Soaking cards, redux

[Spike]

Soaking works best with one goal in mind: you have a card with water-soluble glue, paper, or gunk stuck to it that you want to remove for legibility or simple presentation (almost certainly not grading) reasons. Beyond that, you get into deep water (so to speak) over market value, etc., and a bunch of people have varied feelings about that.

When I've soaked cards ('30s-70s on typical card stock), it was apparent under an hour whether the glue/gunk was really water-soluble, because it would separate from the card on its own or somewhat easily peel away with a little pressure. But: go into it the soak knowing that, in many cases, removing glue will also take some card paper with it! I've soaked 50+ cards with questionable adhesive and had the glue come off "clean" maybe 5 times, turning a "1" into a "3." The rest of the time, you end up with a 2, or just a damp 1.

Once you've spent as much time as you want on the glue/gunk, you need to dry the card under pressure to avoid wrinkles. Put it in a thin, adsorbent cloth or paper towel and press between heavy books over a few days is what I usually do, checking a couple times per day for dryness. If you leave any dampness in the card when you take it out of the pressure, you can expect wrinkling when it dries further.