• Cleaning vs Altering

    Posted by cknack on December 26, 2025 at 7:49 am

    I was thinking about this today, and figured I’d ask on here to see what others think. What would you considering to be the breaking point between cleaning vs altering a card? What is your opinion on both?

    slade_sports_cards replied 6 months, 2 weeks ago 3 Members · 4 Replies
  • 4 Replies
  • drjtrade

    Member
    December 26, 2025 at 2:23 pm

    IMO, cleaning is wiping off fingerprints and dust. Anything beyond that is altering the card.

    • cknack

      Member
      December 27, 2025 at 1:37 pm

      I understand that. I personally think cleaning is okay. For me that includes rolling bent corners and a surface cleaner to remove scuffs. I personally think that getting the card to how it was initially supposed to be presented is fine. If I buy a card and the surface is all scuffed up, it’s not my fault it was in that condition. I think trying to remove those to get it cleaner is not a problem. I draw the line personally at trimming and painting.

      • slade_sports_cards

        Member
        December 28, 2025 at 9:50 am

        I agree here. If a card comes out of a pack with damage, isn’t that kind of already altered from the state it was supposed to be in? Big no from me when it comes to trimming and adding color.

  • slade_sports_cards

    Member
    December 26, 2025 at 3:40 pm

    This is a tough one to answer. I kind of go back and forth with what I think is acceptable and not. Following here to see what others think.

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