I think if you soak that in water the discoloring will diminish very slightly. It won't hurt anything, give it an overnight try...


What would cause some of that old tape adhesive to dissolve and release a bit would be a non-polar solvent. Back up there 105 degrees is mentioned as the angle on the hydrogen atoms. I think 107 to 107.5 is closer to correct. 107 is what I'd recalled from years ago... Anyway, that angle puts water in as a polar solvent. Lighter fluid would be non-polar. It would dissolve that tape residue a bit, but not completely. It would also leave its own residue, and a smell. I don't advocate its use. Carbon tet, which was available when I was a kid, was a good non-polar solvent, too good... it isn't readily available now.

A year or so ago I would never imagine soaking a 100 yr old card... after reading various threads on this forum, seeing actual results and getting first hand advice from you guys, I think I'll give this one a shot. Besides, it's not in the best of shape anyway. Thanks again Frank for sharing your knowledge and expertise.... top-notch! Best regards, Mike Schulze

What about Gold Borders?
 

Thanks for all of the info. I tried soaking an old T206 that was pasted in a scrapbook and it had a Hindu back. The soaking worked pretty good, but I noticed on one card I did the white borders came out a little darker/"dirty". Not much, but they were definitely not as white as when I put the card in. Any suggestions?

Also, is soaking ok on Gold Border cards?

First, when you soak a card that's got lots of crap on it, with it, pasted to it... you might want to change the water a time or two... or three.


As for that card, soak it again. Twice, changing water.

Yes it is. I have done several of them recently and they all turned out nicely. As with soaking any card you must keep and eye on them and make sure you don't soak to long or you run the risk of taking some of the back away as well. To also echo what Frank said you must change water frequently. I soak one card at a time and change water for every card regardless of whats on it. Why?? You don't want any dirt or maybe even glue or oil residues transferring from one to another. Maybe excessive but can't be to careful.

Pup and Frank,

Thanks to both of you for your responses. I will try to changing the water more often, I only changed once with the card that got
"dirty". I also had three in there at once, I will do one at a time. Glad I am practicing with the beaters. I will give it a shot with the Gold Borders too, thanks again.

After reading this thread, I decided to try this. I took an E95 Chance that was dirty (especially along the left border) and was very pleased with the results. I just got it back from SGC yesterday. It didn't grade any higher (and I could really care less), but it gave it a lot more eye appeal.

Before
http://i185.photobucket.com/albums/x.../E95Chance.jpg

After
http://i185.photobucket.com/albums/x...E95Chance2.jpg

Very nice David, turned out great. I soaked 5 t205s after reading this thread and was also very pleased with the results.

I'm not a card soaker but have no problem with those who are. I tried a few T206s years ago with mixed results. The one card set I would caution fellow collectors to NOT SOAK is the E94 set. You are playing with fire. :(

Nice result David

Brockelman & Luckey card gets soaked
 

This card was obtained 2009 B&L Auction. Had this George Washington paper afixed to the back. Decided to take a chance and soak it and see what happened.

Here is the result.

Does have small amt paper loss right lower corner(present before George was pasted on as nothing on the Washington I took off).

Used plain tap water, warm. Took only about 3 minutes for paper to come off.

awesome! I got a FILTHY t202 cobb, do you think a t202 would soak properly?

Attachment 36016

Beantown stamp cards
 

....

I would use warm water and let it sit for an hr. Remove it and do again till the results are satisfactory. Maybe find a thin and tall unit to soak in and stand it on end?

While warm water loosens up dirt quicker, cool or room temperature water will fade the water soluble inks less quickly. I suggest using cold tap water, and if there's ink on the card from a pen or a stamp, watch it for a few minutes, to see if that ink starts dissolving or bleeding. And change the water more often.

I've not soaked a triple folder, but I think they would soak just fine. I've only owned one of those. If you have more than one, soak someone other than the Cobb, first, just to see how it goes. Seems to me that they're contemporary with T205's, 6's, and 7's, and from similar material, so they should soak just fine.

First of all I must say I am not a fan of soaking. In my humble opinion, I feel it is an alteration. That being said I would like to share the following. The 1925 Exhibit card below was accidenately left out in the rain, along with other mail, for two days. After I discovered it total bloated and bendable, I figured the card was a total loss so I threw it on my dash board, still in the soft plastic holder. After another two days, it had dried out so I took it out of the sheet and put it on a shelf and forgot about it untill a couple days ago. Am amazed how the ink did not run after at least 3 days of being soaked, guess they dont make ink like they used to. After this experience, I could safely say 1925 Exhibits (and most other similar Exhibits) stand up very well to being soaked, even if your not trying.
http://i168.photobucket.com/albums/u...bitspeaker.jpg

First soaking...
 

This Sweeney from the Beantown lot I purchased was pretty dirty. Tried an overnight soak and it cleaned up only slightly... more time in the dip?

http://gallery.me.com/kimsummers/100...13023837090001
http://gallery.me.com/kimsummers/100...13023837090001

I don't know erik,that may be it??:d

there may not be a point to getting it cleaner since it has paper loss on the back. It would only be a "2" based on that alone.

