Restoration & Card Grading
Restoration and grading are related, but they're not the same thing, and they're not decided by the same people. Here's how they connect, and the honest answer to the question we get most.
01Two different jobs
Our job is the physical card in front of us. Grading is a separate assessment, done independently by PSA, BGS, CGC or another grading company, using their own graders and standards.
- Creases and bubble creases. Reduced or corrected where the card allows.
- Indents, dents and warping. Brought back toward flat.
- Surface wear and light scratches. Cleaned and polished back.
- Centering. How the image sits in the border, set the day it was printed.
- Print quality and whitening. Factory defects and missing ink stay as they are.
- The grader. Their standards, applied to that card, on that day.
Improving one defect can improve a card's overall condition. It doesn't mean every other factor a grader weighs has improved too.
02Does restoration guarantee a grade?
No restoration service anywhere can guarantee you a specific grade. If someone promises you a number before your card has even reached a grading company, it's worth asking how they could possibly know.
What restoration can do is give a damaged card its best realistic shot. A crease that would have kept a card out of gradeable condition might be reduced enough that it's worth submitting. An indent you could see from across the room might become something you have to look for under direct light.
FullRestore Cards can't guarantee how a grading company will assess a card that has been through the restoration process. While we've sent many cards off to be graded with success, we aren't liable if a restored card is returned with an altered grade. You acknowledge this in our terms and conditions before submitting.
03Not sure? Ask first
Some damage responds very well to restoration. Some doesn't, and the final result depends on the card itself. If you're unsure what's realistic for yours, DM us photos before you send it.
Improvement, not perfection, is the standard we work to. What a grading company decides is theirs to make.