Tape Residue
 

First of all, what a great forum! I recently jumped back into collecting (primarily vintage), and this place is a wealth of information. Slowly and surely I am putting together a 1952 Topps set. I’ve found a Larry Doby card that I’m interested in on eBay, but it is listed as having tape residue across the top (front) of the card. It is barely noticeable looking at the scans provided by the seller. This is an ungraded card. Is there a safe way to remove tape residue? This would be for my personal collection with no intention of grading or any interest in making money on it in the near future.

Hello, and welcome! I've been here for about a year after also returning to collecting. I had a similar question in this thread:https://www.net54baseball.com/showthread.php?t=294951.

Turns out the short answer is no.

Thanks.....not the answer I was hoping for, but kind of what I was expecting.

The '52T Doby is a beautiful card regardless, though - I recently picked up a decent low-grade example myself. If the tape residue is barely noticeable, that sounds like an opportunity to get a card with good eye appeal at a good price.

Welcome to the Board. Check out the 52 Gallery thread

Yes...

https://www.gonewiththestain.com/home.html

Wow.....that’s some impressive work. Might contact and see what they charge. Not sure if it would be cost effective since we’re talking about a 125.00 card. Those guys definitely do quality work though.

How do they (purportedly) remove creases from cards without it being noticeable?

Many years ago, a price guide (I believe it was the Beckett guide) included an article on tape and tape stain removal. The article claimed that you could remove tape and tape stains by soaking the card in the chemical toluene. I never tried it because it seemed too scary to me. But if you're interested, you can find toluene at Home Depot.

So many things could potentially go wrong with doing that. It's almost better to just buy the card in an "A" holder, no?

After a card has been chemically soaked, it is (by definition) altered.

Prior thread


https://www.net54baseball.com/showth...with+the+stain

Ended up making a fair offer on a different 52’ Doby sans residue and the seller accepted. Might pick up some of this “toluene” and experiment on some older commons as it has my attention now.

I went to Ace to see about getting some Toluene to experiment with, and it turns out that it is frickin' banned in California. And so is regular-ass turpentine!!! It was due to some ballot proposition. My God!

Just one of many reasons why people are leaving California in droves. Such a shame. :(

I still want to experiment on some nasty tape/glue residue, but can't seem to find an answer to these simple questions:

1. Am I allowed to own toluene in California, or will the storm troopers come for me?

2. Is someone allowed to send me toluene through the mail/UPS/Fed-Ex, or is that illegal?

When I asked sellers (from the USA) on eBay these questions, I just get replies like, "California doesn't like kids sniffing the stuff." My response was, "Yes, I know that, but that doesn't answer either of my questions." And their reply? "It's bad for the ozone."

Oy freakin' vey!!!!

Does anyone have any actual insight? I was going to ask someone from back home to ship some out to me, if it's allowed. I'm sure even if I get some, it'll be ineffective, but my curiosity is peaked...and heck, I got all of these masks lying around to protect me from the fumes.

Thanks for the link!

Yeah, it seems it's all based on "...with the intent to breathe, inhale, or ingest for the purpose of causing a condition of intoxication..." aspect, but want to make sure 'Big Brother' doesn't think I'm a glue-sniffing mutha-effer who's ready for a stay in Al Capone's cell on Alcatraz. :rolleyes:

I ain’t no lawyer, but I think you’re fine to possess it as long as you aren’t huffing it in the garage ;). But California laws and what they like to try and arrest people for are often different

Yup, I can smash and grab anything I want from the stores and they won't bat an eye, but have a chemical they deem bad??????? Burn him at the stake!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

If Big Brother spent some time reading Net54, they'd probably think most of us were glue-sniffing mutha-effers.

Now, pardon me while I go back to working on that model airplane...