I heat the press up to 175 degrees and put the comic sandwich in for 15 minutes. Then I shut it off and let the comic and press cool down for 2 hours. This process ensures that the comic doesn’t revert to it’s previous shape and prevents curling.
Pressing can only raise a comic in the same range (e.g., 9.0 to 9.6), but it can significantly improve a low grade book.
Below is my press of Adam: Legend of the Blue Marvel #1
So, the bitter pill I had to swallow was that the rumors of CGC’s harsher grading were true, at least in my case. My previous exposure to 9.8 graded comics had me believing that many of these would fall into that category. Unfortunately, the breakdown was:
Of course, many of these were in VF+ shape when I got them, I just thought I had done a better job in the resurrection process. The true test will be my Hero for Hire #1 (1st Luke Cage) which graded at a 5.5 from CBCS before pressing. I pressed it and cleaned it just a little and submitted to CGC.