Disclaimer: I am a full disclosure guy. If anyone is interested in trading for/buying a card I have that's been soaked, I tell them what I did. In one of my YouTube videos, I openly talk about soaking a
Jim Palmer RC, because it had a clear, see-though something on it, and it was easily dissolved away.
• I'm also a
Drag Clean (my 'Collectorism' for someone who uses pantyhose to remove wax and gum residue from the surface of a card), but don't feel there's anything there to disclose. If asked, though, certainly I would tell.
With all of the talk about 'improving' cards lately, I figured it was time to talk about some experimenting I've been doing on one of my cards.
The
1972 Topps #49 Willie Mays is my favorite card of all time. The wonderful memories it evokes are unparalleled. Having quite a few of them, I've always been bothered by the way my brothers and I kept our cards rubber banded together. Since
Mays was our absolute favorite, second to none, he bore the brunt of the rubbery rage by being situated on top of the pile.
(This is another 'Collectorism' called Elastigmata - when these types of rubber band gouges are present on a hallowed card.)
So, I decided to see if it was possible to get those
Stack Wounds corrected, and went to work on it. It's important to note that no chemicals were used in my attempts
(Spoiler Alert: Here's where a snarky know-it-all will say water is actually a chemical compound consisting of two atoms of hydrogen bonded to one atom of oxygen. Gee, you're so clever. But I speak like normal human beings do, so you know full well the 'chemicals' I'm referring to are a far cry from simple water.). In the end, I was actually able to reverse the damage and return the
'Say Hey Kid' to his original form.
1972williemayscomp.jpg
It's been a few weeks since I've completed this effort, so here's what
Willie looks like right now. The flatness
(natural curving over time aside) has remained unchanged:
1972williemayscompcard.jpg
So, how slippery is the alteration slope??
Is doing this a bad thing? An unethical thing?
Since the card was only returned to its original shape, do these 'alterations' (with no drastic measures used) make the card a fraud?
Feel free to voice opinions on this particular undertaking, but for the love of crap,
keep it clean (and yes, were this card ever to change hands, I would disclose the work done and show the person these pictures).
Side Note: For anyone who cares, that's Harvey in the background, a chainsaw carved bear from the Alameda County Fair...and he is a frickin' awesome piece of handcrafted goodness!!!