Hello everyone ! First post ever for me, hope I’m doing it right and in the correct section.
I am thinking about unpeeling a sealed and unpeeled all nippon airways “get in the jet!2000” sheet (marill or togepi inside), because one of my collection goals is to have the whole mini-set graded.
Having said that, I am afraid of ruining the card while unpeeling it, either because of glue residues or loss of coloration in the back. We are talking about a 20+ years old card after all.
Has anyone ever tried that ? Any piece of advice on how to do it in the safest way possible is welcome and much appreciated.
I only managed to find videos showing the unpeeling of vending sheets, which I believe might be easier because of the glossy nature of the cards.
I unpeeled some a year ago, completely different animal than vending due to the glue.
If you’re ok getting a 8-9 copy, I’d say go for it. If you want a 10 copy, either look for one already graded or a mint raw copy in Japan that was peeled years ago. The glue is a pain to clean off the card after it’s peeled, and makes for quite a time getting it off the sheet. I did not try heating the glue prior or any tricks.
@kpod , thank you very much for your precious insight !
If I may ask, what materials did you use to try to get rid of the glue ?
I’d like to shoot for the 10, but the thing is that I don’t have the money on me to buy it graded, and having been burnt a couple of times getting raw cards from japan idk; I might try to unpeel it, get an 8 and then upgrade it later on hoping that more psa 10 copies appear, but there is so few in the wild ! Last one I saw was on Scott’s consignment and I believe was listed for 7k, I almost fainted.
I’ve opened one of these recently, the glue was ridiculous. I think your results may vary depending on how the sheets were stored etc, but I was not able to get the glue off of the back of my card. It was literally as if you took a glue stick and just rubbed it all over the back of the card.
At least the copy I have, I see no way you could get the glue off without also damaging the card. At a certain point I gave up trying to do it carefully and just wanted to see if I could even get it off at all. I tried a damp cloth, a small amount of isopropyl alcohol, applying heat, and just rubbing it with a paper towel. Some came off but the card is still covered in glue. I gave up, and it’s now sleeved in a binder.
Like kpod said, if you want a decent copy then buy one that was peeled years ago, or an already graded one.
@jonbo, damn what a nightmare, thanks for sharing your experience !
I did not redeem the sheet myself, so I have no idea of how it was stored for the past years.
Maybe your copy was exposed to a source of heat and the glue had time to further spread and then harden again, but considering how “lucky” I am my copy might as well be encased in a psa-like cocoon of glue… well at least I would save on the grading fees
I also know that the person who I got the sheet from had maybe 10 others, and opened a couple themselves with the same results as me. I don’t know if all of them came from the same spot and were stored the same way for the past ~20 years or not though.
Ouch, I really have to meditate on what to do… My problem is that I have never been succesful in keeping stuff sealed, dang it somebody stop me from running an experiment against all odds for the sake of science !
I have not unpeeled these personally, but I have got some with the glue residue on them. I have tried to get rid of the glue with a damp cloth and a damp piece of paper. Both helped a bit, but with my cards there is no way to get rid of the residue. I have one unpeeled card and I am not peeling that.
@thymeee thank you, as time and replies go on I’m getting more and more convinced to lock the sheet somewhere so that I’m not tempted to ruin it ahah
@kpod goo gone, got it, if I ever decide to test my luck I’ll use that for sure, thanks again !!!
@expedition man my saviour to the rescueeeee ! I believe it might be the calming effect of the green tree branches, I feel less inclined to unpeel it now, defenitely my U-turn has nothing to do with people telling me it’s a semi-lost cause ahahah btw your volcanic lapras rules !