Topps complete set “bricking”

[JustinD]

Originally Posted by HasselhoffsCheeseburger

I wish I had a nickel for every time I heard someone say put them in a freezer. The cards are bricked because the ultraviolet gloss fused on a molecular level with another card's gloss. When they cooled down they solidified again on a molecular level except now the cards are fused together.

You can't reverse that fusion by simply making them cold and solidifying them further. Once cards are bricked, they're bricked. You may get a group that you're able to carefully separate without damage but it has nothing to do with spending time in the freezer.

Arthur

I have done it hundreds of times, but yes they don’t fall apart they have to be separated. It simply makes them easier to separate as the gloss is crisp and in an hardened state and less likely to snow another card.

I would say that describing melted gloss as fusing on a molecular level like atomic bonding is an odd comparison as molecular fusion would by definition create a new item by combining atoms to a greater nuclei. The gloss melts slightly and dries together, they are not exchanging protons and neutrons.

Making the gloss as crisp and hard as possible eases the separation as they are in still two natural separate items by nature. The melting has caused a mild viscosity that then dried giving surface tension, this can be snapped as the card is stronger than the bond. Again, freezing does not separate cards, it only makes it less likely to be damaged as the cold gloss is a cleaner break in the tension as it is in its weakest state.

In any case, people can do as they will. I would experiment with leaving a few packs of early Pinnacle out in sun on a 90 degree day then bring them inside and try methods. I have met people that say to put them out in the sun and make the gloss viscous again. I tried that and while they did come apart easier, it completely removed the gloss from huge spots, lol. What a mess that was