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Collector
 
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Something I've wondered for a while, but what causes these? (actually I suppose I don't really understand what Foxing is? :dontknow What can you do to prevent them happening? what should you do if you notice it ocuring can you stop it getting worse once its been started. What other probelems should I be aware of when storing comics with Foxing and rust i.e. Is it right to keep books showing signs with other comcic, I suppose what I am asking is, is contagious and damaging to other books.Sorry to be asking so many questions but I thought it would be nice to know. Cheers
Are Arbitary Labels more important than the way we live our lives, what we're supposed to be more important than what we actually are?!
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| Here is my take on rust. Please take this as a novice reply. A couple of years ago when rebagging my whole collection I found a small handful of comics with rust. In most cases I had owned these since new and have since become a bit obsessed with preventing it in the future. My understanding is for rust to occur you need oxygen and moisture to be in contact with the staple. Reducing the amount of both in your comic room will thefore help mitigate against rust occurring on your staples. Bagging and boarding your comics will help with the oxygen part of the equation and go for sealed bags not open top mylar. In terms of moisture just the normal amount of moisture in the atmosphere can cause rust. This will be worst in humid climates. I have three dehumidifiers that I now use to regulate the amount of water in my two comic rooms. A quality dehumidifier will allow you to set the amount of moisture you want to extract from the atomsphere. I was astonished at how much moisture they can extract when I started using them - pulling a large bucket full in just a couple of days with more on days when it's been hot and raining together. I understand that some silicon products can help with moisture absorbtion but I have not looked into these yet. In addition make sure your boxes are not stored up against an exterior wall where damp can build up and try and locate your comic room so it's not adjacent to any bathrooms. Earl.
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Collector
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I Think I am going to have to buy a de-humidifier, Unfortunately I don't have a dedicated room so the boxes are simply in my Bedroom. Earle, what measures did you take once you found the rust? Obviously It can only get worse, Would replacing staples be a no no? 
Are Arbitary Labels more important than the way we live our lives, what we're supposed to be more important than what we actually are?!
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Friend of CPG
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| Luckily all the stuff I had with rust was low value. The common stuff I replaced the comic and threw away the rusty comic. The low value but hard to find stuff (like the UK title Lucky Charm) I have removed the staples but saved them. I am not a ultra high grade collector but I can't stand rusty staples. The de-humififier is even more important if you are storing them in an occupied bedroom. It's amazing how much bodily fluid is absorbed into the atmosphere as you sleep. The only trouble with running a de-humid in the bedroom is they can be quite noisy. Earl.
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Elite Collector
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An air conditioner would serve to do the same thing. Air conditioners remove moisture from the air. They will not remove it all but the excesses which place paper collectibles at risk.
Foxing is a mild mildewing/molding. Again what you store your books in and the environment they are in will control or completely eliminate this.
I have always said what you store your books in is far less important than the environment the books are in. Keep in mind some of the nicest pedigree collections were never stored in the bags, boards, and in the manner in which many people store their books today (ie Church stored his books in stacks not vertically which is supposedly a bad thing)
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Elite Collector
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| Rust is bad umkay, especially if it has migrated to the paper. Since I wash and dry covers I have paid close attention to humidity and moisture . A dehumidifier is the way to go. If you share the room with the dehumidifier just run it when your not in there as it wont need to run 24/7. I have a humidity monitor and I can tell you this, that dry air stuff doesn't do crap, Air condition will drop the humidity but not as low as the dehumidifier. 27 % is the lowest I can go and at that point not much water is coming out. Another thing I do is put desiccants in the comic bag. They actually work at collecting moisture. I use the indicating kind so I know when they are full and they are reusable. I don't store it permanently that way, I just leave them in till they stop changing colors. As for replacing the staples, I am unclear if that is considered restoration as overstreet says the can be changed and graded normally. If the staple is rusted you should probably pull it out before it migrates to the paper. You can remove rust from paper but its not pretty. Here is an example of rust migration: 
Here it is after I tried to remove rust. I got the siloette out but not all of the crusty stuff. 
 My Mission : To become a respected professional paper conservator/restorer 
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