Soaking E Series

[marcdelpercio]

Originally Posted by thekingofclout

Let me ask you this Marc; What happens to the card once you soak it, if you let it dry without pressing it? Just straight out of the water and lay it on a paper towel. How does the card look after that?

It seems to me that the book pressing is absolutely the same thing as using a spoon to press the card.

Best, Jimmy

Jimmy,
I understand what you are saying but I think there is a big difference between pressing a card to the extent that it is widened and/or creases are removed and simply placing it between two books so it dries flat. I have soaked hundreds of cards and dried them between two books. I can honestly say that this has never removed even the lightest wrinkles or creases. If anything, it can sometimes reveal even more surface flaws that may have been somewhat hidden by the other substances on the card. In my experience, all soaking has accomplished was to remove dirt, glue or paste residue, and other foreign debris from the card...which was exactly my goal.

I'm sure there are ways to remove creases from cards. I do not know how to do this, nor would I attempt to if I did. To me, this crosses the line into physically altering the card.

[FrankWakefield]

Seems to me that many of the really nice T206s that folks collect, the really good ones that are slabbed, those cards survived as they did because they went straight into a scrapbook 100 years ago. The cards that the kids played with, that were carried in pockets and grimy hands, those cards are the ones we see today that are well worn. Those really nice slabbed cards were most likely soaked off of a scrapbook page 20 to 30 years ago. That's the reality of it. Even for the sacrosanct who abhor soaking... those guys most likely have soaked cards in those high number slabs.

Wonderfully well, Ed. That's how they'll soak.

[Vol]

My curiosity is peaked. Have never thought about trying it before. When you soak the cards, is it just a mix of water and a little soap?

[Rob D.]

A simple search of the archive using either the word soak or soaking produced, among others, links to these three informative threads:

http://www.net54baseball.com/showthr...highlight=soak

http://www.net54baseball.com/showthr...hlight=soaking

http://www.net54baseball.com/showthr...hlight=soaking

[Vol]

^^ Thanks.

[Tim Kindler]

E98s tend to flake sometimes. Check out about 3 of them on ebay in the BINs and you will see what I mean. Once they start flaking and peeling, they don't stop, even in a slab. They get worse and worse. My theory is that soaking on purpose or just getting wet somehow over the years accidently has caused these E98s to end up like this. Of course, I have never tried it myself on any E98s, so I'm not exactly sure that my theory is correct. Personally, I think it is wrong to alter a card in any way and to me soaking is altering. Now, don't get me wrong, if you want to do it for your personal benefit, do whatever you want with your card. I , myself, have never tried it because I'm afraid I would screw something up and ruin one of my cards!

Tim Kindler
E98 Guy

[Rob D.]

Quan and Tim,

Thank you for the insights that all E cards might not be alike when it comes to how they react to soaking.

[marcdelpercio]

Personally, I think it is wrong to alter a card in any way and to me soaking is altering.

Tim (and others who think that soaking is altering),
Would you consider it an alteration when the dirt/glue/paste was originally added to the card? If so, all of these soaked cards are already altered so you really are not changing anything...merely making a soiled altered card into a less soiled altered card. If not, then please explain what you feel constitues an alteration.

I totally agree with you, by the way, about E98s. Especially on those that have begun flaking in any way, soaking can be disaterous. I would put E94s and E97s in this category as well.