Begin with the printed face
The Surface subgrade describes one part of a collectible's condition. In Smash & Grab, it helps drive the treatment of the card's printed area. Depending on the copy, your eye may be drawn to fading, a mark or a change in the image's character.
Don't assume that every rough-looking surface must have scratches. The wear model contains treatments with different visual effects, and scratches are deliberately limited to styles that call for them. A sun-bleached print should be able to look faded without also looking as though someone dragged it over concrete.
Physical grading uses a broader inspection of the actual material. PSA's standards include surface condition and printing defects. Lockbox's digital score belongs to its own generated copy; it isn't an appraisal of a physical card.
Separate a mark from a reflection
A slab has a case around the card. In a 3D view, light on that case can cross the portrait as you tilt it. A bright streak that moves with the viewing angle may be a reflection, while a printed treatment stays attached to the card's image.
That is why one screenshot can be misleading. View the slab from more than one angle, then compare the affected area with the recorded subgrades. You don't have to make a grading judgment from the least flattering frame of an animation.
| What you see | The useful question |
|---|---|
| A pale portrait | Has the print lost contrast, or is a reflection washing across the case? |
| A thin line | Does it stay attached to the printed image as the slab moves? |
| A strong color cast | Is this the art's palette or a treatment on this copy? |
| A visibly altered image | How do the wear style and condition scores explain it together? |
Surface has weight, but it isn't the whole grade
At 30%, Surface has the largest weight in Lockbox's average. Centering has 20%; Corners and Edges have 25% each. The overall grade is rounded down to a half point and then restricted by the weakest subgrade.
Consider a copy with Surface 5.5 and the other three categories at 9. Its weighted average is 7.95. Rounding down gives 7.5, but the lowest score caps the final result at 6. The slab reads 6 Excellent.
Now imagine the surface is excellent and one corner category is weak instead. The same cap still applies. A beautiful printed face doesn't cancel out the rest of the object.
Fading should leave someone to recognize
The current wear implementation separates the treatment of the print from the tone of the paper. It also limits how far fading can go. That keeps a low-grade portrait from disappearing into a pale rectangle where the character used to be.
This is a design compromise worth noticing. Wear needs to be visible enough to mean something, but the collectible still needs its subject. If you can't recognize the person or enjoy the artwork, there is less reason to inspect different copies in the first place.
The model therefore gives different treatments different jobs. A photocopied look pushes the image toward a harder reproduction. Sun bleaching reduces its punch. A handled look can put more attention on physical-looking wear. You can read the differences without knowing the rendering code.
Compare the same portrait twice
If you own two copies of one variant, put your attention on the eyes, the darkest shadows and the quieter areas of the image. Those places make contrast changes and marks easier to describe. Then check whether surface condition is the main difference or whether centering and perimeter wear are contributing too.
Choose the copy you enjoy, and keep the reason specific. “The face reads more clearly” is a useful preference. So is “I like the faded evidence-photo feeling.” The surface number helps explain what you're seeing; it doesn't have to dictate what you love.