# Cleaning, repairing, maintaining, and restoring paper-labels.



## Robby Raccoon (Aug 5, 2015)

Please share information regarding making a paper-label look new again and remain looking great.  As a restorer of books, I have a few ideas on what to do about paper-labels-- from Japanese tissue paper for attachments, to rubber cement, to acid-free markers and colored pencils for hiding wear: There are many things we can do to help the labels, but always make note when selling/trading on what you had done to them and when.  1. Before: 1950s label missing spots of color due to wear; also, the label is stained and had been damaged, but I repaired that now.
	

	
	
		
		

		
			





After: Picked off carefully (paint and such,) wiped down, and acid-free markers used to repair missing color-- shield, band, yellow and grey web-like designs all needed recoloring in spots to hide wear:
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	




Still dirty-- how do I clean it safely???????????????????????? 2. After I took acid-free rubber cement on a needle and smeared it on the bottom of ripped paper,  I then smoothed down the label to the glass using my dry, clean hands and what one might call a rounded-dowel-- make sure you line up designs and edges. Voila: It is back on a 1930s-1940s sauce:
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	




I made an error on this one and didn't have all the right shades, but it displays better by not showing all of its wear on the label (4 acid-free colors were used to hide wear.)You can see how from the "r" in "Oriental" down to the "h" in "Show" there was a big chunk of missing color. You also see the same around the edge of most of the label, and it was especially noticeable in the red sun and green portions of label.  3. And here is by far my favorite restoration: 1890s Arctic Frost Bite Cure:Both flaps to my best paper-label's box had fallen in, so I took rubber cement on a needle around the flaps and box's edge where they attached and replaced them.Rubber cement (acid-free) is flexible, so they still work.
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	




Turns into this after lining up and applying gentle pressure with clean, dry hands:
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	


Reattachment-point. Holding it up.Reattached flap number 1. 4. Now here is one that I don't know what to do with. Not all tapes are acid-free. Acid will, in 20-30 years, eat away at paper. I cannot believe that someone taped over a falling-off label, but I understand why they did it. Some of the tape was pressed on lightly, and by slowly-- ever so slowly-- pealing it away, I got some off. But I stopped as soon as it began causing severe harm to the label. I cannot use heat, water, or acid to remove this-- as far as I know-- safely. So what can I do?





T.O.C. local (I live in Muskegon) paper-label bottle: Moorland Brand Sweet Gherkins.  5. By wrapping plastic around your labels, humidity will be kept in it and help deteriorate your labels over time.Do Not Wrap Your Labels! Try keeping them in a room with low humidity-- controlled by a dehumidifier. But don't go too low, for dryness causes them to go brittle. Too high can speed up acidification. 6. And like most reactions, higher temperatures speed it up even further-- don't freeze them, but keep them in cool environments. Also, don't put them in way of direct light!  So there's what I have to say. Now, others: Please add more.


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## Robby Raccoon (Aug 5, 2015)

7. Might I also add that I collect antique and vintage paper-- I try to get many different colors, thicknesses, and types for use in restoring books and probably labels at some point. I buy ruined antique books cheaply so that I can take out usable paper, and often from restorations there is usable pieces left over.  8. A Master Set of colored pencils and acid-free markers would be helpful for when you need specific shades.  9. Always use other paper to test out shades-- don't just start coloring away on your labels, and it's not exactly coloring you do either-- touch-ups, really. Too much ink bleeds out (as in, it spreads through paper) from markers, and erasing is impossible with those and still not good to do even with colored pencils.  10. In water-damage that is fresh (still wet,) wrap paper-towel around label and remove then replace paper-towels until label is stable. A hair-drier on cool-low and at some distance can be used with books, so paper-labels should work similarly. Do not rub-- it'll smear ink and damage paper.


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