Is there any way to speed up the aging process of a deck?

[Cerulean]

Oh RECIPES! Some ideas?

1. Wrap up in newspaper. Dunk in hot water. If paper, not plastic, this should soften them. If they are paper, they may get runny if the ink isn't set...If they are plastic, you may have to bend each card corner, fold them up and do number 2b, preferably dry.

2a.Wrap soggy result in a towel. b. Run over towel with bicycle or gritty shoes or walk on them with same.**

3. Rinse with tea or coffee grounds.

4. Hang them out to dry or

5. Leave them in a hot car or window, scattered about in the sun for that joyful sun-baked crispiness.

6. Roll it, bake it and mark it with a T. Play paddycake for fun.***

**Hopefully you separated the newspaper from the soggy mess before running them over in #2, otherwise it might be tarot mash.

***Sorry, couldn't resist

I was thinking how pristine cardboard can become aged and stained fast; the colors of coffee, burnt umber, dark browns do nice stains and the soaking might help separate edges and soften the cards. The filing other people have suggested sounds like a great idea! You might want to cut or bend some of the corners or edges so they curl.

Good luck. Some of the paper aging suggestions might not work with thick plastic lamination. The bend and folding idea might help.

Best regards,

Cerulean

 

[Annabelle]

So you want to age a deck to be used as a film prop - but, you don't want to ruin the deck. Many of the suggestions given would indeed age a deck . . . but if you are wanting to still have a deck in usable condition afterwards, how about this idea -

Make scans of some of the cards. Age them on the computer using graphics editing software - change the overall color tone to something sepia-like, etc.. Then make color printouts on card stock, and then stain, fold, etc. as necessary to get the effect you want. Just do the required number of cards (I'm not sure if the deck will just be stacked up and sitting on a table in the film, or if someone will shuffle it and read with it, or what), and make up the rest of "the deck" with just plain cardstock that has been "aged" to match.

 

[Fulgour]

Place it in context...handle it like it's old,
speak of it as being old, put it with other
old things, in old hands, on an old table.

 

[Embla]

Oh these are all such great and professional ideas! I am overwhelmed by the creativity that has gone into these recipes for aging decks. I think I might have to try several methods out and then, based on results, pick the one I prefer. I am a creative perfectionist so controlling the results, creating even results, is very important to me. I probably have to try this with a regular poker deck or something first. I initially imagined doing this with one of my own decks, which I why I didn´t want to ruin it, but I now realize that that is way too risky, at least for a tarot-aging beginner like me!

Thanks for the tips on sandpapering the lamination of the cards, many decks are so sturdy and coated these days that it seems like they could live through anything.

The scenes we are shooting will show the whole deck of cards on a very old, rough table, (placing it in context is so important, I agree!) but never the actual 78 cards, only a spread with about seven cards, so all the cards would not necessarily have to go through the aging process, but the deck as a whole still needs to look authentic.

 

[New Hope Star]

I had an old deck and lost one card. I bought a new deck but the card I replaced was too new. I rubbed the card with a pumice stone until it the artwork looked as worn as the original deck.

 

[HearthCricket]

Shuffling, bending, using them a lot, sunshine for fading, tumble dry low (in a pillowcase like some mention) to soften them, spackle some tea drops on them to stain and age the look, stuff them in things, like a purse and let them get a work-out. Also have different people shuffle them. Everyone has their own way of shuffling. Someone who has never shuffled, or a child, even! Or someone who may bend or drop them, because they are not used to tarot decks. Stick them under your sheet and sleep over them at night. That ought to put a few bends and twists in them! Then flip them over and sleep on them that way the next night!