Anatomy of a T206 Soaking

[Leon]

Originally Posted by trdcrdkid

I've soaked many trade cards over the last 20 years, including full and partial scrapbook pages, as well as a smaller number of T206s and other tobacco cards. How successful a soaking is depends largely on what type of glue was used, and you never really know that until the soaking is under way; however, the skill of the soaker also plays a part. Here's how I do it:

* I generally use a wide, shallow baking pan, though this partly has to do with the fact that most trade cards are bigger than tobacco cards, so putting them in a glass, as the original poster showed, won't really work. That's especially true for full scrapbook pages, which is how I got my start soaking more than 20 years ago.

* I fill it at least half an inch to an inch deep with warm-to-hot tap water. I've found that water from my kitchen faucet at its hottest setting is fine for soaking, and will not damage cards.

* I put the card or cards flat in the water with the paper/glue side up. You may see bubbling when the glue hits the hot water, but that's not necessary for a successful soak. If a card keeps floating to the surface rather than staying completely underwater, I may use a spoon to hold it down, leaning the spoon handle on the side of the pan.

* I generally let the cards soak for at least 5 or 10 minutes, unless the paper starts separating from the card all by itself. I'll try at this point, using my fingers or a Q-tip, to see if the paper is starting to come off. If it is, I'll do what I can to separate it from the card, carefully, always watching to make sure there's no paper being lost from the back of the card. If there is, I'll stop and let it soak some more.

* If the paper isn't coming off after 5 or 10 minutes, I'll let the card soak for another 15 or 20 minutes and try again as above. If the paper is coming off, great; if not, I let it soak some more. Once the water has cooled down to room temperature, I'll take the cards out, put them on a paper towel, refill the pan with warm-to-hot water as above, and put the cards back in to soak. I've sometimes had to do this multiple times and soak cards for over an hour. If that's what it takes, that's what you need to do.

* If the paper doesn't come completely off in one piece, I may need to try getting it off gradually, using my finger or (usually better) a Q-tip. This is where skill and experience comes in. You don't want to scrape it too hard, thus making the chance of paper loss much greater, but sometimes you need to rub at the paper and glue repeatedly until it starts to come off bit by bit. I always watch carefully for signs of paper loss at this point, and stop if I see any. I'll try soaking some more before trying again, but sometimes you encounter a glue that's not going to come off without some damage.

* After all the paper is off, I rub the back of the card with my finger or a Q-tip to get all the glue off. You can usually tell when it's off, because the back of the card stops being slippery or sticky (as it is when there's still glue). If you don't get the glue off before drying the card, you'll have problems.

* I press the cards between two paper towels in order to soak up as much of the water as possible.

* I then put a fresh paper towel on a book or other flat surface, put the cards on it, put another fresh paper towel on top of them, and then put a stack of books (or another flat, heavy object) on top of that.

* I let the cards dry for at least three or four days, changing the paper towels after the first day. When they're done drying, I remove the paper towels carefully, making sure none of the paper is sticking to the cards (which may mean there was some glue left on the cards).

I think I do an abbreviated version of this method. I would reiterate to be very, very gentle and as you said, watch out for paper coming up with the residue and stop quickly.