Friday, January 9, 2009

We have started on the covers, finally. After Caitlin and Nancy worked out the prototype, and found and ordered the proper plastic sleeves for the job, we just have to start digging in and doing the work. It makes the most sense to work on a box at a time, to get a bit of a assembly-line thing going. I first separate the dirty cardboard supports from the sheets with the printed images; sometimes these slip off easily, others require considerable coaxing. Once the entire box is free if its smelly cardboards, I begin dry cleaning each cover with a dusting of gound eraser crumbs, lightly massaging the surface to pick up the dirt. A good bit of it flakes off, but so far there has still been staining after dry cleaning. We did the 45s first, and Gary recommended we swipe the still dirty areas lightly with cotton dampened with vulpex and water. This seems to remove some staining, but I do test the inks for colorfastness. I have done two boxes so far this way, and Caitlin has taken over flattening them, since she really wanted an excuse to use the fancy sealer. After they are all clean and flat, I can slide them into the sleeve with the new .20 three flap supports. And then we coo at them, because they are finished and pretty.