What happens when your cards wear out?

C_McQueen

I have had the Joie de Vivre tarot for a while and have used it pretty heavily. I noticed that on several of the cards, the glossy finish is scratched and on some of them, the image is starting to wear away in places, leaving these white patches! The scratches I don't mind much, but is there anything I can do about the chipped parts of the images?
 

Tobe

are you kidding?!
that's when the cards starting to get good!!
like a good bottle of wine, a deck of cards mature over time, the longer they lived with you, the better they are to read with~~!

My very first deck. Divine Legacy is super chipped, the "glossiness" is all gone, it's still smooth only because how much I've used them that it smoothen out the little micro bumps. One of the card's corner is even bent! But, it's the best deck to use with!
 

Eadwine

I do know there is something like card sleeves out there, MtG folks use them as well, but I have no idea if this would work for tarot cards.. I mean.. I'd say it would inhibit shuffling, but if you are really miffed about the image issue, it's an idea.
 

EmpyreanKnight

I do know there is something like card sleeves out there, MtG folks use them as well, but I have no idea if this would work for tarot cards.. I mean.. I'd say it would inhibit shuffling, but if you are really miffed about the image issue, it's an idea.

Yup. Lo Scarabeo has some in standard Tarot size. I don't know if I'll ever use them tho
 

Barleywine

I'm not very mystical about my decks, so I would just buy another one if it's still available at a reasonable price. I do have a copy of the Thoth I've used since 1972 that's worn and faded; I put clear packing tape on a couple of dog-eared corners and it's still completely serviceable. I don't use it much any more though, since the cards are starting to feel kind of "leathery" in hand. I have two other copies (one standard-size and one large) that are more crisp, so I use those instead.
 

Carojulie

I have had the Joie de Vivre tarot for a while and have used it pretty heavily. I noticed that on several of the cards, the glossy finish is scratched and on some of them, the image is starting to wear away in places, leaving these white patches! The scratches I don't mind much, but is there anything I can do about the chipped parts of the images?


Hello CMcQueen, I see what you mean when the images are starting to be scraped away... I have seen that.

It is entirely personnal how much one can stand a deck being battered ; some of us would not like it, others prefer it when the cards are battered.

Personnaly I take a lot of care with my decks because I want them to last, but I also love to have my older decks even if they show signs of wear, because it only means that they have been thouroughly loved !
My first, real worry, is loosing a card. It has happened to me, I lost the Death card from a deck I loved, and was unhappy because that made the deck useless (a friend of mine continues reading with her decks even if they miss cards... but I dont feel like doing that)

But I have also seen decks very mistreated, with beer rings on the cards, sticky cards from sugary beverage spilled on them, cards bent, grease smears..... I dont like that, it makes the deck unconfortable to use, sometimes even smelly (the decks I have seen like that are often playing cards decks, being used for game during party evening, on the same table where the drinks and the ashtrays are... I love playing cards with friends during party evenings, I just dont like it when people throw the cards on a table smeared with drink rings and chips crumbs....)

What i am trying to say is, it does not deter me to have an old used deck showing signs of wear, as long as the signs are signs of use and love, and not signs of neglect.

I think that for me a deck starts to be really unusable when either a card is lost, or one or two cards become so distorted that you can tell which one is which from looking at the cards backs only in a fan... or maybe, as you say here, when the images cannot be seen any longer due to the surface chipping away (but it would take a really massive picture erasement for me to consider the deck retired ; if it were only little chips on the images here and there, it would not be a problem)

As as been suggested, maybe you can just get a new one (that only works when the deck in question is still in print of course, and luckily it is the case for the Joie de Vivre)
But, if you wish to make your deck last a little longer, I would suggest putting some talcum (baby powder) on the cards. It might whiten the cards a tad, but just for a short time ; and it will reduce the amount of scraping between the cards, so it can probably slow down the image chipping problem.
I cannot think of anything to do to make the weared images whole again, but at least you can try to limit future damage.

