SOAKING AND DRYING STAMPS

I would like to open a discussion regarding the soaking and drying of
stamps.

Some people soak stamps and let them dry naturally,. others soak and use

professional stamp driers, some use drying books others dry stamps on

non stick panels, some even use micro-wave ovens.

Some collectors use products like stamp lift to remove hinge residue on mint

stamps others use sweat boxes for the same purpose.

It would be of interest to a large number of people reading items on this

NG, if members shared their methods and the reasons why they find

them, the best method for them .

Looking forward to an interesting exchange of idea's.

Regards

John Law

On Apr 5, 2:50 pm, "John Law" wrote:
I would like to open a discussion regarding the soaking and drying of
stamps.

Some people soak stamps and let them dry naturally,. others soak and use

professional stamp driers, some use drying books others dry stamps on

non stick panels, some even use micro-wave ovens.

Some collectors use products like stamp lift to remove hinge residue on mint

stamps others use sweat boxes for the same purpose.

It would be of interest to a large number of people reading items on this

NG, if members shared their methods and the reasons why they find

them, the best method for them .

Looking forward to an interesting exchange of idea's.

Regards

John Law

===============================================
I simply use water, add little bit salt (small spoon) to 2-3 liter
water, and let it
separate alone.
One for one take out from water, with blank side upward, let it half
dry on newspaper, and then put it to any book betveen pages, and close
it.
After 3-4 hours, it will be like new!

best regards
Chastven Miloje
Balkan Countries Stamp Dealer
http://balkanstamp.blogspot.com
http://serbiastamp.blogspot.com

What is the theory for adding salt?

"AM Post" wrote in message
oups.com...
What is the theory for adding salt?

I personally never use anything now, but cold~bordering
on tepid water, with a final rinse in cold clear water.
Salt is mentioned here, however.

With regard to soaking stamps off of colored papers,
Heiss (1999) has recently reported that he has had good
success removing stamps from red papers by soaking the
items in water to which table salt has been added.
He recommends one tablespoon of table salt per one
third cup of water, and suggests that collectors experiment
with the method to determine the optimum salt
concentration to be used.
http://www.stamps.org/care/subp2.htm

"Rod" wrote in message
...
|
| "AM Post" wrote in message
| oups.com...
| What is the theory for adding salt?
|
| I personally never use anything now, but cold~bordering
| on tepid water, with a final rinse in cold clear water.
| Salt is mentioned here, however.
|
| With regard to soaking stamps off of colored papers,
| Heiss (1999) has recently reported that he has had good
| success removing stamps from red papers by soaking the
| items in water to which table salt has been added.
| He recommends one tablespoon of table salt per one
| third cup of water, and suggests that collectors experiment
| with the method to determine the optimum salt
| concentration to be used.
| http://www.stamps.org/care/subp2.htm

When natural fibers were dyed with natural dyes, various salts (and a few
other things) were often used to 'set' the dye so it would not run. The
setters are called mordants. NaCl was apparently one of them.

I can imagine that mordants might be skimped or skipped when dyeing paper,
since it, unlike cloth, is not regularly imersed in water. Who cares if
envelope dye runs? Well, we do ;-)

Terry Jan Reedy

"Terry Reedy" wrote in message
. ..

When natural fibers were dyed with natural dyes, various salts (and a few
other things) were often used to 'set' the dye so it would not run. The
setters are called mordants. NaCl was apparently one of them.
I can imagine that mordants might be skimped or skipped when dyeing paper,
since it, unlike cloth, is not regularly imersed in water. Who cares if
envelope dye runs? Well, we do ;-)
Terry Jan Reedy

The novice would have to keep in mind, that apparent
inks of some countries, masquerade as "fugitive ink",
when in fact they are "fugitive gum" and no amount of salt
will inhibit the disappearance of the stamp image.
I speak of the infamous Netherlands Indies, where the paper
is treated with gum arabic prior to printing, and it is that
which disappears and carries the ink with it.

I think this is right, but will stand corrected.

Maybe also some Austrian issues with diagonal varnish "bars"?

