Resuscitating Old Cards?

[erdnasephile]

Years ago, I socked away a whole bunch of new sets of Daryl's Cardboard Chameleons. I loved the trick, plus at the time I thought the green Sahara backs and the Jerry's Nugget cards might be cool to have one day (little did I know :) )

I decided to put the routine back in my working set recently, but when I opened the stash (which had been stored in a plastic box, the cards no longer slide or handle well. (not surprising since they are about 20 years old)

Fortunately, I've got lots of alternative cards I could use, but I'd hate to toss these old cards and their cool back designs.

Do you have an tips on how to restore these cards to working condition? (They were new when I put them in storage). I could use what passes for fanning powder these days, but I haven't been real impressed with how powdered cards handle as they get gummy pretty fast (maybe I have sweaty hands?)

In any event, any tips would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

[Bob Farmer]

Fanning powder, or zinc sterate, makes cards into a gummy mess. A much better substance is powdered Teflon which you can buy from piano repair suppliers.

http://www.spurlocktools.com/id39.htm

Buy some black velvet (not felt) and wrap it around some cardboard. Make two sort of roundish bundles. Lay out the Teflon between them and snap rubber bands on the ends. Push the cards through one by one.

[erdnasephile]

Thanks, guys! I'll give those suggestions a try.

Hey, Bob--how long does the Teflon last?

[Bob Farmer]

Teflon doesn't last as long as "fanning powder," so I just keep a small plastic bag with the applicator and the Teflon powder so I can do a quick prep if needed.

[Mark Ratekin]

Hi, Gary -

Nice to meet you at the Genii bash. Will the felt method you describe remove fanning powder? I have a couple of decks that had fanning powder applied years ago, and they aren't as usable as I'd like (and they are rare decks, so efforts to restore them would be worthwhile).

Thanks -

Mark

[Leonard Hevia]

Erdnasephile--thanks for posting about this effect, I was not aware of it before. It's very magical but a bit long and almost hard to keep up with. If you could distill this trick down to maybe 4 or 5 cards and keep the core effect--you might have a worker that can be carried in a small packet wallet for table work or strolling. I might get this just to see if I could do it.

[erdnasephile]

It occurs to me that Gary and Bob's ideas might also help make the factory produced Bicycle rainbow decks usable.

(The Bike factory rainbow cards stick together terribly out of the box--glad I bought a couple of Leonard's!)

[Jonathan Townsend]

Fanning powder, or zinc sterate, makes cards into a gummy mess. A much better substance is powdered Teflon which you can buy from piano repair suppliers.

http://www.spurlocktools.com/id39.htm

Buy some black velvet (not felt) and wrap it around some cardboard. Make two sort of roundish bundles. Lay out the Teflon between them and snap rubber bands on the ends. Push the cards through one by one.

Bob, folks, does this process work on non-finished cards? I have several nice paper items which don't fan or spread ... and yet they would be great for tricks if only they would slide, to spread in a fan at least as well as currency.

These items are printed card - including business cards. Help?

[Bob Farmer]

Probably.

[Pete McCabe]

Jonathan,

Just FYI you can get business cards printed on playing card stock at:

https://www.makeplayingcards.com/design/fi-8343.html

They're not as cheap as regular business cards, but you can get small runs for cheap and they handle like playing cards.

[Richard Kaufman]

I use an old method that has stood me in good stead for almost five decades.
I rub each card, both face and back, on the leg of my jeans.
Seriously.
Go through the entire deck a card at a time, giving each side five or six rubs.

[chetday]

I use an old method that has stood me in good stead for almost five decades.
I rub each card, both face and back, on the leg of my jeans.
Seriously.
Go through the entire deck a card at a time, giving each side five or six rubs.

Richard, thanks for this tip, which I'm going to try with several of my old packet trick cards.

I'll also add that I've been rubbing my razor blades on the leg of my blue jeans for years. Remarkably enough, doing this keeps the blades sharp for a lot longer than a guy would expect. And with razor blades costing what they do...

[performer]

I turn all my old cards into Dutch Loopers and sell them. Not that this idea will be of any use to anyone here.

[Leonard Hevia]

I use an old method that has stood me in good stead for almost five decades.
I rub each card, both face and back, on the leg of my jeans.
Seriously.
Go through the entire deck a card at a time, giving each side five or six rubs.

Richard, thanks for this tip, which I'm going to try with several of my old packet trick cards.

I'll also add that I've been rubbing my razor blades on the leg of my blue jeans for years. Remarkably enough, doing this keeps the blades sharp for a lot longer than a guy would expect. And with razor blades costing what they do...

This serves to clean the blades of your disposable cartridge razor, much like what the barber does when he strops the shaving razor on the leather strap. It removes microscopic dirt particles off the blades and extends its life a bit longer. This doesn't sharpen the blades so much as it keeps it smooth. I would imagine that rubbing playing cards on your jeans cleans off dirt that has accumulated on the faces and backs, restoring them back to usable condition. As an added tip, I put a few drops of blade oil on the cartridge blades and spread it out evenly with a Q-Tip to coat them from rust until the next shave.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OXaK9yr1D5c

[Dave Le Fevre]

Re Bob Farmer's suggestion, I bought a marketed item called a Soo-Zee about forty years ago for applying fanning powder to cards. It worked well, though since I switched to using Bikes a few decades ago I've never needed fanning powder. I assume that it'd work with Teflon powder too.

Re the tip about stropping razor blades on clothing, I'd read that one should strop them on one's skin. Wet skin, presumably. Which part of your anatomy you choose is up to you. I find that it gives the blades a much longer life.

I don't think I should rub my cards on Richard's trousers. It would seem to overstep the bounds of familiarity.

Dave

[erdnasephile]

I should mention after I wrote the original post, I tried the Farmer technique: sprayed the cards with a light coat of matte fine art fixative and then after drying, applied the Teflon powder. Worked like a charm and cards stay looking new.

One tip I would pass along: Teflon powder is very fine and is not good for your lungs. I used and would suggest using a filter mask while applying it.

[MagicbyAlfred]

Some great tips on here for resuscitating old cards.

Personally, I just use CPR (Card-io Pulmonary Resuscitation).

[Leonard Hevia]

Some great tips on here for resuscitating old cards.

Personally, I just use CPR (Card-io Pulmonary Resuscitation).

Good one Alfred! I never throw out my worn out dead & advertising playing cards and instead keep them in a shoe box. They go out in a blaze of glory thru Paul Harris' Ultimate Ripoff. Still the best version of the torn and restored card. Nothing to palm or ditch, and just one card. Steve Reynolds published a great presentation for this effect in Magic.

Other Viking funeral effects for your dead cards might include Tearable and Card Warp.

[webbmaster]

Walter Cummings, Channing Polluck's teacher, told me he used lighter fluid and Q-tips to clean cards.