Card Prep

[Oak]

I have been sending out TTMs for the last year. Recently I have recieved several cards back with badly smudged, or illegible autographs.

I have heard of "Prepping" you cards, but I can find little detail on it.

Any advice?

[Autofreak2842]

White eraser works best for me. But I've also heard of rubbing down the cards with you fingers, using some baby powder trick and stuff.

[phillykid15]

I put a little bit of baby powder on the card, rub it softly into the card, and then wipe it off with a paper towel. You don't need to keep any of the baby powder on the card. This usually takes the gloss from the card off and therefore prevents the autograph from bubbling up most of the time.

[mrveggieman]

I avoid non glossy cards for autos like the plauge. I stick to old junk wax from the 1980's 90s or use todays ud 1st edition, adrenalyn xl or anything like that. If all I have is a glossy card I would use one of my autograph sticker samples and have the ball player sign that then place that on top of the card.

[Oak]

The majority of what I send out is from the 70s and 80s. Recently I have come into a ton of Crown Royale and Cup cards, and they are what I have had difficulty with.

[wherron13]

I'm a big fan of the baby powder method, you can find videos of it on YouTube. It works great, and I've fallen in love with sending really glossy cards out and seeing them come back with killer autos...

[Rj_PSU]

Hello Oak,

If it's the gloss of the card you're using, then I'd advise against using an eraser because it will leave marks on the card. If you're not careful, you'll take the picture right of the card.

If it's the fault of the person who signed it, then I'd try again. I've written may follow-up letters to football players who smudged, smeared, or weren't visible (i.e. ball-point pen). I also make sure to mention Sharpie in my letter, and remind them to please not smear the ink. Send a Sharpie with your letter if you want.

I even had two player sign the top-loaders instead of the cards inside them. Those were tough follow-up letters....

Hope this helps,

-Rj

[Oak]

I even had two player sign the top-loaders instead of the cards inside them. Those were tough follow-up letters....

Thats awesome! I just laughed so loud, it startled my wife!