Clean up a slab? Scratches + Tape residue

Spartcom5 · August 9, 2017 11:07PM

Picked this up for $15 the other day. Not the best coin but I had never seen one of these Stack's slabs before so I had to have it. However, the slab is scratched up and the pawn shop's sticker left a ton of sticky residue on the back. Any advice on how to clean it up??

AmazonX · August 9, 2017 11:18PM

Use goo gone for the the tape residue (Walmart, Target, Walgreens)

For the scratches: Novus plastic scratch remover. Hands down the best scratch remover. Number 2 will work for most scratches and number 3 is for the deeper ones.

Broadstruck · August 10, 2017 2:01AM

A drop of mineral oil rubbed on the reverse hologram with a paper napkin will remove all the sticker adhesive. Use a dry paper napkin to wipe off the mineral oil. Then spray and wipe a few drops of blue window cleaner which has just enough alcohol in it to fully degrease it.

The slab doesn't looked scratched enough to polish.

Novus works far better on PCGS slabs as it leaves micro lines on the NGC acrylic which your camera could pick up.

1Mike1 · August 10, 2017 2:24AM

I'll have to give novus a try myself. Haven't heard of it until now. Last bottle I had I think was called plastX.

Broadstruck · August 10, 2017 2:43AM

Plastx works the same as Novus.

Novus is more so a commercial product used in the acrylic industry.

WaterSport · August 10, 2017 9:44AM

My favorite for tape residue is either repeated tape applied and pulled off until reside is gone, or for old dried out residue..peanut butter. The oil in peanut butter will soften the residue for easy removal.

WS

JBK · August 10, 2017 10:00AM

@WaterSport said:
My favorite for tape residue is either repeated tape applied and pulled off until reside is gone,
WS

This has always been my preferred option.

JBK · August 10, 2017 10:01AM

BTW, why is this coin in a GENUINE slab - is there damage or is it that they did not want to pay for an actual grade?

Treashunt · August 10, 2017 10:09AM

Goo-Gone is the best, but rinse & rub after use, otherwise it smells.

lkeigwin · August 10, 2017 10:13AM

Lots of stuff will remove the glue residue. I use Plastx. Just add a dab and swirl around with your finger. Then wipe it off with a cloth.

Removing or lessening scratches on NGC slabs is next to impossible. The plastic is soft (which is why NGC slabs crush when snipping them unlike PCGS slabs which crack nicely). I've polished more than a thousand slabs using PlastX, Novus, and Slab-Renu, and none works well on NGC holders.

FWIW, Stack's had a large hoard of circulated silver graded by NGC several years ago. These holders are commonplace.
Lance.

derryb · August 10, 2017 10:17AM

plastx can be bought at the local auto parts store.

messydesk · August 10, 2017 10:34AM

I have a bottle of PlastX and a small dropper bottle of unscented lamp oil, which I use for polishing or hiding scratches, respectively, when photographing slabbed coins. The lamp oil also loosens most sticker goo. If the oil can soak through a sticker (scuff up the glossy ones first), you can use it to remove a sticker from he old NGC hologram holders without damaging the hologram.

Polishing out scratches on an NGC slab depends on the generation of the slab and whether or not it has the scratch-resistant coating. Nothing works terribly well. PlastX and a lot of elbow grease will work, but I almost always reach for the oil to hide the remaining scratches. The two things that work best are reholdering and crossover.