Performance coating

[Daniel]

Hey guys, so I was wondering, what were the performance coating suppose to do for the cards. Is it to make the cards glide against itself better making great fans and spreads? I like doing fans because it's very visual and cuts, although are cool, may not amaze as much as a routine which include thumb fans and one handed fans or aerial fans etc. well, my emerald artifice and infinity came out of the box very slippery which made fans great at first since I'm a newbie and it's easier but after a few days or so of not touching them, the began to lose their fanning ability(?). although my fans were nowhere near perfect but the cards suddenly felt like they had no coating on them or something. they really don't fan. is that normal?

[Don Boyer]

Slow down, partner!  Have you tried searching for "performance coating" before starting this topic?  I believe your question has been answered SEVERAL times before.

Performance Coating is the more slippery and more durable coating of the two that are now available from USPC.  Read this for a bit more info - and if you need more, do that search I mentioned and look at some of the older articles on the topic.

http://aethercards.com/discourse/index.php?topic=756.msg35810#msg35810

Also note that any deck without metallic ink will perform better than one with (Artifice has metallic ink on the backs).  Magic Finish (which is Performance Coating under a different name) helps with this significantly.  Storage factors are also important - were they stored somewhere cool and dry, or hot and humid?

If you have a good deck gone prematurely bad, it could be a bad deck - contact Ellusionist, or simply get some fanning powder and apply carefully.

[Daniel]

Oh sorry about putting up a new thread but what you're trying to say is that my cards should have been fanning or spreading great because it has the performance coating but it may be because the place i keep it is not suitable, the metallic inks make them not as good or it may be a bad deck. right?

[Don Boyer]

Oh sorry about putting up a new thread but what you're trying to say is that my cards should have been fanning or spreading great because it has the performance coating but it may be because the place i keep it is not suitable, the metallic inks make them not as good or it may be a bad deck. right?

I'd say more #1 and #3 rather than #2, but it's possible as well.  #2 is really related to #3 in that the Performance Coating should cancel out the negatives of the metallic ink unless the deck wasn't made correctly.

Where and under what conditions do you store your Artifice cards?

[Daniel]

well, im from singapore and it's pretty much hot and humid all year round and i used to keep them in my drawer which i think is bad place but now i keep them in a box which i keep pretty much open most of the time.

[Siegismyname]

just to add on. i live in singapore too and my gold arcanes came out clumpy right out of the box. i emailed E and they said they couldnt do anything about it as i bought it from the secondary market even though the box is sealed in the lucite case.

[Daniel]

just to add on. i live in singapore too and my gold arcanes came out clumpy right out of the box. i emailed E and they said they couldnt do anything about it as i bought it from the secondary market even though the box is sealed in the lucite case.

well that's bad. i get mine from a secondary market too but they came right out of the box fine but deteriorate really fast.

[Gunshy1]

i skimmed this thread but i dont thin hand conditions was mentioned. if your hands sweat alot expect your cards to break down a lot faster then if your hands were more dry. Also when you first start out you will go through more decks, but as you get more experienced handling a deck they will start to last a bit longer.

also when you feel a deck starts to become hot and clumpy while practicing it is best to put it back in its box and leave it for a few hours to cool. this will help with decks preservation

[Evan]

Black decks tend to break down faster because of all the ink. That may have been your problem.

[Daniel]

i don't know how exactly to quote two people or more so...
@gushy1 when i first started, i only touch my decks after washing my hands so that can't be the problem but thnks for the advise.
@magicaddictz but the artifice and infinity aren't black decks

[DeckReview]

In my opinion I found the first edition artifice cards got a very bad clump stage before it's fully broken in. The metallic ink used on the v1's had a shinier look to it, thus probably resulting to that.

[Evan]

I've had no problems with my artifice decks. I've used all of them except for red and they have all been nice and smooth with minimal clumping.

[junjie04]

I live in Singapore too, I have no such problems at all.. Try putting some silica gel. I put tons of silica gel with my decks and they rarely clump, unless i put them in a porper clip

[Daniel]

In my opinion I found the first edition artifice cards got a very bad clump stage before it's fully broken in. The metallic ink used on the v1's had a shinier look to it, thus probably resulting to that.

the v1's are the ones without the border right. mine are the ones with the border so it must be the v2's. i just think it's a bad batch.

I've had no problems with my artifice decks. I've used all of them except for red and they have all been nice and smooth with minimal clumping.

then my cards may have been a bad batch 

I live in Singapore too, I have no such problems at all.. Try putting some silica gel. I put tons of silica gel with my decks and they rarely clump, unless i put them in a porper clip

silica gel? to think that i threw so many away

[AceGambit]

I live in Singapore too, I have no such problems at all.. Try putting some silica gel. I put tons of silica gel with my decks and they rarely clump, unless i put them in a porper clip

You have clumping problems when you use a Porper clip?  Do you keep the clip with the cards in the same location as you keep your cards?  I've never had clumping issues with a Porper clip, in fact, just the opposite.  They seems to improve the handling of my cards.

