Soaker enthusiasts and glue experts unite!!

[laughlinfan]

Only the first two of my set have started duplicating! If they weren't a little unpredictably sized, I would say you should just try to grab a front and back for each! Since Bob was an artist, I am guessing there was some type of glue that was common for (professional) art projects 50 years ago. Not sure what that would be!

Good luck!

[steve B]

Maybe LePages or some other Mucilage. Plant based, so probably water soluble, although some glues like that aren't soluble after they dry.

If the stock isn't coated on either side, I wouldn't expect to remove it all without damage.

It might be worth running them past a paper conservator. They'd have the experience to know how much can be removed and it may not be all that expensive.


To me this also brings up some interesting questions.
Were they originally ever issued not glued together?

I could see saying that glue removal and re-gluing with an archival type glue would be best, and return them to a restored state closer to "as issued" Most modern archival stuff is easily reversible.
Or.... buy some mucilage if it can be sourced, and reglue as original?

[steve B]

https://www.conservation-wiki.com/wi...pes_and_Hinges

[JollyElm]

Hey, Steve, thanks for the link. I should point out that when I used the word 'mucilage,' it was really just conversational, as a synonym for glue or paste. I have no clue whatsoever what type of adhesive was used on these cards.

[steve B]

It was a really common glue at the time, so there's a good chance that's what it is.
I might test one with a bit of water on a Q-tip. Just dampened there's not really enough water to do damage, but enough to see if the glue will dissolve.
I've heard of using vinegar on it, but I'm leery of using an acid on cardstock that may already be acidic.

A couple thoughts that are stretching things a bit.

I believe some mid 60's Topps have glued on fronts, At least from the side they look like they have different layers. I haven't ended up with one bad enough to try disassembling it yet.

My one week of temp work with American publishing involved jigsaw puzzles which were paper glued to cardstock. You might find a bad 70's jigsaw and try with one of those. I don't recall the glue used.
(I also did Return of the Jedi Presto-Magix, so if you had a kit, there's a very slim chance I helped pack it. )*

Surprisingly, many old postcards are laminated layers. And lots of dampness can make them separate very cleanly with no hint of adhesive. Very strange.



*But I only lasted a week. Having worked in the print shop, I was way too fast for the presto magix assembly line. basically collated something like 1000 sets before break and spent the rest of the day just putting a set into the right place in the box. YAWN... Everyone hated me. When we'd finished the order I had to un-collate a couple hundred stacks... Which made the supervisors hate me. So they moved me to a puzzle press with a couple old Potugese ladies who were insanely fast, and would deliberately go extra fast even when they knew a few pieces had escaped the box when they came down the out put chute. Puzzle Die cut, border scrap removed, puzzle pushed down a chute that had a brush inside that took it apart.
I wasn't able to keep up, which was no fun.

Friday I got a check and a "I don't think you're happy or working out here so go be free speech"

[JollyElm]

I decided to dive right in (pun intended) to see if there was any hope of a good outcome. Took the worse-shaped one I had with glue/paste on the reverse and soaked it. I figured what's the worst thing that could happen, it's already in terrible shape. Well, that adhesive remained completely, utterly fixed in place. Not a single speck of it came off or dissipated in any way, shape or form during my Q-Tip work...but the cotton end started turning pink with the red print found on the back of the card. At least the answer is now clear. That's some permanent ass adhesive Mr. Laughlin used. The only thing left to see is how much of the ink will come off onto the paper towels the card is now sandwiched between as it dries. Oh well.