FAQ

We aim to get your card as close to fully restored as possible, but every card is different. What we guarantee is improvement, not perfection — the level of results depends on the extent of the damage and how it occurred originally.

Whitening happens when pigment is lost from the card surface, most commonly along the edges. While we understand how frustrating this can be, the processes used to address whitening carry a high risk of further damaging the card and compromising both its structural integrity and original artwork. Out of respect for your card and its value, this is not a service we offer.

It depends where they are. Scratches on the holographic area can usually be reduced significantly, and sometimes eliminated entirely, as long as they haven't gone completely white. Deep scratches through the text area are riskier because attempting them often means removing paint along with the scratch, so we don't recommend it. Scratches and scuffs on the back of the card may improve, but more often than not they're permanent.

Creases on the front of a card can typically be improved by about 90%, leaving what we'd describe as a scar rather than a crease. Creases caused by water damage, or creases on the back of the card, sometimes come out completely.

Often yes, but not always. If the indent is shallow we can usually work it out. If it's deep enough that the card's fibers have been broken, the damage is structural and there's nothing to lift. It's genuinely case by case.

Usually not. Print lines are a manufacturing characteristic rather than surface damage, which means there's nothing sitting on top of the card to remove. We're able to improve them maybe five to ten percent of the time.

No. Once material is physically gone from the card, there's no way to put it back.

It depends on the card. Recoloring processes typically use inks that bleed into the card's fibers, making them difficult or impossible to fully remove. If you'd like us to try, send your card in and we'll do our best — just know that results are not guaranteed and the service fee applies regardless of outcome.

Once we receive your cards, restoration typically takes 7 business days. All new orders enter the queue on Mondays, so your timeline depends on when your cards arrive. Cards received by Sunday are included in that week's queue and ship back the following Monday. Cards received after Sunday move to the next week's queue. Please account for shipping time to us when planning your timeline.

Yes — we offer direct shipping to the grading company of your choice for $20 per submission. You'll need to complete the grading company's paperwork yourself and include it with your cards when you send them to us. If you have multiple cards in the same order all going to the same grading company, they ship together as one bundle under a single $20 submission fee.

Every card receives the same level of individual attention and care regardless of how many you send in, so our pricing remains consistent across all orders. Restoration is a hands-on process — each card gets the time it deserves.

Card restoration is a proprietary process and the details of our technique aren't something we're able to share. That said, we genuinely want to support the collector community — we recommend checking out the Discord groups Card Care Academy and The Cardboard Alchemist for card care tips and community knowledge. You can also follow our YouTube channel where we post weekly videos of card care in action.

Yes — every product comes with our Card Care Guide, which walks you through step-by-step instructions for each item in the kit. You can download it here, and it's also linked on every product page so you can pull it up anytime. We're building out a library of how-to videos on our YouTube channel too, so check back there for new tutorials and other card care content.