Card soaking - the results!

[Vintagedeputy]

Last week I asked for opinions here and on the non-sports site about soaking glue off a vintage Allen and Ginter card.

Some people felt that the card had already been soaked based on the photos. I was positive that was not true because I could feel the glue across the back and see the brushstrokes from whatever was used to apply it. I knew that the glue was still there.

Others felt that soaking would have no effect on the card whatsoever, and it would look the same as when I started.

Last night, I finally got around to trying. First, I used a pencil eraser to remove the dealer’s pencil markings. Then, I filled a shallow aluminum pan with about 1 inch of very warm tapwater. I placed the card, glue side up in the pan and as it began to float, I rested the bowl part of a metal spoon on the top section of the card where there seemed to be no glue. I let it soak for about 8 to 10 minutes and then took a Q-tip and gently rubbed the back of the card while still underwater. I could see that even before I got to the Q-tip, the glue appeared to be virtually all gone. I removed the card from the water, placed it in a paper towel, covering both sides, and put a heavy object on top of it. I replaced the paper towel a few times and then left it overnight. Here are the final results.

The original card and the soaked version:


Resulting thoughts - it worked! The glue came off and the card looks great! There seemed to be no issue with loss of printing or color on the front of the card. It looks exactly the same.

ETA - After looking at the photos online, there does seem to be some areas where the printing is a bit lighter than on the original. Not sure if that was from the soaking or is a function of the light when the photo was taken. In either case, I'm still happy.

The one thing that I thought especially interesting was that the glue seemed to offer a protective coating to the card. Where the glue was, you can see what looks like the original color of the card stock. Around the areas where the glue was not present, you can see the hundred plus years of dirt and staining which affected the card.

Thanks all for your input.
Jim