What about the backs of your altered decks?

tenth

I've perused a lot of the deck trimming/altering threads, and it's actually something I've done before with my Gothic Tarot of the Vampires (almost done!). I'm currently in the starting stages of doing a pretty severe trim with that Lord of the Rings game/deck that everyone seems to have but nobody seems to really like. Once you cut off all the junk that surrounds it, this effectively makes it a mini deck, but the artwork is much, MUCH improved by it.

Because the trimming is so severe though, the design on the back of the cards is pretty jacked up. The artwork not being centered means that when I turn it over, I can tell if the card is right side up or reversed (big blocks of text)--not such a bad thing in and of itself, but a little distracting. I was wondering if anyone here had any experience in doing something like painting or stamping over the existing card back? I also thought about trying to apply a new paper backing, but I'm afraid that'll make them too thick relative to their new dimensions.
 

mercuryempress

I saw someone on YouTube use contact paper and it works really well

I picked a roll up at my local discount store for 1.99

This takes FOREVER though...I've only manage to get through 5 cards since this deck is not a priority at the moment

Adding a backing will add to the bulk of the deck
 

Grizabella

I saw someone on YouTube use contact paper and it works really well

I picked a roll up at my local discount store for 1.99

This takes FOREVER though...I've only manage to get through 5 cards since this deck is not a priority at the moment

Adding a backing will add to the bulk of the deck

Wouldn't this make the deck so it couldn't be riffled? It seems like the contact paper would peel at the edges if riffling.

I don't worry about the back design on most decks if I'm going to trim them.
If someone remarks about it (which nobody has ever done) then I just tell the truth---I needed to make the deck smaller in order to make it more useful for me since I'm having trouble with arthritis in my hands. It's not important really. I read the fronts, not the backs, so that's what's important, bottom line.
 

gregory

Wouldn't contact paper end up making them curl - isn't that why Carol Herzer stopped using it ? (I THINK it was her - certainly someone did.)
 

page of ghosts

I did the contact paper trick for my Wildwood. It now has gold backs. I can riffle it if I do it one half of the deck at a time - it is so thick now! And yup, they are a tad bent but not so bad that I can't use them or regret it.
 

mercuryempress

Wouldn't this make the deck so it couldn't be riffled? It seems like the contact paper would peel at the edges if riffling.

I don't worry about the back design on most decks if I'm going to trim them.
If someone remarks about it (which nobody has ever done) then I just tell the truth---I needed to make the deck smaller in order to make it more useful for me since I'm having trouble with arthritis in my hands. It's not important really. I read the fronts, not the backs, so that's what's important, bottom line.

I don't riffle my decks so I didn't noticed that ...plus I'm only 5 cards in

I probably wouldn't do this to a workhorse deck but I would do it for a deck if the backs were driving me crazy

The Karma tarot has the most hideous decks backs; it would be totally worth it for me with that particular deck when I'm done