Dirt, Stains, and Grime, Oh My! Conserving Captain Midnight #19. Part 4: Betaine Results - Fail

A biological cleaning agent for removing mold stains from paper artifacts: heritagescienc...
According to the paper, Betaine has “superior deacidification, anti-acidification, anti-aging, and reinforcement capabilities, which can provide extra support to the fibrous structure in addition to cleaning the paper materials.”
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Dirt, Stains, and Grime, Oh My! Conserving Captain Midnight #19. Part 4: Betaine Results - Fail (a fix is in the next video).
Also check out these great comic book conservation channels and experts:
Jerry Jitterbug is perhaps the most watched and skilled of comic book conservators. His work is equivalent to magic and is about the only one who’s doing Leaf Casting on CZcams using a suction table. Please watch Jerry’s channel at: / @jerrythejitterbugcomi...
Dr. Paul Kosnik provides scientifically proven methods for comic book conservation and has a live show every Sunday night on Conservation. His cohosts are Phantom Phill and Captain Larry. Check Dr. Paul out at Liberty Hill Comics: / @drpaulkosnik
Captain Larry Littlepage has an excellent library of techniques into conservation. He recently built a suction station and started leaf casting. Check Larry out at Flying L Comics: / @flyinglcomics

[@allanc5323]

Educational. Thanks for your hours of conservation labor on this Fawcett project comic.

[@peteralachi3888]

Thank you, Allan, appreciate you stopping by. Stay tuned!

[@jerrythejitterbugcomicbook4098]

Looking forward to it Peter. Too bad you will have to leaf cast once again when you wash out the first rap again. Keep up the great uploads.

[@peteralachi3888]

Thank you, Jerry. Perhaps I can match the color better this time. Appreciate your support as always, my friend.

[@DrPaulKosnik]

I’d like to see a side-by-side comparison between an MC solution brushed on and the betaine solution brushed on.

[@peteralachi3888]

Betaine doesn’t really do “sizing” as we think of sizing. The paper just looks stronger and livelier after its application and it takes a while to dry then cure - at least a week, imo. I don’t know the exact mechanism behind it and I only used it for the inside wraps of this book and then Bronze Age Archie and ASM #122. The latter felt tighter than the Captain Midnight interior. So that feel is book-dependent. Although page quality appears better. Having said this, I’d be careful using Betaine because of its hygroscopic nature that can invite fungal growth on humid days (perhaps) - something left unmentioned in that paper. So Betaine isn’t comparable MC, which I use as glue, especially in conjunction tengu tissue repairs. And when used in excess, it has darkening effect on paper as you and Larry noted before. So I really cut back on its use these last few weeks. But I can do a little experiment on wraps on a Golden age for comparison and post here in the future. Will let you know, Dr Paul. Thank you for visiting and stay tuned!