[FrankWakefield]

Altering cards, shake my head. The tape altered the card... removing the tape is unaltering it, don't ya reckon?

The question asked wasn't 'is removing athletic take from the back of a card altering it?' The question was how to do it.

The hairdryer, tweezers maybe, lots of patience... consider a bit of 91% isopropyl alcohol on the end of a Q-tip to gently tease the tape bits and GRADUALLY see if it releases a bit.

Now, I can see some validity in offering such a card that has been coaxed back to a more original state as unaltered when you know it was, validity in perceiving that is unethical. I agree with that. But we're not talking about reconstructing a card, teasing paper fibers back onto it, restoring ink, and such. This is removing tape that wasn't on there to start with.

If I spill a drop of coffee onto a white border tobacco card that's laying nearby, that card will instantly get soaked by me. You guys that think you have no soaked T206s in your collections are deceiving yourselves; most of those cards were soaked at some point 2, 3, or 4 generations ago.

So try the hairdryer, try a nonpolar solvent, going VERY gently and slowly. Then don't send the card off to be graded, just keep it in your collection.

I'm gonna alter a few dirty dishes then go to bed.