Cards that CAN and CANNOT be soaked?!

[marcdelpercio]

Originally Posted by yanks87

That's where the analogy falls apart to a certain degree. Because a car is sheet metal, covered in paint and layers of clear coat to protect against the elements, "cleaning it" is really not as intrusive as it would be if the body was made out of a substance that was not water resistant.

That's a fair point, but I feel that the purpose of this thread is to determine what cards can be soaked WITHOUT intrusively degrading the composition. When I soak a card, my goal is to simply remove things that HAVE degraded it and were not a part of the card to begin with. That is where I draw the line with alterations. To add color or trim away a part of the card that was initially there is fundamentally changing the original integrity of the card. Soaking dirt or added paper off of it is not. It is possible pretty close to 100% of the time with enough scrutiny and technology to detect trimming/rebuilding/recoloring. It is not possible at all to detect a card that has been soaked in water. And the reason for that is because that card has NOT been altered from its original state.

[yanks87]

Originally Posted by marcdelpercio

That's a fair point, but I feel that the purpose of this thread is to determine what cards can be soaked WITHOUT intrusively degrading the composition. When I soak a card, my goal is to simply remove things that HAVE degraded it and were not a part of the card to begin with. That is where I draw the line with alterations. To add color or trim away a part of the card that was initially there is fundamentally changing the original integrity of the card. Soaking dirt or added paper off of it is not. It is possible pretty close to 100% of the time with enough scrutiny and technology to detect trimming/rebuilding/recoloring. It is not possible at all to detect a card that has been soaked in water. And the reason for that is because that card has NOT been altered from its original state.

True, but I did see a lot of W551's recently that were very obviously soaked as the inks bled all over the place, it was a mess of blue and red, great in modern art, not so good in this case. They were slabbed and sold. So I will agree, soaking is the one of the least of the nefarious things that can be done to cards, if it is nondestructive, in order to restore or preserve the original card, but in my book (very thin with a lot of pictures), it is still "meddling."

[Leon]

I think going with what the hobby deems acceptable (most think soaking in water is ok) is the best way to go. I do think soaking can change composition a little bit because the few times I have done it I could tell it was done afterwards. The cards with white borders look a tiny bit less white to me. Also, I have seen cards change a shade of color too.

Originally Posted by yanks87

True, but I did see a lot of W551's recently that were very obviously soaked as the inks bled all over the place, it was a mess of blue and red, great in modern art, not so good in this case. They were slabbed and sold. So I will agree, soaking is the one of the least of the nefarious things that can be done to cards, if it is nondestructive, in order to restore or preserve the original card, but in my book (very thin with a lot of pictures), it is still "meddling."

[ahumes13]

Has anyone ever tried to soak an E98? I understand the general concern with the color/sheen/fragility of the cards, but curious if anyone has ever tried?

[ullmandds]

Originally Posted by ahumes13

Has anyone ever tried to soak an E98? I understand the general concern with the color/sheen/fragility of the cards, but curious if anyone has ever tried?

i wouldnt think there'd be any problem soaking an e98...they're sturdy.

[ahumes13]

I think the (potential) issue is the color on the front can flake off generally or when encased, etc., am curious if it survives a soak.

[tiger8mush]

Soaked this M101-5 for about 10 mins in tap water. The two bits of paper were loose and slid off when i pulled the card out of the water. Was slightly nervous about harming the front so I didn't leave it long in the water. Front looks the same, back no longer has the 2 bits of scrapbook paper attached.