Has Actiplaque ever been successfully removed?

[Bryan]

I was thinking about this because I have a label on something else that is deteriorating. There's got to be a good way to restore these labels. I did a quick forum search so forgive me if someone has posted a solution already.

 

The darkness is from oils coming out of the adhesive. It's got to be possible to remove and wash the label in a solvent to remove the oils (much like check-washing) then apply a new coat of adhesive to get the cartridge through another 20-30 years.

 

Has anyone tried anything like this?

[homerwannabee]

I was thinking about this because I have a label on something else that is deteriorating. There's got to be a good way to restore these labels. I did a quick forum search so forgive me if someone has posted a solution already.

 

The darkness is from oils coming out of the adhesive. It's got to be possible to remove and wash the label in a solvent to remove the oils (much like check-washing) then apply a new coat of adhesive to get the cartridge through another 20-30 years.

 

Has anyone tried anything like this?

Maybe actiplaqing the whole label to the point it's one solid uniform stain would work.

[shadow460]

I usually make the highest quality copy of the label I can when they get bad. Matter of fact, I am about to try it for the first time on a cart that doesn't have rips or plaque--it's label is split into three layers and they are spearating.

 

If there is a way to remove the glue, I'd like to know, and I have some rare carts that are dead but whose labels I would like to preserve for someone who wants them. The glue makes that difficult.

[video game addict]

Nearly

[Godzilla]

very impressive work, vga

[+Cobra Kai]

Don't even waste your time. The adhesive has soaked into the paper, causing the blotchy look. Similar to what happens when you put potato chips on a paper plate. It's a symptom mostly of silicone based adhesive with a thin faced paper used in the label making process.

 

Why do I know this? Because I'm a label press operator of 15 years. We have some old rolls of this stuff in the warehouse and it looks exactly like what most Activision carts look like today. I use it to set up the printing press as it's worthless as a production quality substrate now.

[Rik]

Exactly!how can actiplaqued labels be restored?The deteriorated glue is fused into label :?Just make new ones,not too hard to do :)It would be great if it could be done like a rare painting,but not the same medium,printed inks and oil consistency stains on paper are next to impossible to remove and fix like new.

Edited September 2, 2009 by Rik

[Albert]

Don't even waste your time. The adhesive has soaked into the paper, causing the blotchy look. Similar to what happens when you put potato chips on a paper plate. It's a symptom mostly of silicone based adhesive with a thin faced paper used in the label making process.

 

Why do I know this? Because I'm a label press operator of 15 years. We have some old rolls of this stuff in the warehouse and it looks exactly like what most Activision carts look like today. I use it to set up the printing press as it's worthless as a production quality substrate now.

Good information, thanks.

 

..Al

[seanhq]

I wonder if David Crane has a secret stash of mint unused Activision game labels that have been stored in optimal conditions to keep them nice and free of the nasty actiplaque blotches... that would be awesome if he did and sold and/or donated them to some Atari / Activision fans

Edited September 4, 2009 by seanhq

[A.J. Franzman]

Apologies for reviving an old topic.

 

The answer is, yes. "Actiplaque" label glue/adhesive mottling can be mostly reversed by using a couple of products (gum remover and mildew stain remover) marketed to stamp collectors. For reference, see: Interest Check: Vulture Attack - SOLD, post #15.

[Philflound]

Your link is not working, at least not for me.

 

Phil

[VectorGamer]

Your link is not working, at least not for me.

 

Phil

 

Not for me either

[horseboy]

Your link is not working, at least not for me.

 

Phil

 

Not for me either

 

It is the same post that was linked to in post 4 of this thread.

[nofrills100]

take it to a paper conservator -they'll charge you a couple hundred bucks - and voila! you'll have a beautifully restored labelled combat cart to put on the mantlepiece!

 

incidentally, I work as an assistant conservator in a major gallery, and the stuff the paper conservators can do is very impressive. You are probably dealing with some major chemical burn and saturation from the glues... not necessarily irreversible, but you would only seriously consider getting it done professionally if it were a valuable cart.

Edited August 27, 2010 by nofrills100

[Thomas Jentzsch]

Don't even waste your time. The adhesive has soaked into the paper, causing the blotchy look. Similar to what happens when you put potato chips on a paper plate. It's a symptom mostly of silicone based adhesive with a thin faced paper used in the label making process.

 

Why do I know this? Because I'm a label press operator of 15 years. We have some old rolls of this stuff in the warehouse and it looks exactly like what most Activision carts look like today. I use it to set up the printing press as it's worthless as a production quality substrate now.

Good information, thanks.

Might this eventually happen to AA carts too?

[Dr Manhattan]

Almost my entire Acitivision collection suffers from this dreaded problem.

