Tape Residue

[Louisville_Hugger]

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.

[ASF123]

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.

[Louisville_Hugger]

Originally Posted by ASF123

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.

[ASF123]

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.

[ALR-bishop]

Welcome to the Board. Check out the 52 Gallery thread

[vintagetoppsguy]

Originally Posted by Louisville_Hugger

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.

Yes...

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

[Louisville_Hugger]

Originally Posted by vintagetoppsguy

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.

[ASF123]

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

[paul]

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.

[Eric72]

Originally Posted by paul

...soaking the card in the chemical toluene...

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.