also the only dullard who fell for it.
Where is your sense of humor, you pompous,
hyper-inflated bag of hot air? No doubt everyone else
was howling with laughter, but you -- dim bulb that you
clearly are -- felt called upon to "set me straight" and
dashed off a post that once again demonstrated
for all readers your exceptionally low IQ. Have a
WONDERFUL day.

Nice try palmjob but everyone knows you were serious in your original
post, you onanistic rodent dropping.