01
Don't soak it
Water, cleaner, dent spray. Soft corners, wavy stock, ink that moved. That's restoration. The card you had is gone.
02
Don't use Windex or kitchen stuff
Household cleaner on chrome is a good way to haze a coat you can't get back. This tin is the paste. That's it.
03
Don't put car polish on it
Cut, compound, swirl remover, scratch filler. They run on petroleum distillates, silicone, and aluminum oxide — a solvent, a filler, and an abrasive built for clearcoat you can respray. A card's coat you cannot. Read the label before it goes near chrome.
04
Don't trim it
A blade to “fix” centering. Edges too sharp, corners that don't match. Once the stock is gone, it's gone. Graders call it N1.
05
Don't press it or heat it
A crease that should still be a ridge, flattened. Gloss that looks cooked. You're changing the card, not cleaning it.
06
Don't whiten the edges
Marker, bleach, eraser. Borders brighter than the print run. You're faking a cleaner card.
07
Don't pack wax into a print line
Fill the groove and the line only looks gone. Tilt the card under a lamp and it reads wet right along the line. The next buyer will see it.
08
Don't put silicone or acrylic on it
Those stay in a scratch and lie about the surface. They shouldn't touch a collection.
09
Don't do paper, matte, or autos
This is for coated cards. Chrome, Prizm, Optic, Mosaic, refractors. Leave the rest alone.
How we actually care for a card is on how to care for it. If you're looking at a card someone else already “helped,” that's the tells.