Probably a really weird and random question BUT I wanted to see if anyone has experience with this. A bit of background, I buy people’s random childhood collections all the time and have a few ins with random LGS’s who also buy collections which in turn I buy from the LGS. As you can imagine a good amount of these cards aren’t in the best shape (stains… black dots on the front or back, etc.).
I wanted to know the best way to clean these cards off to make them presentable (as best as possible >.< ) for an ebay listing since I own a small ebay shop.
Right now I have just been using a micro fiber cloth which seems to do okay on some things but not all.
I figured this may be a fun, weird topic to discuss!
Oddly enough, I have found the best way to clean cards is a little sweat on the hands. You never want to get a card wet, but a little moisture on your hand will help to gently get specks of dirt off without damaging the card. Simply rub your finger from the inside and swipe outwards towards the edge. There is no way to get stains out, but you can get dirt off pretty well. I did this recently with a base set first edition beedrill and made it look much nicer. All the specs are now off and it looks much more presentable.
I use a Q-tip dampened with h20 and gently wipe in circular motion wherever i see dirt, except at edges I only wipe outward. I do this for wax stains and dirt and then use a dry Q-tip to dry it gently.
The amount of water touching the card is minimal, the wet Q-tip is only slightly damp. Also, be extremely careful or don’t at all try to clean the holo.
I realize there may be a better way, so don’t take the above as a recommendation, but it works for me.
You stand the risk of de-glossing the area or worse scratching it, but as long as you use 100% cotton swabs and the card is dust free and you are careful it should be okay
I hope you’ll mention in the eBay listings that you’ve cleaned the cards. Card-cleaning is frowned upon among some collectors (especially in the sports card arena).
“The spokesperson from PSA confirmed that you should clean your card without altering it in any way before sending it in for grading. A soft cloth and very careful wiping should remove any removable marking which would have otherwise reduced the grade. However be very careful as too much wiping or using an abrasive cloth can scratch the surface which will also reduce the grade.”
