grading

[tsmithbuck00]

I have read in another forum that some people use some sort of chrome cleaner or something on the surface of a card before sending it to be graded? Has anyone else heard of this and does it actually work? If so do you know the trick to it? Just curious..seems to me that you wouldn't want to jepordize the card but who knows..I don't. Thanks

[podstock]

hmmm....

normally, the defects that prevent a card from being a 10 are

1. corners
2. centering

I would think that if you put a liquid/chemical on the card, that it will cause the colors to be rubbed off or the paper to easily rubbed out?

[envoy98]

Whoever told you to put chrome cleaner on your card is either not a very nice person, or was being facetious and thought you would get the joke. It doesn't hurt however to make sure there are no fingerprints on the surface, a quick wipe with a soft terrycloth towel will do the trick, don't rub too hard and don't go crazy, a quick wipe is all you want. And as podstock said, usually it's corners, or more than likely, centering. If you get a lot of 8's pick up a graduated ruler that measures in points/picas or at least 1/64" increments. That will get your centering near exact. GAI will also sell you the lens they use, but it's about $100 and does the same thing as the ruler, just a bit more precise. Also, make sure there aren't any pits or pockmarks in the surface. A good desklamp with a halogen light can reveal a lot of strange things you'd be amazed were there. And last but not least, pick up a 7x or 10x loupe or magnifying glass to look for color loss, chipping etc on edges, corners and surface. Actually, lastly, check the grading faq for the given company you want to use, they have their specs and standards listed for a given grade. Remember though, the 4 subgrades like BGS uses do not "Average Out" a card is generally never 1/2 grade higher than it's lowest grade and at the most 1 full grade higher. ie a card that has a 3 for centering but 9's on everything else is not an 8.5, it's a 3.5. If the rest were 9.5 or 10 you might see a 4 for a final grade.

Phew.

Hope that hellps. A little diligence will pay big rewards in the long run and save you a lot of money like I spent trying to figure all this stuff out.

Good Luck to you!

[tsmithbuck00]

Thanks for the info guys...lots of help