I have a solid brick of 2000 Fleer Ultra Football

[Mister2Bits]

My father was a card hoarder his entire life and I'm starting to inherit some of his collection since it's getting too big for him to care for. I recently came across a 800ct box of 2000 Fleer Ultra Football (not searched - HOF's, stars, inserts, die cuts and RC's still present).

Unfortunately over the last 17 years the cards have fused together and are now one giant brick of 800 cards. I started pulling a few apart and it definitely damages the back (but not the front) of the cards.

Obviously we all know who I'm looking for - there may be some Brady RC's.

My wife suggested some heat from a blowdryer may loosen the cards up but I havent tried yet.

I've already smacked my pops :D, but what else can I do?

Thanks for the help...

John

[BostonNut]

Put them in the freezer?

[PGS]

I've heard putting them in the freezer for 15-20 minutes has worked for some people. I've never tried it though.

[p.thomaston]

Freezing them may help, I've personally never tried it but have seen some of the basketball guys post about it. Just be cautious not to leave them in there too long, I read a story about one guy that kept them in there a little longer and there was moisture between the cards that froze and damaged them even more.

[celtics]

Take the stack and SMASH the bottom of it onto a table of flat surface a couple of times.

This has worked for me multiple times

GOOD LUCK!

[pejc300]

Freezer is worth trying, it has worked some for me in the past.

[blackbears86]

definitely freezer for about 1 to 1.5 hours might help, but if they have been fused together for years, you could be out of luck....

[StevenTormollan]

Once they've fused together like that, there isn't really anyway to seperate them without damage as far as i know. Be very careful and break them down into about 30-40 card bricks and then bend the bricks all around to seperate them without having to tear each card apart. If that makes sense.

[packerfan4200]

Once they've fused together like that, there isn't really anyway to seperate them without damage as far as i know. Be very careful and break them down into about 30-40 card bricks and then bend the bricks all around to seperate them without having to tear each card apart. If that makes sense.

Do this, after you freeze them. Definitely no heat. Good luck !!

[Mister2Bits]

Thank you everyone, I had to work late so ill report back in tomorrow night. going to try the freezer first

[Mister2Bits]

Last night I tried three new methods...

Freezer - I put two 50ct bricks in a ziplock bag and let it freeze for 2hrs. The ziplock bag helped reduce the moisture I was worried about (I live in humid Florida). The cards pulled apart much better but are still damaged after separating although not as bad as my first attempts.

Smash & Pray - I took a 50ct brick and slammed it hard face down on a table. It took about 5 hits for them to separate and there was no damage to first card or any other cards from the impact. However, I still have the same damage from the separation.

Rip & Pray - The first few I tried to "peel" apart were destroyed. This time around I decided to rip them off like a bandaid and see if that helped. This actually seems like the preferred method. I have a 2/10 success rate with no damage which is still better than the garbage can.

Tonight I'm going to try heat and see if that has any affect.

No Brady's yet but I've got a few nice inserts. I'll post some of my finds for S&G's.

[Branesergen]

Have you tried the bend? A small block, just work it back and forth to break apart. Works for me tho I've never had fused together cards.