Removal Of Old Hinge Residue.

Greetings! I was recently reintroduced to the wonderfull world of philately by my son's Christmas gift of old stamps from around the world. About 40 in all that he purchased at a flea market type store. Needless to say, my interest was immediately rekindled and I am gathering albums, accessories, necessities, supplies and tools too make sure I don't make the same mistkes I made as a beginner. This time there will be no hinges. Mounts and page overlays to protect them. I guess I am what is regarded as a general collector and enjoy the intricate details of stamps as seen through a magnifier. color variations, perf varieties etc. You understand. My question is: are there any new methods or suggestions no matter how childlike or simplistic that will remove the dreaded old hinge residue? Is this product Lamor's "Stamp Lift" something new? The only deler left in town (Des Moines, IA) did not put much creedence on it. Hope to hear from you soon with any suggestions. Thanking you in advance. You know, I never really realized how much I missed my old friends of so many sizes,shapes,colors and intricacies. Nuff said. Clete

I think the "Stamp Lift" product is probably for trying to get self-adhesives off envelopes. For normal gummed stamps, the best way to get them off paper and/or remove old hinge remnants is to soak them. Use a couple of drops of dish soap in a large bowl of warm water. Let them soak until they come off easily. Then refill the bowl with plain warm water to rinse them a bit to make sure all gum residue is gone. Lay out between layers of paper towels and put something heavy on them to make sure they stay flat until they dry.

HI

to the forum, and back to the hobby.
May I suggest you post your question in the general forum, you might get more readers/replies there.

I'm sure you will find this a friendly forum with lots of knowledgeable folks.

Welcome cletisthecat

I have to agree with the dealer guy. I don't much care for the stamp lift stuff ether. I find soaking in just plain water works just fine.

Dianne

Welcome to SCF Clete. As to your question, I bought a bottle of StampLift but haven't yet had the occasion to use it. On mint stamps, I leave hinge remnants in place so I don't further damage the remaining gum. On used stamps, I soak the foreign matter off using a process similar to that described by Stamps2Go. You might want to use the forum's search function to see what's been said about this in previous posts.

Steve

Hinge remnants on mint stamps can be removed with a 'sweat box' such as "StampLift". That being said, I have had mixed results using one and end up with the dreaded "disturbed gum" from allowing too little or too much time. Other friends of mine swear by the 'sweat box' process. Maybe there's just a long or steep learning curve and I'm not a real patient guy.

Welcome cletisthecat!