If anybody tries some of these sleeves I would be interested to know how they feel ? The advertizement says it does not add bulk and does not impair shuffling, but I am curious to know how it feels in real life.
 

Trogon

I seem to remember a discussion, some years back, about creating and printing your own cards. There are blank cards you can get and, if I remember correctly, spray or paint-on coating to protect the cards. Perhaps something like that could be used to reapply a good coating?
 

C_McQueen

Hello CMcQueen, I see what you mean when the images are starting to be scraped away... I have seen that.

It is entirely personnal how much one can stand a deck being battered ; some of us would not like it, others prefer it when the cards are battered.

Personnaly I take a lot of care with my decks because I want them to last, but I also love to have my older decks even if they show signs of wear, because it only means that they have been thouroughly loved !
My first, real worry, is loosing a card. It has happened to me, I lost the Death card from a deck I loved, and was unhappy because that made the deck useless (a friend of mine continues reading with her decks even if they miss cards... but I dont feel like doing that)

But I have also seen decks very mistreated, with beer rings on the cards, sticky cards from sugary beverage spilled on them, cards bent, grease smears..... I dont like that, it makes the deck unconfortable to use, sometimes even smelly (the decks I have seen like that are often playing cards decks, being used for game during party evening, on the same table where the drinks and the ashtrays are... I love playing cards with friends during party evenings, I just dont like it when people throw the cards on a table smeared with drink rings and chips crumbs....)

What i am trying to say is, it does not deter me to have an old used deck showing signs of wear, as long as the signs are signs of use and love, and not signs of neglect.

I think that for me a deck starts to be really unusable when either a card is lost, or one or two cards become so distorted that you can tell which one is which from looking at the cards backs only in a fan... or maybe, as you say here, when the images cannot be seen any longer due to the surface chipping away (but it would take a really massive picture erasement for me to consider the deck retired ; if it were only little chips on the images here and there, it would not be a problem)

As as been suggested, maybe you can just get a new one (that only works when the deck in question is still in print of course, and luckily it is the case for the Joie de Vivre)
But, if you wish to make your deck last a little longer, I would suggest putting some talcum (baby powder) on the cards. It might whiten the cards a tad, but just for a short time ; and it will reduce the amount of scraping between the cards, so it can probably slow down the image chipping problem.
I cannot think of anything to do to make the weared images whole again, but at least you can try to limit future damage.

If anybody tries some of these sleeves I would be interested to know how they feel ? The advertizement says it does not add bulk and does not impair shuffling, but I am curious to know how it feels in real life.

Thank you so much for the talcum powder suggestion! I will try that.

I feel the same as you do. The worn parts of the image don't bother me, cosmetically. I am mostly looking for a way to make sure that I'm not making the worn spots bigger each time I shuffle. I even had the idea to maybe kind of gild the cards in spots? I really do like the deck, and would want to keep it, but it's not my main deck so I probably won't buy a replacement unless I find a good deal.
 

Grizabella

I don't have any suggestion how to remedy the scraped off finish on cards but DON'T bridge the cards if you riffle them! That's the worst thing to do to a deck that will scrape the image off! It may sound, feel and look cool, but it destroys the cards. (I'm using "you" generically here, not pointing fingers at you in particular. :) )
 

Carojulie

I don't have any suggestion how to remedy the scraped off finish on cards but DON'T bridge the cards if you riffle them! That's the worst thing to do to a deck that will scrape the image off! It may sound, feel and look cool, but it destroys the cards. (I'm using "you" generically here, not pointing fingers at you in particular. :) )
Thank you Grizabella,
I was thinking that riffling's worst danger was bending the cards, but you are right, during the bridging stage of riffling, the top edge of each card scrapes along side the face of the card beneath it. So, bending the cards and scraping them.... not great. I never do that though because tarot decks are too large for my hands.... I only do it with bridge or poker sized decks. I suppose the cards scrape one another when overhand shuffling too, but maybe to a lesser degree. In any case I will keep your advice in mind. Thanks !