Watermarks On Mnh Will Fluid Ruin Gum?

Received some Canadian classics with some MNH and some OG with small hinge marks or remnants. These are in the range for watermarks but I don't want to destroy the gum. Will ronsonol fluid destroy the gum or since it evaporates completely would it be OK. Might just try scanning and playing with colors but the stitch watermark is really hard to detect using any method.

Hi! nitrolures.

To use lighter fluid on gummed stamps is something I have often wondered about.
As I only collect used KGVs I have never used fluid on a gummed stamp to tell what the watermark is.

If I was going to check the watermark on a gummed stamp using lighter fluid for the 1st time I would use a very damaged stamp to learn with. And if I changed the stamp colour or the issue I would still check to see what happens to a damaged stamp 1st.

One Day I will do this. Happy stamping KGV

I have done it, I'm sure not all gum is the same, (Juicy Fruit is my favorite) I have tried to remove gum off of modern, 1920's on up US stamps with Ronsonol, nope. I have rubbed it, stuck it and soaked it and it's still there. Wether it will affect 100 + year old horse bone paste, I will leave that to the Mythbusters.

Lighter fluid will not ruin the gum. Many Stamp dealers use only Lighter Fluid due to the cost of Watermark fluid. A lot of the Stamps from the UK and OZ you can see with the naked eye or by simply placing them on a black background.

Hello to all from a newbie to SC--
Don't know if anyone out there ever had to take Organic Chemistry- one of the least fun college courses I ever took-- but the main reason why lighter fluid and these other fluids won't hurt the gum on your stamps is because these fluids are non-polar substances, where water is polar.

From a definition I found on the web, to simplify, Polar molecules have a net (= overall) charge on them. On the other hand, nonpolar molecules have no net charge. Water is a polar substance.

Also, a small rule of thumb (mostly, but doesn't ALWAYS work) is that when you look at the correct structure of a molecule, if it has symmetry, then it's nonpolar (ie. hydrocarbons). Whereas nonsymmetric molecules are polar (ie. H20).

Polar substances will dissolve in other polar substances, but will not dissolve in non-polar substances. Best example I can think of is that you can't dissolve gum from the back of tape in water or alcohol. The gum from the back of tape is non-polar, and both water and alcohol are polar. You CAN dissolve gum from the back of tape in acetone (fingernail polish remover), which is non-polar.

So, if the gum from a stamp will dissolve in water (a polar substance), it won't dissolve in a non-polar substance (lighter fluid).

Didn't mean to get too technical, but these are the real reasons why it is safe to immerse a mint stamp with gum in watermark fluid, because of the polarity (or non-polarity).

Hope this helps a bit......thanks, Ray

I've read several explanations over the years, Ray. Yours is the clearest.

Here's the scanning method I use. I've never had a watermark I couldn't decipher this way, including (as you'll see in one example) postal stationery and postcards.

Ray.mac, thanks for the explanation but I hope nobody ever asks me to repeat it.
Regards
Mike

I've also bowled for 40 years, and a lot of bowlers keep tape in their thumb hole-- when you take a piece of tape out, there is always gum in the thumb hole-- and I've seen guys for years try to use alcohol to remove the gum....AIN'T gonna work....gotta use acetone, or just get a $.99 bottle of fingernail polish remover.....

PostmasterGs could you go into some more detail in getting the watermark out using photoshop - I would love to be able to use hi res scanned images to find watermarks.

Drew

The safe watermark fluid is nasty enough. The ronsonol (lighter fluid) may be cheaper but it is even more hazardous.

thanks ray.mac on the acetone. - jeff

StampStudy,

Detailed explanation is here.