Putting something to protect flimsy cards?

I have a deck that I've only had for four months and the card stock/finish is pretty awful. The borders were done in a nice design and it has already begun wearing off since two months ago, and two of the cards are splitting in a corner. Not good for a deck I've not had for very long, and I could replace it, but if I do, I am thinking how long until I have to replace that one as well?

Just wondering if anyone knows of something I could possibly coat each card with to protect it from further wear/splitting. Is that even a thing?

I was curious about what people would reply here - apparently nothing
All I know of is something like these sleeves, but it won't feel nice and will never be the right size. A subtle lamination is another option.

Honestly, lamination's about the only option I can think of. Sealant sprays can be problematic--I guess you could do a dozen extremely light coats to keep the cards from warping from the moisture in the sealant, but that's only going to protect the finish (if it does even that much), and it won't prevent the tearing the OP is experiencing.

Lamination would protect the print and prevent further tearing...but will make the deck very thick. If it's a fairly thin cardstock and you use a very thin, slick lamination product, it should still shuffle fairly well. I have one limited edition, home printed deck that was produced this way, and while it's a the thickest deck I have when stacked, it's still a very useable deck.

There are sprays. But they aren't going to stop the cards actually peeling, sadly. What deck is it ?

I have not tried this, so I'm not saying it will work, but you can try a very thin layer of Mod Podge. If you have a factory card or something, you could see if it works on that one. It won't stop the peeling, but it should keep the print nice.

If anyone's tried this, let me know if it does or doesn't work. Just an idea; no guarantees.

moon_light said:

I have not tried this, so I'm not saying it will work, but you can try a very thin layer of Mod Podge. If you have a factory card or something, you could see if it works on that one. It won't stop the peeling, but it should keep the print nice.

If anyone's tried this, let me know if it does or doesn't work. Just an idea; no guarantees.

Click to expand...

The problem I could see here is that ModPodge by itself isn't meant for surfaces that will see a lot of wear & tear; they suggest using a sealant or varnish over it in those situations, so at that point, you'd be using two products instead of one, with no real added benefit. I wouldn't use it for something like this; it's also so hard to apply thinly and evenly, I'd be concerned they wouldn't shuffle well at all after applying it.

Among trading card game players it is quite common to use card sleeves. Usually trading cards are a lot smaller, though, so you'd need sleeves with a special tarot card size. A while ago I stumbled across these tarot card sleeves here. I haven't tried them myself, but the reviews sound quite convincing!

Thanks for the suggestions. It is Chrysalis tarot published by US Games, which is odd because usually their decks are good and sturdy. I ended up writing to them, and they are sending me a replacement deck. They want me to send them a few cards so they can show the printer. Hopefully I just got a messed up deck and the replacement will be better.

If not, I will look into very thin laminations. I use Mod Podge for art journaling, and I am fairly certain it would not be good for protecting my cards. Doubting the replacement deck will be much better, so I will most likely end up going with the lamination.

As soon as I saw it was USG I was about to suggest making contact. You should be fine then. My Chrysalis is OK !