Rod wrote:

The novice would have to keep in mind, that apparent
inks of some countries, masquerade as "fugitive ink",
when in fact they are "fugitive gum" and no amount of salt
will inhibit the disappearance of the stamp image.
I speak of the infamous Netherlands Indies, where the paper
is treated with gum arabic prior to printing, and it is that
which disappears and carries the ink with it.

When I was a (much) younger collector, I used to hear about the
dangers of soaking stamps with fugitive inks. After repeatedly reading
such warnings, I had myself convinced that half of my stamps would be
destroyed if I tried to soak them. In reality, it's an uncommon problem
for the "normal" stamps that would be contained in a general
accumulation. Apart from those Netherlands Indies stamps, the stamps
you would be most likely to come across in a "pile of junk" that are in
danger are the Spanish ATM labels and some values of the Polish
definitives with the zodiac caricatures.
Some of the early attempts at self-adhesive stamps are awful to
soak because they won't ever come loose (FRANCE - miserable things) or
because they fall apart (USA 1974 Christmas). And some of the
water-activated gums are bad for not completely dissolving when soaked.
Such stamps will stick together slightly due to the gum residue no
matter how many times you try to soak the things (hello, Austria). Pink
colours are bad for staining if you soak them too long - I'm sure most
people have seen a USA 4c Lincoln definitive that has been soaked too
long and stained through to the back of the stamp. Coloured envelopes
are bad for staining the back of the stamp - get those off the stamp and
out of the soaking tray as soon as they'll come loose. And the green
text on the back of the American commemorative stamps of the mid '70s
will fade the longer those stamps are soaked.
In general, as long as you don't let the stamps soak for hours, 98%
of everything you'll find in a common kiloware accumulation will be OK.
I fill up both sides of the kitchen sink and use one side to loosen
the envelope and the other to rinse off remaining gum (old Dutch stamps
and UK / British Commonwealth stamps often need lots of help with the
fingers to get that goo off). As I take them out of the sink, I put
them on to a small towel to soak up some of the water. Once the towel
is full, I put them in to a stamp drying book to dry off with some
catalogues on top to squeeze them nice and flat. Soak, soak, soak!

Ryan

"Ryan Davenport" wrote in message
news:gI4Sh.44430$6m4.40753@pd7urf1no...

and UK / British Commonwealth stamps often need lots of help with the
fingers to get that goo off).

You really need to try Bob Ingraham's method,
It takes courage, but it really works.
Place the stamp face down on the fatty part of your palm
just below the thumb, in line with your little pinky,
and drag a very sharp knife, trailing the edge, over the gum.
Work in the direction of the perfs.

You only need to disturb the skin of the gum, then
place it back in the water, the gum then disperses quickly
without too much rubbing with the thumb.

It is the only method to remove gum from either
the early Austrian "gold beaters skin" stamps,
or the legendary "Elmers glue" of some Romanian
issues. Goodness knows what that consists of

Needless to say, try it on the low value duplicates first.

"Ryan Davenport" wrote in message
news:gI4Sh.44430$6m4.40753@pd7urf1no...
| Such stamps will stick together slightly due to the gum residue no
| matter how many times you try to soak the things (hello, Austria).

Then there are the stamps stuck down by the user with non-water-soluable
glue to make sure they stay stuck down. This seems especially common with
stamps from India, where pilferage is apparently more common than
elsewhere.

Then there are the stamps stuck down by the user with non-water-soluable
glue to make sure they stay stuck down. This seems especially common with
stamps from India, where pilferage is apparently more common than
elsewhere.

It was ever thus. Here is an example from Charkhari of the lavish use
of the Post Office glue pot, which still failed to prevent the removal
of (probably) another 1 anna stamp. (Sorry, this won't copy over as a
hyperlink. You'll need to cut and paste it into a browser.)
http://cjoint.com/?ejnau188q6

And here is a different approach to preventing pilferage, from Jammu
and Kashmir:
http://cjoint.com/?ejnf3ZPSYJ

Tony Mac Gillycuddy