Have you guys ever heard of this restoration process? Looks almost like magic the way it takes out these creases and smooths the card. Pretty cool video but as with anything online it could be snake oil:
1955 Roberto Clemente Rookie Restoration20 minute soak in Card Spray4 day drying process ð¤ð¼Products available at https://www.kurtscardcare.com#BaseballCard...
www.youtube.com
So work won't let me watch the video, but I'm guessing it's Kurt's Card Care....I have some experience....since my first post a few months ago, I've gotten back into the hobby...DEEP. My son an I collect modern stuff - mostly football, but I'm back into vintage post-war baseball (1940's and 1950's with some up to early 80's thrown in.
Long story short - I have been looking at my childhood collection and looking to have some of them graded. I have a few with PSA now, and am looking to send another batch. I came across Kurt's when I was trying to find a product to get some print lines out of modern cards.
I do use the stuff - I am thoroughly surprised at how well it works - but...I don't think big fixes like soaking/pressing creases out of cards will fool graders. I played around on some commons - and then had a Topps Wade Boggs rookie that I had when I was a kid. I have no clue when or how it got a very slight crease in it, but I sprayed it with the card spray for a bit, then pressed it just as he does in the videos - between two plexi discs. I let it dry and when I removed it, and did one more spray / press, I could only see the crease under a digital microscope. It was THAT hard to see. Now - knowing what card graders look at, I think they'd know - first because you can still see it...but second because I think the pressing process impacts the finish and gives it shiny spots. Chances of getting an altered stock grade are high in my opinion...but...if I was a shady person, I could totally get that crease out and sell it to probably 85% of collectors as a highly graded raw card.
The polish works well on print lines. I wouldn't use it on vintage. Just makes me nervous. It's a good product - but I think you have to weigh why you're doing it. If it's to send in for grading, I think unless you're REALLY good, you risk a grade potentially worse than what you would have otherwise gotten. In my case, I've cleaned up and pressed a few lower value PC cards and they look very nice in some one-touches in my collection.
I will say - a digital microscope is the best thing you can purchase for examining cards to potentially send off to grade. I've noticed things in cards I would have never noticed before with them.