If you play with your Pokemon trading cards regularly, then you may notice that they start to whiten around the edges. Is this something that you can remove? Why does it occur? That is what we want to take a look at on this page.
So, how do you fix whitening cards in Pokemon? You can’t. Once the whitening occurs, there isn’t much that you can do. The only way to remove whitening from Pokemon cards is to stop then whitening in the first place.
Throughout the rest of this page, we want to give you a bit of information on ensuring that your Pokemon trading cards are properly protected. We also want to tell you exactly why you are not going to be able to remove the whitening from them.
How Do You Fix Whitening Cards in Pokemon?
As we said, it is impossible to fix whitening on Pokemon cards.
This is because when whitening occurs, the ink on the Pokemon card is fading, and sometimes completely disappearing.
Obviously, it is going to be impossible for you to be able to put the ink back on the cards.
There are guides online that claim that they can help you to fix whitening on Pokemon cards. However, we can assure you that none of these guides work. If you follow them, then you actually run the risk of causing damage to your cards that is far greater than a bit of whitening!
Why Do Pokemon Cards Whiten?
So, why is that whitening occurring? Well, there are a few reasons.
Pokemon cards don’t do well in direct sunlight. When they are in direct sunlight for long periods of time, the UV rays will start to break down the ink on the playing card. This will cause the ink to slowly fade. We will tell you a little bit more about how you can protect against this later on.
As you play with the trading card, you will also be rubbing them together. Again, this is going to cause the ink to fade on the card if you are not careful. The more you play with a card, the more than color will start to fade. Luckily, Pokemon cards tend to be quite durable, so it isn’t going to happen the first time you play with the card!
Of course, there are some Pokemon cards that will be printed that have naturally whitened. This is likely going to be down to a flaw at the printers. Again, there is nothing that you are going to be able to do about this.
When a Pokemon Trading Card comes whitened from the printers, it is less likely to be a faded color. Instead, you may see small spots of white on the card, generally around the border. Some people do not class this as true whitening but, of course, it is going to be impacting the overall value of the card.
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How Do You Prevent Pokemon Cards From Whitening?
As we said, the best way in which you can remove whitening from Pokemon cards is to prevent them from whitening in the first place. Thankfully, this should be pretty easy to do.
Remember, you will never be able to 100% prevent cards from whitening. It is a natural process. Ink is going to fade on everything. If you head to a museum, most of the older paintings there will have had a bit of whitening happen over time.
If it can happen to those multi-million dollar paintings, you can bet your bottom dollar that it is going to happen to a Pokemon card that is worth just a couple of cents!
There are two ways in which you can slow down the rate at which your Pokemon cards whiten, though.
The first is to keep them out of direct sunlight. This means storing them in either a box (preferably a deck box) or a binder. Store this in a dark location. Your shelf should be fine unless you have the sunlight shining onto it.
The second is to double-sleeve the Pokemon cards that you play with. This means putting your Pokemon card into a penny sleeve and then putting this sleeved card into a proper card sleeve.
By double-sleeving your cards, you are preventing the Pokemon cards from rubbing against one another. You are also stopping the card from moving around inside of the card sleeve. This, again, is going to help prevent them from whitening.
Does Whitening Impact the Value of a Pokemon Card?
Yes.
Let’s say you are getting a Pokemon card graded by the PSA. They have a rule that any card with whitening, no matter how much, cannot be graded above a 9. This can drastically reduce the value of the card.
If you are not planning on getting the cards graded, then the whitening shouldn’t matter too much. Most people who are planning on playing with the cards do not care too much about whether their cards have whitened or not. This is because they are eventually going to whiten in their hands anyway.
If you are selling your Pokemon cards, perhaps through an eBay listing, then we do suggest that you mention whether there is any whitening on the cards. If the whitening is serious, then make sure that you snap a photograph of it. This way, you will be dealing with fewer complaints when people receive the card.
Final Thoughts
It is impossible to remove whitening from a Pokemon card. This is because the whitening is faded ink, and there is no way to replace the faded ink.
The best that you can do is ensure that the process of card whitening is slowed down. This means storing your cards out of direct sunlight. If you plan on playing with the cards, then you will need to put them into card sleeves.
If you are planning on getting your cards graded, then do bear in mind that the value of the card will be seriously hampered by whitening.