Weird residue on card post PSA grading - Anybody else?

Have any of you ever found weird whitish/clearish residue stuck on their card post-grading that was not on the card when you sent it? I recently got back a PSA 10 that had this weird residue and it is bothering me. If anyone has any experience cracking open slabs with cards that had this weird residue and tried cleaning it, please let me know. I am wondering if it can be easily wiped off, or if it is glue or something that is stuck on the card.

I currently have a card at PSA under damage review for this exact thing. I sent it back to PSA originally, and they made an attempt at cleaning it without my consent or knowledge, and they weren’t able to completely clean it off. I’m assuming it’s the adhesive used to seal the cases, and whoever does that is doing a sloppy job.

Your also the 4th person this month alone to have a card come back a 10 with this white residue on it.

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Thanks for the reply, I did see your post about your situation. You say you’ve seen 4 PSA 10s so far with this residue this month alone… wow… Are there any other posts about this similar thing on efour that I could check out? I’m wondering if anyone has actually tried cracking it and cleaning it themselves to see what this residue really is.

You’ve confirmed it’s on the card and not the case?

I just cracked open the slab to try to clean it. I recorded the whole process and am uploading a video onto youtube.

This happened to a Gold Solgaleo I sent in through express last year. It got the 10 and came back covered with these smudges. Wish I would have taken a better picture but the “gunk” was all over the back and was 100% on the card, not the case. I hated it so I sold it immediately for half price.

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I bought a psa 10 blaines charizard 1st ed off a guy and i received the card with the white spots mentioned above on the back. I didnt really notice them and sold the card on. The buyer did and wanted a partial refund. Long story short I gave it to him rather than a full refund and lost 75€. I feel like the card probably had those imperfections from the slabbing process or the card wouldnt have received a 10 but i didnt see the card beforehand.

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I cracked open my PSA 10 that had it. Here’s my video!

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good job man, I probably would not have had the balls to crack open that card. You should send that video to PSA and hopefully they will track down the slob that touches cards with sauce on his fingers.

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Wow, that’s charizardballer69 levels of ballsy. You mention how the residue somehow multiplied even after receiving the card back from PSA. That’s exacly what mold would do over time. You’re also not the first person to notice this in recent PSA returns. It’s official! #moldgate.

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No residue, glue, adhesive or anything of the like is used in ultrasonically welding plastic. It is literally just using sound waves to melt the plastic together.

Perhaps there could be grease or lubricant of some kind on the moving parts of such a machine, but the weld itself involves nothing like that.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ultrasonic_welding

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The absolute madman. You did it! Congrats on the successful cleaning.

May I just say that PSA’s policy on this whole thing is complete and utter trash? “We damaged your $8000 card. You could PAY US AGAIN to review your card, but because of the damage WE CAUSED it might not receive a 10 this time!” What a load of horse hockey. If that card gets anything less than a 10 after review, I would demand that PSA pay the difference between the grade values.

When I make my PSA submission, I am taking a picture of every damn card. Or, better yet, a video demonstrating me flipping the card over in real time to prove it’s the same card. Can’t be too careful given PSA’s policy on nonsense like this.

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Yuck glad you got your card all cleaned up :slightly_smiling_face:

Yay another new annoying thing to keep an eye out for. Finger prints, hair, fluff and small tiny shards of plastic are the other potential other things to keep an eye out for in psa slabs.

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TBH the residue looks like someone spit on the card then tried to wipe it off there finger multiple times. I hope your able to get a 10 again, good luck.

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I posted about this exact thing a few days ago and was essentially told it’s my problem and to just deal with it. Crazy how some of the same people are starting to see that PSA has a real issue here.

OP, I understand your frustration. To resell a card like this you pretty much either MUST get it recased or sell it for a discount bc no one wants a shadowless zard with gunk or mold or glue or whatever on the inside of the case/possibly on the card. Also, no one wants scratching all over a newly graded card.

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Except, the OP has a serious issue where the surface of the card has actual residue on it. He took a very detailed video to show us the seriousness of it, and even went as far to crack the case open first hand to get a better look.

Your “issue” was light scratching on the PSA case, which could be very easily solved just by contacting PSA and getting it re-encased for free. All you had to do was literally deal with it, and call within 48 hours and they would’ve done it hassale free. Instead you use the time to post a thread about it.

Still don’t see the damages you spoke of on the Charizard. The circle you marked for the “Blind people” looks like a shadow from something on the case, not on the card itself. imgur.com/gallery/2R2Y01M

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No. My issue was the gunk on the inside of the case/on the card.

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Very manly cracking open that case. Glad you managed to get the card cleaned. Good luck on getting that 10 again! :blush:

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It was fun watching that video but I believe his next one will be taken from the inside of an insane asylum;)

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What are you implying :thinking:? Lol