Protect exterior of slipcase with scotchguard "like" material.

Hello,

I have a few folio society books with really beautiful slipcases. Dune, Atlas Shrugged, the Jane Austen books, etc... Despite my best intentions, I worry that over the years the beautiful slipcases will get rubbed and worn. That is, after all, their purpose.

Is there a "scotchguard like" protective coating I can put on my slipcases to protect the exterior design? Obviously not scotchguard itself, because it is for fabric.

Thanks much,
Evelyn

It's very hard to do such a thing in a way that is _both_ hard-wearing and invisible.

The hard-wearing approach is to make a casing of stiff clear polyester / Mylar sheet. This is basic library practice. Of course that's very obvious, but then for slip cases on a shelf, is that so bad?

As an applied surface treatment you're now trading invisibility for not being so hard-wearing and also the compromise of conservation, in that you might wish to avoid making permanent changes. This is becoming conservator's work rather than librarian's. Usually a conservator would avoid doing such a thing unless it had become necessary. There are many materials for such Klucel G, PVA AYAC and B-72, but they're not really up to wear resistance! An easy "retail" source for similar materials is the ubiquitous ModPodge (I can hear the gasps of horror). This is not regarded as a conservation grade material, mostly through ignorance as to what's in it and the long-term stability, but it is a useful material for something with the value of an attractive but replaceable Folio slipcase that is otherwise going into shelf-wear unarmoured. But again, it's not exactly hard-wearing. Note that ModPodge also comes in varieties of sheen, and the matt grades really are near-invisible.

https://www.conservation-wiki.com/wiki/BPG_Consolidation,_Fixing,_and_Facing#Aqu...

Well, if you're REALLY worried about this and want to PERMANENTLY protect your slipcases from wear, give them two coats of clear, flat (not shiny) Krylon or a similar product. Sprays on, so do it outside or in a very well ventilated room. Works like a charm and gives your slipcase an armor coating. I used this on a slipcase I made years ago. I covered it with the only paper I had available at the time: school grade construction paper, a VERY soft paper that rubs easily. Gave it two coats of Krylon and it became armor plated. No wear and tear...and a waterproof exterior.

I wouldn't generally recommend doing this, though. With care, your slipcases should last for a long time, although I do have a couple of them that are prone to wear and have been considering this approach to them.

Some people just throw the slipcases away. *shudder* A drastic and barbaric practice, but some folks think slipcases are ugly and don't want them defacing their pretty bookshelves. I'm not one of them.

Some people like slipcases, others don't. I don't think calling either side barbaric is helpful. Some people might even like these stupid ribbon bookmarks that so many hard cover books seem to have recently. I cut them out of my books. My book, my choice.

I handled some Stephen King books in deluxe collector editions from the Dark Tower series. They had these slipcases (purchased separately) that would each hold two books. But they were not wide enough to let one place a protector on the jackets. Who designed this, I wonder? Are they oblivious to the importance of protectors to prevent nicks, creases, scuffs, and other damage that can erase huge percentages of the value of these premium editions. One might be able to use the protectors without a paper backing but those don't provide much protection.

The notion of making a "permanent" change to something is contradictory to normal archival procedures. Usually you want to do things that are not permanent. They should be something reversible. You can take off a jacket protector and replace it with a fresh better one years later.

James

>5 Keeline: "The notion of making a "permanent" change to something is contradictory to normal archival procedures."

Quite so, which is why I would not recommend Krylon as a regular treatment. But then, there are those to whom normal archival procedures mean little or naught. That is theirs to decide.

>4 MarthaJeanne: You have your opinions, I have mine. I like slipcases and marker ribbons. You go your way, I'll go mine. Enjoy your books your way. I shall do the same. But my opinions, helpful or otherwise, are mine and I reserve the right to express them.

>3 Glacierman: What's "Krylon"?

I'm in the UK. We have Krylon as a US maker of spray paint, but I guess there's a particular product you're thinking of?

>8 Andy_Dingley: be careful to use it in a well ventilated area as it is known to cause cancer

>8 Andy_Dingley: DuPont Krylon includes spray paint as well as a clear acrylic product which comes with either a glossy or matte finish. I've used the matte version as a protective coating for artwork as well as other, similar purposes.

I use Prolene (a brand of book covering material which comes on rolls) for odd-sized books instead of book jackets. I have a couple of boxed series so, to protect the slip case, I wrapped it in Prolene and cut an opening to access the books inside. Works well enough.

Well I see things got a little heated...

What I would consider is making a "book shoe" - it's like making half or 3/4 of a slip case *for* the slip case. There's some information here, and you can find a good instructional video on the big online free video site.

https://www.nedcc.org/free-resources/preservation-leaflets/4.-storage-and-handli...

>12 fayevert: We tend to forget that the slipcase was invented as a protection for the book it contains. That the slipcase itself should need to be protected was never part of that original concept, but is, rather, the result of an obsession of some collectors bent on making sure that the perceived monetary value of their acquisitions is preserved intact and in toto. That is certainly not to say that such desires are wrong, but it is, I think, the product of the perception of the book AND ITS PROTECTIVE CONTAINER as an investment, a perception not shared by everyone, not even by all collectors.

The purpose of any enclosure after all, whether slipcase, solander/clamshell case or some other book box is to PROTECT THE BOOK ITSELF because the BOOK is the thing. It is intended to take the damage instead of the book. A slipcase for a slipcase is, to me, illogical.

NOT EVERYONE WILL AGREE WITH ME, or do I expect them to. Anyone who wishes to protect the protector may do so, but I shan't for the reasons given above.

I saw some custom made slipcases for fragile books born without a slipcase at a second hand bookshop recently. The idea was that some of the pulp scifi magazines were almost too fragile to be shelved, but with a slipcase in stiff paper it was not a problem.

>14 bnielsen: And archival storage for such things is available at Hollinger Metal Edge.
Acid free storage.

>13 Glacierman: I don't need you to explain what a slipcase is. I spend some of my work week making them and protective enclosures for historical reference books.

As the OP stated, they have sets from the Folio Society which *are* intended to be collector's items and have not only exterior decoration but sometimes even illustrations inside the slipcase.

The cover of a book was merely intended to protect the textbook until it became a decorated and valued part of the book.

The dust jacket of a book was merely intended to protect the cover, but it too became a valued decorative part of the book.

The OP asked how to protect the slipcase, not what anyone's personal opinions were.

>16 fayevert: "The OP asked how to protect the slipcase, not what anyone's personal opinions were."

I know. I had already responded to that request (no. 3 above).

"I don't need you to explain what a slipcase is. I spend some of my work week making them and protective enclosures for historical reference books."

And how am I supposed to know that? Sorry if I stepped on your toes, but not everybody has your body of knowledge to draw upon. And I did note that not everyone would agree with me.

Your comments on covers and dustjackets are spot on, and the same goes for slipcases. I just find this progression absurdly funny. So in time, I suppose, we'll have protection for the protectors of the slipcase which protects the dustjacket which protects the covers which protects the text block. Where will it end?

>17 Glacierman: "And how am I supposed to know that?"

It's a good idea to go through life assuming that everyone you interact with is competent until evidence emerges otherwise. Yes, that includes people who don't agree with you, don't talk as nicely as you, and people with obvious intellectual disabilities.

>18 fayevert: Prickly, aren't you?