Price sticker removal/cardback restoration

Robstyley

Sith Lord
Joined
Aug 22, 2014
Messages
2,736
Location
The other side of Mos Eisley
I know price sticker removal has been discussed before and recently people have been discussing resealing etc. I was wondering what people's thoughts were on general Moc cardback restoration and whether anyone has dabbled in litho tear repairs. I have a Yoda I've just successfully removed a torn price sticker from. I'm pleased with the results but there's a couple of tiny bits of litho missing near where the sticker was. I'm wondering if anyone has ever taken a little bit of black litho from a trashed vintage card, just the very top layer, and stuck it over where it's missing on a Moc? Just an idea.

4D21978F-C7FB-44EA-BE31-5977D6FCEEC0.jpeg


0B908A21-5283-4050-A729-9BD714D01FF9.jpeg


1D6472C0-4F23-48B6-897C-6E2D63B719D8.jpeg


F8A9410C-A575-4867-AD51-E75057B912C6.jpeg
 

Snaketibe

Grand Master
Supporter
Joined
Jan 16, 2016
Messages
5,383
Location
United Kingdom
Yes, I have added litho to a torn area before, with success. However, the smaller the area the trickier it becomes. You could try sticking on very small pieces of litho to cover the torn areas on your card, however due to the tiny sizes in question, you may find it difficult and the end results may not be what you hope for. Matching the exact shapes and sizes will be difficult, as will gluing such small pieces and having them stay in place, and even then you may find a white edge or two remaining after your efforts unless you deliberately overlap your additions over a small area of the un-torn litho. And of course, the additions won't be seamless and will still sit slightly proud of the rest of the card.

However, since this is a restoration project, and assuming of course that any such action (be it the one above or the one which follows) was fully declared if you ever came to sell the card in the future, a far more effective alternative for such a small area of missing litho (assuming you cannot live with it as it is, of course), would be the black pen route. You would need to use a very fine-tipped marker or artist's pen (not a standard felt tip or, god forbid, a biro) and of course be extremely careful to only colour those areas you wish to, however it would certainly work well. Either way (adding litho or black pen), the final item will not be completely original, so the only question which really matters is what do you, as the owner, prefer?

I won't recommend one course of action over another (leave as it is, add litho, or use black pen), as it is your card and your decision. Each method has its advocates and detractors; many collectors revile black pen touch-ups for instance, however since you are the one who has to live with the end results, only you can decide what you should do.

Good luck with the project! :)
 

Robstyley

Sith Lord
Joined
Aug 22, 2014
Messages
2,736
Location
The other side of Mos Eisley
Great post mate. I can live with it, it looks a lot better than it did and the damage is very small. It doesn't really bother me at all, most Mocs have some small issues. I'm just curious as to whether it could look even better and without the white dots. I definitely wouldn't use a pen that's for sure. I think if you take a piece of vintage cardback and cover a tear it's all still vintage and I'd be ok with that. As you say excecution could be tricky but if you're careful and use a scalpel and fine tweezers etc. What I'd do is a dummy run on a ****ed card first. I don't know, I think I'll leave it for now.
 

Mini99

Sith Lord
Supporter
Joined
Sep 1, 2016
Messages
4,755
Robstyley said:
Great post mate. I can live with it, it looks a lot better than it did and the damage is very small. It doesn't really bother me at all, most Mocs have some small issues. I'm just curious as to whether it could look even better and without the white dots. I definitely wouldn't use a pen that's for sure. I think if you take a piece of vintage cardback and cover a tear it's all still vintage and I'd be ok with that. As you say excecution could be tricky but if you're careful and use a scalpel and fine tweezers etc. What I'd do is a dummy run on a ****ed card first. I don't know, I think I'll leave it for now.
I'm glad that Jermery commented first as I have seen some of his work in hand and what he can achieve is amazing.
I was going to suggest a black felt tip pen :shock: as that was the norm in the 80's...but then of course you couldn't get it graded! :roll: :wink:
I think that you have aready made the right decision in my opinion that it's best left as is.
Nice Yoda by the way.
 

