How to remove dirt from a card.

General
,
1

Hi again everybody,

Does anyone have tips for removing dirt specs from a cards’ surface without causing further damage? I purchased a great lot from a fellow on eBay but many of the valuable cards have black dirt on the borders. If pictures will help, just let me know!

Cheers,
SoulWind

EDIT:

2

I have read that rubbing alcohol and paper towel, dabbed/pressured very lightly is a good method. The alcohol evaporates.

3

Can you post a picture or two? Won’t hurt. Haha.

4

Done! Hopefully the dirt on the top left is visible enough. :blush:

@milhouse, I am trying it right now! Thankfully I have a couple extras I don’t mind messing around with.

EDIT: Will this work on ex cards with a foil pattern around the border?

1 Like
5

did this work?

6

@elam18:

It worked very well. I was careful not to put too much on and the cards dry out quickly so you can sleeve them back up again. I didn’t try it on an ex card (I don’t have any to test it on), but I would imagine it works for those with holo patterns as well. Anyone willing to test that?

7

I usually use the penny sleeve corner. It’s thin enough that it can get under it but flimsy where you can’t put a ton of pressure and scratch the card. I use it a lot on for my PSA cards. I used this technique on a few cards that got 9’s and 10s.

1 Like
8

If you should ever decide to make a video of this operation I’d be highly interested in seeing how you do it. :blush:

1 Like
9

I’ll try remember that when I came across one. Also if there are any other methods I can do an experiment on video to see which works best.

I’ve never used the alcohol trick. If any has cheap cards that have dirt spots I’ll try to remove it and make a video. It’s doesn’t have to be a valuable card either.

I love watching videos on stuff and learning new tips. Hopefully I can do something to contribute back. Coincidentally my most popular youtube video is on how to store cards.

1 Like
10

I’ll try remember that when I came across one. Also if there are any other methods I can do an experiment on video to see which works best.

I’ve never used the alcohol trick. If any has cheap cards that have dirt spots I’ll try to remove it and make a video. It’s doesn’t have to be a valuable card either.

I love watching videos on stuff and learning new tips. Hopefully I can do something to contribute back. Coincidentally my most popular youtube video is on how to store cards.