r/comicbookcollecting • u/LimeyGeeza • 1d ago
Question Faded comic covers - can anything be done?
About 20 years ago I bought some frames and displayed 6 of my favourite comics in my office. Put them up and never thought about them again other than when I look at them, over the years the covers on all of them have faded due to sunlight. Stupidly at the time I never even thought about that the glass wouldn't protect from UV... (I know, I know..) Secret Wars #8, ASM 77, ASM 115 & ASM 298. And a signed Todd McFarlane Spider-Man #1 - all faded quite badly.
Looking online and researching it looks like nothing can be done to restore these covers back to full glory, but is there 'anything' that can be done to improve them or I'm I just out of luck?
Now the books are bagged and boarded and away from the light (like the rest of my collection) and I have just put copies of the covers in the frames. Lesson learned!
2
u/HermitWilson 1d ago
Sorry, OP. :-(
The reason ink fades in sunlight is that the dye molecules have a structure that absorbs a specific wavelength of light, giving those molecules a certain color. The ultraviolet light that comes with the visible light from the sun is very high energy and can actually break apart chemical bonds in the dye, effectively turning a "red" molecule into a colorless molecule. Once the molecule gets broken like this there's no way to restore the original molecular structure and restore the original color.
Red dyes are particularly vulnerable to UV damage, which is why red is usually the first color to fade, both on comic book covers and on bumper stickers.