How to Repair Squashed Game Boxes

You know how it goes, you manage to find a boxed and complete game for a good price, but when you receive it, the box has bends in it! No more! I'm going to show you how to remove the bends and even give the edges back their sharpness!

Here's what you'll need:

• An iron with the water removed and set to it's hottest setting
• Non-stick baking paper
• A hard flat surface

Step 1) Lay a sheet of baking paper down on the hard flat surface with the smooth waxy side up. Place your flattened out game box on top then put a second layer of baking paper on top, with the smooth waxy side down. The baking paper is to prevent the box sticking to the iron or surface and getting damaged.


Step 2) Iron that bad-boy! Only iron the side of the box for now, not the front/back.
*TIP* Instead of "rubbing" the iron back and fourth, try "stamping" the iron instead. I've found that "rubbing" sometimes removes print from certain boxes.
*TIP* If there's any stickers on the side you're ironing, now would be the ideal time to peel them off, since the heat from the iron will have softened the adhesive and they should come off quite easily. Watch you don't burn your fingers!



Step 3) Turn the box over, and bend the box so that that side you just ironed is now facing up (as in the above photo).


Step 4) Iron the side of the box again. This is to make sure both edges are nice and crisp, instead of just one of them. Repeat steps 1 to 4 for the other side. Then, iron the front or back of the box.



Step 5) Quickly place something heavy on top of the front or back of the box, this is to prevent the box from warping, we want this thing to stay flat! Once the box has cooled, iron the front or back of the box (whichever you haven't done yet obviously!), quickly put something heavy on top and wait to cool as before.


Step 6) Now iron the flaps, you don't need the second sheet of baking paper here, since there's no ink or glosses to stick to the iron, but you'll still need that sheet on the surface.


Step 7) Don't forget about the little flaps! If these are firm and flat, your box will stay closed better
​

And there we go! You won't be able to restore your box to brand-new condition, if the print was damaged by being creased, then it will be damaged forevermore, but you can at least give the box it's shape back!

 

If you're talking about the only thing you ever iron are game boxes, then yes

 

Works for manuals too never thought it work for card board though. Well Crusi'n USA needs a fix *turns on iron*

 

Worked very well, thanks!

 

Brown paper was the traditional norm for ironing sensitive clothing etc. It would work just as well as greaseproof paper, if you need a substitute

 

Added a tip about "stamping" the iron instead of "rubbing", I found rubbing was removing some of the foil from my Ocarina of Time box but not when I stamped instead.

 

Nice tutorial and unexpected
Thanks!

 

Added a tip about removing stickers while ironing the box. I found that stickers come off really easily since the heat from the iron softens up the adhesive. Much faster and better results than the hairdryer method, and hey, you're already working on the box anyway!

 

Yay! Great to know i'm not the only OCD person here!

 

Lol, I'm ironing some boxes as we speak

 

Of course not, collectors are OCD

 

Oh wow! Will be really useful!

 

i may try this, gonna get some weird looks but worth it, although i tend to avoid card boxed games if i can, unless they're big box pc games or i can pick them up locally. the only recent boxed games i've had were some snes games which i sold, from memory i think they were putty squad, sim city and donkey kong, meh!

anyway awesome info and tutorial/guide

 

I've never really owned an iron... Guess I might have to invest in one for all the wrong reasons! Come here you pesky 32X boxes...