[NathanCanadas]

I live in Singapore too, I have no such problems at all.. Try putting some silica gel. I put tons of silica gel with my decks and they rarely clump, unless i put them in a porper clip

You have clumping problems when you use a Porper clip?  Do you keep the clip with the cards in the same location as you keep your cards?  I've never had clumping issues with a Porper clip, in fact, just the opposite.  They seems to improve the handling of my cards.

Ya, That's kind of weird... Where did you buy your porper clips? Maybe they are fakes!

[Don Boyer]

I seriously believe that the issue is handling conditions and storage.  You live in a hot and humid climate.  You need to keep cards as cool (not cold) and dry as possible.  When they warp, store them under pressure - a Porper clip, a deck press or, if resources are more limited, a stack of heavy books or something similar.  Silica gel will work, but needs to be "recharged" now and then by heating to remove absorbed moisture.  A dehumidifier might be a better option and more effective.


Lee Asher's website has a PDF on "Care and Feeding of Jerry's Nuggets", most of which applies to all playing cards in general.  Check it out.

[Daniel]

I seriously believe that the issue is handling conditions and storage.  You live in a hot and humid climate.  You need to keep cards as cool (not cold) and dry as possible.  When they warp, store them under pressure - a Porper clip, a deck press or, if resources are more limited, a stack of heavy books or something similar.  Silica gel will work, but needs to be "recharged" now and then by heating to remove absorbed moisture.  A dehumidifier might be a better option and more effective.


Lee Asher's website has a PDF on "Care and Feeding of Jerry's Nuggets", most of which applies to all playing cards in general.  Check it out.

The old place of where i used to store my cards may have been the problem since as of now, my new decks seems to be just fine.
and wow, those porper clips are expensive  i honestly have never heard of a dehumidifier so i googled it. this collecting thing is way more than just buying the cards huh  haha

[AceGambit]

this collecting thing is way more than just buying the cards huh

Haha, it actually depends on what you want to do with the cards you've collected.  Judging from the the fact that you are having clumping issues, I'm going to venture a guess and say you use your cards?  If that's the case, try keeping your decks in your basement if you have it, or the back corner of a closet.  Desk drawers and cars seem to be no-good for my decks,  I keep my decks that I use on a regular basis on a shelf in my basement, no dehumidifier, no silica gel, and I don't tend to have that problem.  I also live in New England, USA so, my climate is quite a bit different.  My cards do however warp pretty bad when you drop them in a puddle of frozen strawberry daiquiri (I perform in bars).

[Don Boyer]

this collecting thing is way more than just buying the cards huh

Haha, it actually depends on what you want to do with the cards you've collected.  Judging from the the fact that you are having clumping issues, I'm going to venture a guess and say you use your cards?  If that's the case, try keeping your decks in your basement if you have it, or the back corner of a closet.  Desk drawers and cars seem to be no-good for my decks,  I keep my decks that I use on a regular basis on a shelf in my basement, no dehumidifier, no silica gel, and I don't tend to have that problem.  I also live in New England, USA so, my climate is quite a bit different.  My cards do however warp pretty bad when you drop them in a puddle of frozen strawberry daiquiri (I perform in bars).

Have you tried the Karnival Death Heads?  Great deck for those conditions.

[AceGambit]

Have you tried the Karnival Death Heads?  Great deck for those conditions.

No, I don't actually own any BBM decks.  I'm waiting for one that really strikes my fancy.  I don't much care for any of the existing ones.  I really liked the notion of the inferno deck, but they messed that up.  What do you mean good for those conditions?  Are the Death Heads resistant to frozen drinks?

[Daniel]

this collecting thing is way more than just buying the cards huh

If that's the case, try keeping your decks in your basement if you have it, or the back corner of a closet.  Desk drawers and cars seem to be no-good for my decks
My cards do however warp pretty bad when you drop them in a puddle of frozen strawberry daiquiri (I perform in bars).

i guess i found out the hard way about those desk drawers 
oh yeah? i wonder how many you've drop already, haha

Have you tried the Karnival Death Heads?  Great deck for those conditions.

No, I don't actually own any BBM decks.  I'm waiting for one that really strikes my fancy.  I don't much care for any of the existing ones.  I really liked the notion of the inferno deck, but they messed that up.  What do you mean good for those conditions?  Are the Death Heads resistant to frozen drinks?

they've got these armour coating  haha

[Don Boyer]

Have you tried the Karnival Death Heads?  Great deck for those conditions.

No, I don't actually own any BBM decks.  I'm waiting for one that really strikes my fancy.  I don't much care for any of the existing ones.  I really liked the notion of the inferno deck, but they messed that up.  What do you mean good for those conditions?  Are the Death Heads resistant to frozen drinks?

they've got these armour coating  haha

Actually, Daniel, that's "Armour Edition".  They're 100% plastic, and very similar to Bicycle Prestige decks in terms of how they were made and how they handle.  They actually faro rather nicely.  So yes, Death Heads are highly resistant to frozen drinks, as long as you clean them off afterwards - but they're still not cigarette-resistant, so be careful around smokers!

There is actually one deck, and only one, that I know of that's fire-resistant.  It's the Bicycle deck made for NASA - it's a Rider Back with the bike-riding cherubs replaced with the NASA "meatball" logo.