Card soaking - the results!

[Snowman]

Originally Posted by FrankWakefield

Well done, Jim. And thank you for the "Results".

Thoughts to consider:
Soaking that card, the entire card, would be safe because the card isn't going to instantly disolve, the card is porous, and the glue isn't just on the surface of the back, a bit is likely to have soaked in... so soaking the entire card lets that 'inside' glue migrate out while immersed in water.

Q-Tips... Q-Tips are fine, but if a longer soaking (10 minutes is very short soak) allows the glue to release, then let soaking do more of the work and you can minimize the Q-Tip scrubbing.

^^^This! 100%

Don't be afraid to let the card soak much longer. You don't want to have to scrub the surface at all if you don't have to. You will almost certainly cause damage even if you think you're being extremely gentle. If the glue is water solube, then let the water do its job. You usually don't need to assist it. I've soaked cards for an entire week before. You're not going to damage it by soaking it for a few hours, or even overnight.

However, some cards will get damaged if you soak them for multiple days. Just depends on the card stock. I wouldn't soak a 52 or 53 Topps for days, but you could soak a 54 Topps for a month.