Cleaned A Stamp And Documented It

vacuum man,
Bromine will act like chlorine but watch out for browning. Remember to only experiment on cheap stamps, then send the carcasses to Rod. If we send him enough carcasses with detailed explanations of the manner of destruction he could end up with a nice exhibit.:)

Yes, that is correct. Use filtered long wavelength UV (~365nm).

There is NO chemical cleaning process that cannot be detected.

Providing there is no long term damage
cleaning, should not be seen as a negative.

I recall a very rare Thai cover, story on preservation,
the stamp was removed the cover treated for toning and the
stamp re affixed.
I think this is acceptable for rare and important philately.

We see that currently in British heritage buildings
the powers to be are relaxing their demands to encourage
private renovations of buildings that would otherwise
decay into dust without private funds.

A large part of philately is about history, not condition
as I see it.

That is the key phrase. Restorative work on rare stamps is usually well documented. And since the item is rare, there usually aren't stamps in better condition (i.e., all the stamps have some degree of faults). Therefore, restorative work on rare stamps is usually an accepted practice because there is no attempt to defraud.

The problem occurs when people clean/alter stamps that are not really rare, but not common either. For these stamps, high grade/condition stamps usually exist. But unscrupulous individuals will do restorative work on the stamp, not document it, and attempt to sell the stamp as high grade/condition. In other words, the work on the stamp is done for financial reasons, not historical preservation.

Nicely pointed out Phil.