Removal of Wax Stains? - Back of Card

59Horsehide

Is there a safe, effective way to remove wax stains embedded on the back of a card? I understand how to remove stains from the front of a card (rubbing lightly with a fine nylon works for me). I have no idea how to approach removing wax stains on the back. I am talking vintage cards that came from penny packs and always had the back of the card exposed to the wax seal such that the stain is almost centered and runs the entire width of the card. Any ideas or suggestions would be appreciated.

stormtrooper80

I believe a gentleman named Dick Towle does work like this for a fee. I'm unfamiliar with his process or what he charges, but I know of at least one board member who has been very happy with his services and gave a glowing review on his site.

Mapleleaf

There are some solvents that take out the wax. I tried xylene on a couple cheap cards and it worked without removing any ink but took a while, plus a couple days to air out (evaporate). It also worked on gum stains. I'm sure there are other solvents that would work right away and evaporate quickly - the question is wether they destroy the print or cardboard.

Then there is the question of ethics. Is this acceptable practice? I only did it on a couple cheap cards to finish my own keeper raw card set that I made from wax but I'm sure they would have passed PSA muster so it opens a debate.

CSC

Mr. Mint used to sell a solvent for this. Does anyone remember what chemical it actually was?

goye

It's a small bottle roughly 8 to 10 ounces, it has one of those spongy applicator tips, the name is about 11 letters long and it has 3 or more syllables.......if you could find a real hardware store........

YogiBerraFan

Be careful. Some chemicals that people experiment with remove all of the moisture from the card. Cards naturally have moisture in them. When all of the moisture is removed the card will become brittle. Some inexperienced people take that route to remove wrinkles. It takes time and patience to find the right combination of chemicals for each specific problem.

ldferg

Panty hose do NOT work. I have a 75 topps mini Reggie go from a 9PD to a 4 to prove it several years ago. Ugh!!!!!

Very curious to know the answer to the OPs question as well.

grote15

<< <i>Panty hose do NOT work. I have a 75 topps mini Reggie go from a 9PD to a 4 to prove it several years ago. Ugh!!!!!

Very curious to know the answer to the OPs question as well. >>



Panty hose work very well for glossy (front) side of the card but just make the stain darker on back.

lawnmowerman

<< <i>Panty hose do NOT work. I have a 75 topps mini Reggie go from a 9PD to a 4 to prove it several years ago. Ugh!!!!! >>



All that did was polish up the wax and drive it deeper into the porous surface.

Bosox1976

I remember reading about placing a paper towel over the card then melting the wax through the paper towel with a warm iron. The wax is then drawn upwards into the paper towel.

Can't say I've ever tried it though, but sounds logical.

bigdcards

Do any of these things result in a card being considered altered? I have a few potential 10s that I thought would forever have wax stains.

lawnmowerman

<< <i>Do any of these things result in a card being considered altered? I have a few potential 10s that I thought would forever have wax stains. >>



Altering is doing something to add to the card to improve it's condition(coloring, paper build up).

Wax removal is removing something originally not intended to be on the card. Nothing wrong with that in my book.

grote15

<< <i>

<< <i>Do any of these things result in a card being considered altered? I have a few potential 10s that I thought would forever have wax stains. >>



Altering is doing something to add to the card to improve it's condition(coloring, paper build up).

Wax removal is removing something originally not intended to be on the card. Nothing wrong with that in my book. >>



+1

Well put.

dapro

I actually use the cloth that cleans eye glasses and eraser. It seems to remove the wax residue from some of my 1986 sticker cards.

Counselor

I tried rubber cement thinner on the back of a 57 Topps Baseball card and PSA picked up on it.

I think removing stain from the back of a card is very difficult (much harder than the front) and PSA will likely pick up on it.

59Horsehide

The 57's are exactly the ones I am having back wax stain problems. My Williams, Drysdale (RC) and Aaron cards took a real hit (all 5's) even though they have pristine front surfaces, perfect edges, great corners and are 60/40 centered. Someone mentioned a person who apparently deals in card restoration. That may be a route I further pursue. I am with the school of thought that removing such stains is not altering the card.

AUPT

I also recommend Dick Towle for this type of work. His business is called Gone With the Stain.

For you wanna be amateur chemists, FWIW, Xylenes is highly carcinogenic.

BLUEJAYWAY

Anyone ever hear of using lighter fluid for the stains? I recall many years ago of it's use.

BLUEJAYWAY

<< <i>I tried rubber cement thinner on the back of a 57 Topps Baseball card and PSA picked up on it.

I think removing stain from the back of a card is very difficult (much harder than the front) and PSA will likely pick up on it. >>

So PSA does in fact deem this a form of alteration?

MrSnuffleupagus

<< <i>I believe a gentleman named Dick Towle does work like this for a fee. I'm unfamiliar with his process or what he charges, but I know of at least one board member who has been very happy with his services and gave a glowing review on his site. >>



So let me get this straight. Dick Towle can remove stains? Not sure wether to be laughing or be disgusted.

Edit: Every photoshop imagine I can come up with gets me banned.

grote15

IIRC, Towle did an amazing job restoring a 52 Topps Mantle RC that had been glued to a scrapbook. When he was done, you couldn't even tell there had bren paper loss.