bosk70

Jedi Master
Supporter
Joined
Jun 26, 2014
Messages
633
I've always been happy with a little bit of battle damage as it shows the history of the card, and think I would always be drawn to the area if repaired as you know its there.
I think it looks great just the way it is, I coloured all my box edge ware in on my childhood collection, thought it looked so good at the time :roll: , in the early 90's wish I hadn't done it now :) at the end of the day its what ever you are happy with :) , nice yoda card
 

edd_jedi

Moderator
Staff member
Supporter
Joined
Oct 19, 2006
Messages
8,877
Location
UK
That's come out nice, I would leave it as-is. The problem with restoration is that it's simply not accepted in the hobby, so even if you did a great job, it will hurt the desirability and value of the piece.
 

subzero

Sith Lord
Joined
Jun 20, 2017
Messages
3,052
Yeah standard marker pen is a big no, after it's dried and set in it turns pinkish / purple. Iv'e only used black ink on one vintage item and that's my resealed Battlecat box, it had a bad card tear on the front that I glued back down with pritt-stick but it still showed a very obvious tear line where the litho didn't fully meet up with where it was ripped from, so it kind of looked like a lightning streak of missing litho. I used a Stabilo fineliner on it and it looks almost perfect, and doesn't set pinkish.

But of course that's still a no no if you want it 100% original, however iv'e found that after displaying something for long enough you kind of become blind to those slight little imperfections and stop noticing it after a while anyway.
 

Snaketibe

Grand Master
Supporter
Joined
Jan 16, 2016
Messages
5,383
Location
United Kingdom
Mini99 said:
Robstyley said:
Great post mate. I can live with it, it looks a lot better than it did and the damage is very small. It doesn't really bother me at all, most Mocs have some small issues. I'm just curious as to whether it could look even better and without the white dots. I definitely wouldn't use a pen that's for sure. I think if you take a piece of vintage cardback and cover a tear it's all still vintage and I'd be ok with that. As you say excecution could be tricky but if you're careful and use a scalpel and fine tweezers etc. What I'd do is a dummy run on a ****ed card first. I don't know, I think I'll leave it for now.
I'm glad that Jermery commented first as I have seen some of his work in hand and what he can achieve is amazing.
I was going to suggest a black felt tip pen :shock: as that was the norm in the 80's...but then of course you couldn't get it graded! :roll: :wink:
I think that you have aready made the right decision in my opinion that it's best left as is.
Nice Yoda by the way.
Thank you for the compliment, Nick.

I would like to clarify however that any repairs / restoration work that I have done has been on resealed MOCs (usually cards I have resealed myself), and which I still own. It's up to the individual what they do with their own property of course, however personally I choose not to alter sealed MOCs, other than removing surface artefacts (dirt, sticker residue, etc.).

As for this particular MOC, I agree Rob's Yoda looks fine as it is :)
 

edd_jedi

Moderator
Staff member
Supporter
Joined
Oct 19, 2006
Messages
8,877
Location
UK
Also this may be controversial, but if I owned this I would consider removing the punch. when they are ripped like that, I think it looks worse than having a cleanly removed one. But others may not agree!
 

Robstyley

Sith Lord
Joined
Aug 22, 2014
Messages
2,736
Location
The other side of Mos Eisley
edd_jedi said:
Also this may be controversial, but if I owned this I would consider removing the punch. when they are ripped like that, I think it looks worse than having a cleanly removed one. But others may not agree!

Hmm I know what you mean, but it doesn't really bother me a slightly scruffy punch. My hollow tubes sandperson Moc had the top surface litho missing just on the punch and I removed the punch because it looked weird/worse with a grey cardboard coloured punch. It's funny what people like and dislike in a Moc. There's so many different aspects to them and it's very personal. I like a good bubble but I'm ok with small card issues and complete/nice price stickers.
 
Old Thread: Hello . There have been no replies in this thread for 365 days.
Content in this thread may no longer be relevant.
Perhaps it would be better to start a new thread instead.

Latest posts

Top Bottom