Can You Soak Half a Card?
 

I recently won my first T206 HINDU in the B and L Auction last month. There is a tiny bit of paper on the front of the card in the upper right hand corner. Can i just soak the top-half of the card, or should I soak the entire card? I have never soaked a card before; this will be my first. Thanks for any advice!

you need to soak the entire card or it will cause a water stain

While I don't want to recommend something and have it not work, if it were me, I would very lightly take a Qtip.....put it in some warm water and then gently (very gently) dab it on that spot of paper. TAKE YOUR TIME AND GO SLOWLY. Most likely that paper will come off easily after it has a spot of warm water added to it....just a tiny bit right on top of it. It might leave a tiny stain but it will be better than the piece of paper. My guess is that the glue under the paper is very soluble. That is what I would do.....but I am disclaiming any damage so be careful. We don't do anything to the items we auction off except get them graded when appropriate. We were tempted to take that paper off but it's against our internal policy.

Great feedback fellas. I won't be able to do it this weekend (because we have our first big softball tourney of the year), but I'll try to do it early next week and let you know how it goes. Thanks again.

I play softball 4 times a week. Got my first out of the park homer of the year last night .
Back to the card. Once you dab the spot with warm water let it soak for 5-10 minutes before doing anything. That should loosen that piece of paper up and I wouldn't be surprised if it almost falls off without even rubbing it with the Qtip. I forgot to mention that part of the process.

It is almost always better to soak the entire card, in my opinion. It sounds like if you follow Leon's directions and are very careful you might be able to avoid a stain. But soaking just part of a card virtually guarantees staining most of the time. It can be done, but like Leon stressed, take your time and be very deliberate. Whenever possible, it's always best to experiment on whatever soaking process you're about to try by testing it on a beater before gambling on a more important card. It all depends on the type of glue.

-Ryan

I would soak the full card. It is much easier to do then you would expect.

Epic fail. Oh well. I probably wasn't patient enough. The paper came off, but so did part of the card. Oh well. You live and learn!

Which Hindu was it? Any updated pics?

Sorry to hear that Brendan. It has happened to (almost) all of us, me included.

It was the Wilbur Goode Hindu from the recent B and L auction. (Awesome auction by the way!). I'll post a pic if I can figure out how to send via iPhone. Leon I know you're a softball player too... Just not my week; broke a $300 bat yesterday, ruined my first Hindu today. As Sinatra said, that's life.... Haha

Soaking a card
 

I have done hundreds of cards without soaking them, many cards for Chat 54 members- Let our business help you- check out the web site gonewiththestain.com- thanks again.:)