Cards that CAN and CANNOT be soaked?!

[ElCabron]

Originally Posted by h2oya311

I have a really beat up 1973 Venezuelan Sticker album (missing cover, back, and it looks like a mouse had a field day on the edges), but the stickers look pretty nice.

Would this be soakable?

Derek,

Unfortunately, the Venezuelan albums from the 70s are some of the most unsoakable that exist. Almost always have the worst glue possible that NEVER comes off. You might as well just tear them out of the album if you want them out. I'm not saying it's impossible or can't happen, I've just never had success. And I've tried. Over and over. Might be worth trying a sample page just to see. Maybe you'll get lucky. Don't even think about doing the page with Rice until you've had success with other pages, though. The good news is they're often only glued on the very top edge.

-Ryan

[h2oya311]

Ryan - thanks for the note.

yes, the glue is only on the top upper edge. I could almost tear one of the stickers off, but they are so fragile I was worried I might tear through the sticker. I thought maybe a soak would do the trick, although I've never tried it. I'll give it a try on one of the other sheets. Trust me, I'll be practicing a lot (if there looks to be even a remote chance of success) before attempting to free Mr. Rice from his sheet.

To address other concerns on here, I used to be of the same mind regarding soaking, especially when used to enhance the appearance of a card (dirt removal)...in this case, I'm trying to remove a card from an album. I think they are two different animals. That said, where do you draw the line?

I was surprised to see so many members and long-time collectors using the "soak" method. But I still think it is far different from altering a card (like trimming or coloring the chipped paint on a t205).

[tuckr1]

Would soaking this card get rid of the splotches?? Not sure what it is, ink? dirt??

Thanks

[ullmandds]

maybe tuckr1...scan is kinda small...hard to see whats going ton there?

[mullinsm]

I'd like to add that T227's may be included on the list of cards that can be soaked.

I was the only bidder on this McDermott in a recent auction, and I bought it specifically to try as my first soak. The card looked terrible, so I figured I didn't have much to lose. The back was completely covered by thick, yellowed, heavy lined paper, and the text underneath was completely unreadable:



As per your suggestions, I used warm, soft tap water, a bowl, a pair of tweezers, and a q-tip. I gently slipped the card into the water and watched it sink.

After only a few minutes, the edges of the glued on paper began to curl up. After 15 minutes of soaking, I was able to easily lift most of the paper off the card. It would have all come up in one piece, if not for the white spot on the right center of the card. It was another kind of glue, or gum, or who knows what, but I had to pull with gentle-but-firm steady pressure for it to slowly let go.



After removing the paper, I replaced the dirty water and let the card soak for another 30 min. I wanted to ensure that any glue residue remaining would be gone before I placed the card on paper towels to dry.

I dried the card overnight using paper towels and a stack of books. I changed out the towels a few times before retiring, then checked on my progress today:



I'm thrilled with how it turned out. It's still a card in poor condition, but now at least it's one I can read and enjoy. For the $10 bid, it was well worth it.

Thanks so much to everyone for their suggestions!

[deadballfreaK]

Maybe 10 years ago I bought about 90 Sporting News M-101-2s glued on loose album pages. one on each side of most sheets. There were about 80 diff, including almost every superstar. Missing Joe Jackson. A couple were damaged by insects. I was gambling that they could be removed. First try didn't work because I chickened out and did not let soak long enough. So they sat around for years. Finally I got the nerve up and tried again. Took one of the least valuable and put it in the kitchen sink and let it go. After about 30 minutes it floated clear. Eventually I was able to remove all but 3 or 4 with no damage whatsoever. They just have discoloration on the back from the 9 globs of glue used. Let me tell you I was almost shaking trying to dip some of them out of the water so as not to tear them in their softened state. The hardest one to take swimming had the Wagner-Cobb pose on one side and Matty on the other. You really have to be careful so as not to tear . I took a sheet of firm plastic and slipped under each one in order to get it out of the water. Then put between 2 paper towels and stacked a ton of books on top. Changed the paper towels about 3 times and let dry overnight with the books still pressing them. Worked fantastic. Not bad for less than ten bucks apiece!