Topps complete set “bricking”

[homerunhitter]

Does anyone know if topps complete factory sealed sets have”bricking” issues? I ask because I bought a topps stadium club set from the 90’s and when I opened it up, the cards were bricked (stuck together) so I was wondering if the regular topps factory sealed sets did the same?

[deweyinthehall]

Oh, yeah. I purchased a 1997 Topps factory set a few months ago, and the contents of the box were about 4 or 5 inseparable bricks. When I did manage to pull some apart, they began lifting some of the printing from their neighbors. Total loss. I bought a 1998 factory set a short time ago and although there was a lot of sticking/bricking, I was able to successfully manipulate them so I have a nice set without damaged cards.

[homerunhitter]

Oh that totally sucks. Sorry to hear that happened to you. If the “modern” topps factory sealed sets are going to have bricking issues. I might just continue to focus on the non glossy sticky cards (like vintage 1979 and below) because some of those modern topps sets are quite expensive to only open them and get a stuck brick of cards.

[JustinD]

There is a fairly easy help for bricking or sticking high gloss cards. If you have stuck cards place them in the freezer for at least a few hours and then separate slowly.

I have used this successfully for years and just recently cracked a 2000s wax box that was completely stuck…every card. I completed the entire box and damaged only 2 cards.

[homerunhitter]

Thank you for that recommendation. I appreciate that. Does anyone know if bricking is only with the glossy cards (glossy cards I believe started with 2994 topps) for example meaning will 1987 topps or 1983 topps or 1988 topps “brick” or just the newer glossy topps base cards? Thanks

[deweyinthehall]

Bricking should only impact the glossies - which for Topps would be 1994 and up. I don't have experience with them, but I wouldn't think they would impact all the glossies like the Topps Tiffanies. And from the feel of them I don't think we'll be having this conversation in 10-20 years about Topps cards from, say, 2004 or so on up. There's just something about that run from 1994 to 2003-ish that just feels different. Even ripping new packs, I recall, the cards were hard to skim through; there was more friction between them than most.

[Zach Wheat]

Originally Posted by JustinD

There is a fairly easy help for bricking or sticking high gloss cards. If you have stuck cards place them in the freezer for at least a few hours and then separate slowly.

I have used this successfully for years and just recently cracked a 2000s wax box that was completely stuck…every card. I completed the entire box and damaged only 2 cards.

Justin,

Never knew this. Thanks.

Z

[RayBShotz]

Late 90's and early 00's are the worst.
If you can find Mint cards from those years it would be wise to overpay.
Down the road it will eventually be acknowledged exactly how difficult it is to find high grade.
RayB

[Harliduck]

Originally Posted by JustinD

There is a fairly easy help for bricking or sticking high gloss cards. If you have stuck cards place them in the freezer for at least a few hours and then separate slowly.

I have used this successfully for years and just recently cracked a 2000s wax box that was completely stuck…every card. I completed the entire box and damaged only 2 cards.

That is a great idea...thanks Justin! I was pondering bindering up some sets in those year and will totally do this if I chose to do this.


I was shocked a year or so ago when I unsealed a 1988 Donruss factory set to binder up (I know, the binder and sheets were worth twice as much as the god awful set, it was for nostalgia!). The bricks completely damaged the cards...the plastic stuck to certain cards, had bricking...creasing. Threw the set away and bought a hand collated one to replace. Thankfully it was a very cheap exercise, hate for that to happen to a more valuable set. How crappy the card companies couldn't predict long term storage effects??

[slinger23]

Originally Posted by JustinD

There is a fairly easy help for bricking or sticking high gloss cards. If you have stuck cards place them in the freezer for at least a few hours and then separate slowly.

I have used this successfully for years and just recently cracked a 2000s wax box that was completely stuck…every card. I completed the entire box and damaged only 2 cards.

Curious about this. I have heard about this tip, but have never tried. I have some 1994 Topps football and 2001 Topps baseball (notorious) that are bricked. Did you do anything special like but the cards in a plastic/freezer bag or simply put in the card board box set in the freezer. Thanks for the suggestion.

[JustinD]

Originally Posted by slinger23

Curious about this. I have heard about this tip, but have never tried. I have some 1994 Topps football and 2001 Topps baseball (notorious) that are bricked. Did you do anything special like but the cards in a plastic/freezer bag or simply put in the card board box set in the freezer. Thanks for the suggestion.

Most of my issues have been with unopened packs although I have done it with set boxes of super high gloss football like Wild Card. Pinnacle comes to mind as a storage disaster as well.

I have a chest freezer and honestly just put the whole box in before work or the night before if I am planning on trying to pull them. No fancy method of bags, never found reason to. If opening packs, I take out 5-6 packs at a time and go back and forth. You will get the hand of it after a few packs. I just very gently use two fingers of the sides of the top or bottom card and curve it up ever so slightly like a bridge. It should pop right off.

When my son was younger I would buy lots of junk wax for us to crack for fun. You can tell a box that has been in the attic or a hot garage pretty darn fast, we got to be a fairly good team at doing this.

[Mike D.]

I just had a 1998 Fleer Tradition update set arrive yesterday. I didn’t open it but knew they were a candidate for bricking. So I stuck the 100 card set box in a ziploc in the freezer for about 4 hours this AM, then opened the cards.

No bricking and opened easily. I don’t know the state of the cards beforehand, but the freezer trick at a minimum didn’t make anything worse, and may have made it far better.

[homerunhitter]

Someone just posted on Facebook that anything printed after 1991 Topps has potential to “brick” because that when Topps changed from cardboard to white card stock.

[Zach Wheat]

Originally Posted by homerunhitter

Someone just posted on Facebook that anything printed after 1991 Topps has potential to “brick” because that when Topps changed from cardboard to white card stock.

Interesting. I always assumed bricking was due to the UV coating Topps started adding. I have always been concerned my 1991 Topps Desert Shield packs would deteriorate due to the gum inside