[caramelcard]

Nice post Rhett.

I've soaked thousands of cards and learned many lessons. I don't soak randomly to improve cards, but mostly to remove from albums that I have found over the years. Different issues need to approached in different ways, but T206 (and T206 era non-sports) hold up better to a longer soak.

M116 is a tricky issue to soak and the colors wash out very easy which is why you see so many faded colors with these. Same with E98 and E94.

I use hot water and try not to leave the cards unattended for a long period of time. I also think distilled water is unnecessary unless you live in Phoenix or Vegas or somewhere with really bad tap water. To reiterate what Rhett mentioned, many 19th century cards can not be soaked for long at all before they separate and should be watched.

If you have an album with cards that are back to back, that will be your biggest challenge. Have Q Tips handy and don't hurry any paper off of cards unless you have to sacrifice one card to save another which can happen with back to back glue.

As previous posts mention, change the water during soaks and inspect and rinse the cards before pressing as they usually have bits of paper or glue remnants from the water that stick to them. Pat them dry before pressing.

Take your time with how long you let them dry between books.

Happy soaking!

Rob