posted on August 1, 2001 09:27:34 PM
Hey, guys! I discovered this almost by accident, and maybe all of you know this already. This is a way to clean COATED (only) dust jackets.
I have a bottle of something called De-Solv-It that dissolves glued-on stuff like price tags and glue residue from all sorts of items.
Recently I used it on a dust jacket that had the glue from a sticker still on it, sticking stubbornly. Came right off. Now I've discovered I can clean the whole dust jacket IF IT'S COATED and isn't just plain paper.
Put a few drops on a soft cloth, rub the glue off and then just lightly rub the whole dust jacket. You'll be surprised how much dirt comes off, even from "like new" books.
Don't rub hard, or scrub, though. And wipe off the dust jacket with a clean cloth afterwards, to remove any residue.
If I'm the last person to learn about this, please let me know so I can request the thread be locked! Don't want to look too dumb. ~Adele
[ edited by roadsmith on Aug 1, 2001 09:30 PM ]
posted on August 1, 2001 09:56:30 PM
Thanks for the tip.
Lighter fluid (naptha) works much the same way. It evaporates in seconds and leaves no residue or stains. I use it a lot on paper to remove stickers and residue.
It also removes sticker goop from glass and and other items of course.
posted on August 2, 2001 12:31:43 AM
I use mineral spirits. Can be used on most any dust jacket - and paper, too. If it's not a coated (shiny) dust jacket, test first in an unimportant, unnoticeable place. There are a few dust jackets from the '50's where mineral spirits will dissolve the ink. Rachael Carson's THE SILENT SPRING comes to mind. For cleaning, I use Johnson Wax's PLEDGE. But just a little. Then you have to rub, rub, rub to get it all off.