Just back from SGC
 

I don't know if the soaking made a difference or not, but the card came back as a 40 from SGC.

Wow! Isn't that paperloss in the C and G of Cigarette?

I had a tiny spot in the white on a Near Mint cornered card that came back "2". That's what I was basing my experience on. Have submitted others with paperloss spots (not patches) and always come back SGC 30.

soaking cards
 

Andrew, why don't you allow "Gone with the stain" to do the work- after all would I soak of the jackson card from the Edwards auction- no-my solvents will do that without harm to anything, as you know we have 17 years doing this business-- beside I can offer you a deal you can't refuse--

Recently bought this card and love it but there is noticeable dirt on it. Any opinions, should I crack it out and have it cleaned? Who does that? I would be afraid to try it.

I thought I remembered reading that T227s were made with water soluable ink and that soaking them would be a no-no. I have never tried it, but that is stuck in my head for some reason.

My recollection is different. I think they soak just fine.

That card looks good to me. But I suspect the slabbers will reconsider those top corners, and their wrinkles; so that even if the dirt detaches after a soak, the grade might stay the same, or even go down. Possibly.

to me
 

Those look like stains more than dirt to me. I would leave it alone... It's a very nice looking card as is ..

I've soaked TONS of cards.........but primarily to remove foreign objects. I've never seen a noticeable change in the coloring or dirtiness (is that a word?) of the card. I guess if you use something other than water or distilled water, you could see a difference and have some dirt removed buy my primary success has been in removing cards from albums. If they're nice when they went in, they'll usually come out nice. If they were crappy or dirty, they generally look like that after they come off the page. I've heard of people soaking in the Bestine solution but I've never tried that.............

Thanks very much for the input fellas, I think I will leave the card as is.

Soaking?
 

How about this card here? Can I clean the dirt off if I crack and soak for a couple of days?

Nice card
 

But dirt appears to be the least of the concern :D

In my opinion, I would leave it as is.

r/
Frank

looks like an accident waiting to happen. Leave it in the holder or it will fall apart with a stiff breeze! :)

I'd be afraid to soak that card for fear of doing more damage.

soaking a Diamond Star
 

I decided to take a leap of faith with this soaking process. I have owned this rather dirty/stained Diamond Star for a couple of decades. I never had the courage to try this before yesterday. I submerged the card in luke warm water for 30 minutes and pressed it for 24 hours as suggested. The image on the left is the cleaned version and the one on the right is pre-drowning. Although the cleaned version looks brighter I'n not sure it is necessarily an improvement. There appears to be some color loss on the bottom left of the card. I'n not sure if that is a result of the soaking or was revealed by the soaking. Nonetheless, this is my last attempt at this.

I prefer the post-soaked Lombardi card (the one on the left). Despite the tiny specks of paper loss, it comes across as having better eye appeal. It would easily add $5 to $10 dollars to my bid!

Lovely Day...

soaking cards
 

I have enjoyed reading the stories about soaking, since this is my business "GONE WITH THE STAIN" FOR 17 YEARS, I Would like to comment, soaking can be a accident waiting to happen, you can soak and get card crap off, but can you remove the heavy glue without ripping the card or creating a even bigger stain. This fine gentleman who worked of the " Ernie" card, pressing will not work, the card looks like a pancake, to help him if he needs this- put the card in luke warm water- for about 5 minutes,let the card swell, paper will raise, and leave it alone. If anybody wants to work on paper, at least call me so I can help them with water,my solvents- not water- remove dirt, it relaxes even paper wrinkles and removes heavy glue. I have done many albums for collectors,dealers with great results-- and even clean the dirt also. Let me know if I can help any chat 54 member-- and yes many chat 54 members have used my service, but again,this is free advice to help--- 315 375 8542 I am waiting on the Edwards auction to help the winner on the jackson glued in--that is my wish. Thank you all very much.

Soaking a Mecca Double Folder
 

I have a Mecca card which was pasted or glued to cardboard backing. I know that I will be able to remove it during a good soak. I have never soaked a Mecca. Have you soaked one of these? Ok for a dip in the water? Thanks in advance.

You should be ok with a soak on that card. I would make sure the card is flat in the dish to reduce risk of separation on the fold. Take your time with it

Thanks so much Andrew for the nod that these are ok to soak.

I soaked my Mecca and everything went great. There is a bit of a stain on the back where the adhesive was stuck for many decades, but overall it turned out great. No ink run, no paper loss and no separation at the fold.

Post some scans of before and after if you can

Pre and post-soak pics
 

Here are the results. I don't have a good image of the pre-soaked card when it was attached to the cardboard backing, so the image is super fuzzy from being blown up and cropped. The other three are post-soak scans. I think it turned out well. These cards are so cool!