Kurt’s “Juice” and Thoughts on Card Cleaning / Altering

In this video, I discuss my thoughts about Kurt’s card care and my recent experience confronting the possibility that it was used on a card of mine without my knowledge.

[@DoubleDvintagebaseballcards]

Great hearing your thoughts Brian. If I purchased a vintage card that was cleaned/altered i would be extremely bummed out.

[@HighPopProfessor]

Absolutely! I had a brief moment there where my stomach did that thing where the pit of it drops out and you feel sick for a minute. I will say this though - the types of collectors who have the most to worry about regarding this topic are the high-grade vintage collectors and the more modern PSA 10 collectors. That financial incentive for people to dabble in this stuff exists more for these two domains than any other. Low grade vintage is amazing because high-eye appeal cards can be acquired for a small fraction of what would otherwise be an exorbitant price. And no amount of Kurt’s juice will fix issues like paper loss on the backs of prewar or golden era Venezuelan cards. So, I think you’re pretty “safe” in your preferred hobby lanes! Thanks for watching, Dylan!

[@billyballgamesportscards]

Happy 6 months, Brian! Congrats! Good luck with the move! I have never dealt with the issue you're speaking about that I'm aware of. I think I would run through the gambit of emotions like you did. But, knowing how my brain works. I think I would obsess over not knowing if it was doctored or not and would try to move on from the card probably. Unless it was a very hard card to find, and I knew I would have difficulty finding it again. Part of me would rather just not know.

[@HighPopProfessor]

Yeah, this one is a VERY tough to find card, so in this case, moving into a different copy is easier said than done. While it’s true that my card MAY have had the “juice” at some point in the past, the same could be said about ALL cards I’ve purchased on eBay over the years! We don’t exactly get a “Cardfax” history report when buying! 😂 Which leads me back to the whole “if no one can tell… even the grading company ‘experts’… why worry too much over something that may not even have happened in the past?” Thanks for watching and weighing in on this one, Billy!

[@Redneckclector]

I think there is a huge difference between cleaning a card and altering a card. Thanks for your honest take on the topic.

[@HighPopProfessor]

This is a FANTASTIC point. Where the line of “what is acceptable” exists is different for almost every collector. Some who would balk at trimming or adding color are perfectly fine with cleaning or even soaking. For me, the idea of trimming and adding color bothers me much more than the idea of an undetectable spray or polish. I guess that’s why in the end after thinking about it, I’m not losing sleep over my card purchase. It’s tough to know how the overall hobby will feel about various types of cleaning / alterations years down the line.

[@Redneckclector]

@@HighPopProfessor sounds like you and I are on the same page. I think there are zealots on both sides of the argument, just like everything else I suppose.

[@MrJmangini]

Tho big question is this. If grading companies can’t tell Evan Mathis trimmed cards and can’t tell when Kirt’s card juice took a 53 Satchel Paige from an “altered” to a 6, doesn’t that make grading a scam?

[@HighPopProfessor]

Maybe the most compelling argument to support that position!

[@HighPopProfessor]

The next most compelling one being the inconsistency in grades.