Card restoration FAQs

It depends on the damage. Common treatments include surface cleaning, scuff and minor scratch reduction, corner correction, indent reduction, gloss restoration, and rejuvenating dried-out cardboard. Every card is assessed individually before any treatment begins.

Seven different compounds in total. We do not use off-the-shelf kits, everything is either created in-house or sourced locally. Nothing remains on the surface, every compound is removed in the final phase of work.

Anything done to a card is technically altering it. Grading companies set their own criteria for what they flag, and that call is always theirs to make. We can dramatically improve a card's chance of a higher grade, but the risk of how a grading house treats restored cards sits with the submitter, not us.

PSA, BGS, PCG and ACE all set their own criteria for what they flag as altered or restored. Each company makes that call independently and may decline to grade, return without a grade, or label the card. CardRevive does not guarantee any particular grading outcome, and the risk of how a grading house treats a restored card sits with the submitter. Most of the cards we treat are accepted and graded normally, but the final call is always the grading company's.

Card cleaning is the lightest level: surface dust, fingerprints, and very light contamination removed without touching corners, edges, or gloss. Card restoration is broader: cleaning plus targeted work on edges, corners, indents, gloss, creases, and colour where appropriate. Grading prep is the workflow around either: assessing whether a card is grade-ready, choosing the right grading house (PSA, BGS, PCG or ACE), packaging it correctly, and submitting through our middleman service. Most CardRevive submissions involve a combination, scoped to the card after physical assessment.

Yes. Any work on a card, cleaning, edge correction, indent or crease repair, is technically alteration. We are upfront about that. We also offer a play-it-safe minimal-intervention option that limits work to the lightest treatments and tends to yield smaller grade gains. Converting a PSA 4 into a 10 is not possible without alteration, and throughout the process we prioritise preserving the card's original integrity.

No. Adding pigment to a card destroys grade-ability and conservation integrity. We are conservators, not painters.

Yes. Restoring a card you own is completely legal. The real questions are disclosure and grading: grading houses set their own criteria for restored or altered cards, and buyers deserve honesty when a restored card is sold. We are upfront that all restoration is technically alteration, and the grading call always belongs to the grading house.

Restoration is priced as a percentage of card value. Standard is 5% with a A$25 minimum, Express 7.5% with a A$50 minimum, Priority 10% with a A$100 minimum. Specialty repairs (indent, crease, mould) are flat fees added on top. The pricing estimator on our pricing page returns a live quote.

Every submission starts with a A$10 inspection fee where we assess the card on the bench. If we determine it does not need restoration work, you do not pay the tier fee. We forward the card straight to grading on your behalf, you only cover the inspection plus the grading middleman cost.

Standard tier runs 60 to 75+ business days, Express 40 to 50+, Priority 5 to 25+. Even simple work involves drying time between steps, and we usually have several projects on the bench. We give you a tighter estimate when we confirm the quote after physical inspection.

Ten environmental factors are commonly identified as causing change to a card. The six most common are careless handling, light exposure, temperature fluctuations, humidity, dirt, and insect attack. Pollution can also be an issue depending on where you live. Prevention is always better than cure.

Slabbed cards need to be cracked out before treatment. We crack out PSA, BGS, PCG and ACE slabs at the bench, treat the card, and re-submit through our middleman service.

Yes. Japanese stock has different gloss and edge characteristics than English print runs, but our protocol covers both, alongside Korean, Chinese, German, French, Italian and Spanish editions. Send a photo if you are unsure about the specific era.

Most cards we treat see a 1 to 3 grade improvement. The exact movement depends on starting condition, card era, and which treatments apply. We give a candid assessment before treatment begins so the expected outcome is clear.

Yes — walk-ins are welcome at the Lab, 493a Forest Rd, Penshurst NSW 2222 (Mon–Fri 9am–5pm · Sat 10am–2pm). No appointment needed; creating your submission first means the cards are logged the moment they arrive. (The Padstow address listed under shipping is a Parcel Collect box for mail-in only — please don't drop in there.)

No. In transit, the carrier and your declared value cover the card. At our bench, every card is logged, photographed on receipt, and stored in a controlled environment, but liability for the card sits with the submitter at every stage. Restoration on already-damaged cards is inherently risky work and cannot be reasonably insured. For high-value submissions we will recommend additional carrier coverage upfront.

Restoration is inherently risky work, the cards we receive are already damaged, that is why they are being sent in. Less than 1% of cards see issues at the bench, but when something does go wrong, liability sits with the submitter. We cannot reasonably insure outcomes on cards that arrive damaged. Every card is documented on intake so the baseline is clear, and we will tell you upfront when we think the risk on a particular card is elevated.

We offer authentication when needed and a middleman service to PSA, BGS, PCG and ACE. We do not grade cards ourselves, that is intentional, the lines stay clean between conservation and grading.

No. Grades are issued by third parties against their own scoring criteria. We can dramatically improve a card's chance of a higher grade, but the final number is theirs.

Usually the opposite. Most cards we treat gain 1 to 3 grade points, and the graded-value gain routinely outpaces the restoration fee. Where value is genuinely debatable — rare vintage where originality commands a premium — we say so during assessment, before any work begins, so you can make the call with full information.

We recommend it. A graded slab reflects the grading house's judgement of the card as submitted, but voluntarily disclosing restoration protects your reputation as a seller and keeps the hobby honest. We provide before-and-after documentation for every job, which makes disclosure straightforward.