[A.J. Franzman]

Fixed link (yes, it's the same as the one in post #4. Sorry I didn't see it before.): Interest Check: Vulture Attack - SOLD, post #15

[diogoandrei]

Gotta say that looks impressive (what that guy did in Vulture Attack)... specially how the red/hot tones came alive. It would be nice with there was a small tutorial for the How To section of AA showing how to deal with this.

[tz101]

take it to a paper conservator -they'll charge you a couple hundred bucks - and voila! you'll have a beautifully restored labelled combat cart to put on the mantlepiece!

 

incidentally, I work as an assistant conservator in a major gallery, and the stuff the paper conservators can do is very impressive. You are probably dealing with some major chemical burn and saturation from the glues... not necessarily irreversible, but you would only seriously consider getting it done professionally if it were a valuable cart.

 

Cheaper than spending $200 per cart would be to scan the labels as .jpg files at high resolution and use photoshop to get rid of the spottiness. Print out the fixed .jpg to full size on photo-stock, then remove the old label with a heat gun and glue the new one in place with rubber cement. Voila, new looking Activision game cart.

[nofrills100]

take it to a paper conservator -they'll charge you a couple hundred bucks - and voila! you'll have a beautifully restored labelled combat cart to put on the mantlepiece!

 

incidentally, I work as an assistant conservator in a major gallery, and the stuff the paper conservators can do is very impressive. You are probably dealing with some major chemical burn and saturation from the glues... not necessarily irreversible, but you would only seriously consider getting it done professionally if it were a valuable cart.

 

Cheaper than spending $200 per cart would be to scan the labels as .jpg files at high resolution and use photoshop to get rid of the spottiness. Print out the fixed .jpg to full size on photo-stock, then remove the old label with a heat gun and glue the new one in place with rubber cement. Voila, new looking Activision game cart.

 

ahhhhhh - but it wouldn't be original then would it!

this would make a big dent in the value of your cart if it were a rare item.

 

but if it wasn't rare - sure thing.

[tz101]

take it to a paper conservator -they'll charge you a couple hundred bucks - and voila! you'll have a beautifully restored labelled combat cart to put on the mantlepiece!

 

incidentally, I work as an assistant conservator in a major gallery, and the stuff the paper conservators can do is very impressive. You are probably dealing with some major chemical burn and saturation from the glues... not necessarily irreversible, but you would only seriously consider getting it done professionally if it were a valuable cart.

 

Cheaper than spending $200 per cart would be to scan the labels as .jpg files at high resolution and use photoshop to get rid of the spottiness. Print out the fixed .jpg to full size on photo-stock, then remove the old label with a heat gun and glue the new one in place with rubber cement. Voila, new looking Activision game cart.

 

ahhhhhh - but it wouldn't be original then would it!

this would make a big dent in the value of your cart if it were a rare item.

 

but if it wasn't rare - sure thing.

 

But if I want pristine looking Activision carts this may be the way to go, and I do professional looking work so most can't tell the difference when I am done anyway.

[Saldo]

take it to a paper conservator -they'll charge you a couple hundred bucks - and voila! you'll have a beautifully restored labelled combat cart to put on the mantlepiece!

 

incidentally, I work as an assistant conservator in a major gallery, and the stuff the paper conservators can do is very impressive. You are probably dealing with some major chemical burn and saturation from the glues... not necessarily irreversible, but you would only seriously consider getting it done professionally if it were a valuable cart.

 

Cheaper than spending $200 per cart would be to scan the labels as .jpg files at high resolution and use photoshop to get rid of the spottiness. Print out the fixed .jpg to full size on photo-stock, then remove the old label with a heat gun and glue the new one in place with rubber cement. Voila, new looking Activision game cart.

 

ahhhhhh - but it wouldn't be original then would it!

this would make a big dent in the value of your cart if it were a rare item.

 

but if it wasn't rare - sure thing.

 

But if I want pristine looking Activision carts this may be the way to go, and I do professional looking work so most can't tell the difference when I am done anyway.

 

I think this is fine for your own collection, but the minute you try to pass that cart off on ebay as original it now becomes fraud! I'm sure people are probably doing this very thing right now and passing them off as the real thing. If the work is really good is there a way to tell if it is counterfit? I know in the comic book world rare and valuable comics can be sent out to restoration companies that clean, mend, and add in missing pages. These however are labeled as restorations and are usaually sold as such with full disclosure.

[tz101]

I am not about deception.

 

As a matter of fact, I keep all my video game stuff, still having all my original stuff from early 80's to today. So odds of me selling these are slim, but I would disclose it as refurbished in an ebay ad for honesty sake.