Kurt's Card Care

[Snowman]

Originally Posted by Lucas00

It's a big deal and shouldn't be done ever unless it's plain water being used to remove excess foreign material, or from a scrapbook.

There are cards in slabs that were cleaned with chemicals now showing signs years later of regression (stains coming back, creases popping back up etc. And no pressing out creases never truly removes them) and in my opinion pouring chemicals on paper probably accelerates natural deterioration of the paper. Watch Orlandos video of his card he bought that had no stain originally but now shows the nasty stain that was chemically removed years prior.

Not to mention the clear loss in clarity that occurs. Sure the cards look brighter, but dramatic detail is lost, again showcased perfectly in Orlandos video. I can see it the most around the subjects face it is almost akin to taking a card that is perfectly focused to slightly out of focus.


https://youtu.be/KYCkxXUb9u8

I like Orlando, but he doesn't know what he's talking about in that video. The stain was always there. You can see it in the before photo. The images he posted for before and after just use drastically different settings for contrast, brightness, exposure, etc.

At one point, he holds the PSA graded copy next to the SGC copy and claims that any color differences they have are due to "chemicals" being used on the card (nevermind the fact that the one he claims was altered actually has *better* color). This is of course nonsense. Then he starts talking about how if the stain was present when PSA graded it then they would have given it a 2 and not a 6. Again, this is nonsense and demonstrates remarkable ignorance of PSA's grading standards. They regularly assign 6s to stained cards even to this day. I could post numerous examples of them.

Most cards that were removed from scrapbooks like this one were simply removed with water. If the glue is water soluble, it will come out easily with just water. No "harsh chemicals" necessary. If the glue is not water soluble, then you would need a solvent that is so harsh that it would destroy the card.

Furthermore, this claim that we don't know the long term effects of soaking cards and that it poses serious risks is also nonsense. People have been soaking cards for more than a century. There is a long established history of the effects of soaking cards. There are millions of soaked cards in slabs. Properly cleaning and soaking cards preserves them. It does not destroy them. There is an entire field dedicated to the preservation and safe restoration techniques of paper artifacts.