Latest Thoughts On Self-Adhesives And Soaking?

I apologize for rehashing a topic, but as I read posts on what seems to be a really time consuming and unpredictable process for soaking the self adhesive stamps, I wonder ... is it that big an issue to just nicely trim the stamps and leave them on paper? What is the downside to that approach?

I think it takes a bit of getting use to the look of them, the perfs can tend to get lost against the envelope paper. But personally, I don't intend to soak any self-adhesives at the moment. I can live with the look and would rather spend the limited time I have on another stamp task.

just going out today to get some bestine and see if it works as well as they say. Will let you know!

Scouter, it is up to the collector whether he/she wants to soak or trim the paper around self adhesive stamps. I know of a few people who trim self adhesives and they are pleased with the results. I haven't had very good success with soaking self adhesives because the result isn't very pleasing.

The one disadvantage to keeping a self-adhesive stamp clipped on paper is that if you do it a lot, you'll find that the space needed in an album or stockbook will increase a bit. As said earlier, it's all a matter of personal preference, though.

Luckily I haven't had any problems soaking Norwegian self adhesives yet (except for the personal self adhesives). As for the ones that is troublesome, I just can't be bothered with soaking them. I don't collect these issues anyway, so it would only be trading material, and I rather spend my stamp time elsewhere.

I soaked some US self adhesive stamps a couple of weeks ago, and I simply used hot water. The stamps loosened up a little bit, and the glue gummed up and had to be peeled off with my tweezers, but the stamps turned out alright.

I've had mediocre luck with soaking the self adhesives. Hot water works sometimes. I"ve had stamps that I liked and I didn't want to take the risk of soaking so I just left them on paper. I'm still curious as to why the USPS went to self adhesive. Are people too lazy to lick a stamp now? Is it cheaper than gum?

I experimented also and with hot water it does loosen the gum and you can sort of manipulate it off the back but some issues just swell up and get a crackled look. when using the lighter fluid method I have had great luck BUT it is WAY time consuming (but entertaining) and, as before, some don't give it up and found that those ones are best done with the water technique so it's looking like it all depends on the issue of stamp, at least from the States anyway. I have NO experience with foreign stamps. I hope that made sense! To clarify the above- some love hot water and some love lighter fluid. The trick would be knowing which ones need which treatment.

The lighter fluid trick sounds interesting but a bit hazzardous maybe.

Soaking of self adhesives has been solved on SCF.
There should be no excuse not to collect modern
apart from choice or preference to the trimmed stamp.

I don't know. For me, the slick plasticky almost "Sticker-Like" quality to most of the US self adhesives is what makes me reluctant to collect them.

I can understand that,
There is a dormant period of about 50 years
before anything becomes "collectable" in a heritage sense.
Stamps from say 1900 bring with them a certain mystique
of the era, modern jam jar labels as we see them,
will be fascinating to those collectors of 2060.

Collectors that now study and catalogue modern labels and techniques
will be appreciated in the future.

some already are!