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