Card soaking ??

[John V]

Is it safe to soak a 1955 Topps baseball card?

[Volod]

Only if you don't care what it looks like after the bath.

[John V]

I take that as a "No".

[brob28]

Yes, that is a no John, the card stock won't hold up to the soaking.

[Doug]

I tried to soak a beat up 1952 Topps common just to see what would happen and the front came out totally blank. Oddly enough the back did come out cleaner so it kinda worked as long as you didn't need to see what the player looked like anymore. :)

[Spike]

I've done a number of soaks with 1950s cards, almost always as a cleaning method to remove scrapbook paste and improve readability. Whether you should do it depends on the desired outcome. Do you want to remove something stuck on the front or back? Make it pliable and iron out card wrinkles? (To temper expectations, soaking almost never improves a grade, as the drying process can introduce warping or remove color.)

[John V]

Thanks for the feedback. The card I had in mind has what best can be described as a bend or indentation probably caused by a 1950s rubber band (gumband in Pittsburgh).

[1966CUDA]

I bought a '58 Wilhelm with wax stain on front and rubberband marks on both edges. I was able to clean the wax off the front with a nylion cloth. I soaked the card overnite and then pressed in a large book between a paper towel & wax paper with 150 pounds of weights on top. Here are the before and then after pictures.
BEFORE:
http://i29.photobucket.com/albums/c291/1966CUDA/HOYTBEFORE.jpg
http://i29.photobucket.com/albums/c291/1966CUDA/HOYTBEFORE2.jpg

AFTER:
http://i29.photobucket.com/albums/c291/1966CUDA/img522-1.jpg

http://i29.photobucket.com/albums/c291/1966CUDA/img521-1.jpg

[John V]

Nice job. I'm sure you are pleased with the front. Did the bends go completely away? It appears so in the scan.

[a761506]

Certain things can be removed or significantly reduced from the soaking process. In the case of the Wilhelm card above, that card was initially warped, most likely due to water damage.

Most cards can be soaked with a positive outcome, you really need to know how to dry them properly so they do not warp.

Rubber band type indentations are unlikely to be removed entirely from soaking, but you can certainly lessen their appearance and make the card present nicer. You may need to use an ordinary spoon and apply a little pressure after water is thoroughly absorbed into the card (it takes 30-60 minutes submerged in the water for the card stock fibers to relax). The longer you leave it in the water, the more "bleaching" effect the water will have on the card, but leaving it in longer will not improve your chances of reducing the rubber band marks.