My Diabolic Stamp Soaking Experiment!

Earlier today, I soaked a few stamps... and when I went back to check on how they were drying (which I usually don't do), I noticed that once again, some modern self-stick issues were all tacky on the back. I dislike soaking such stamps because usually it ends up being a nightmare, and all I get is something that deserves a trip to the trash can...

But all of a sudden, I got an idea!

I went up to my model train supplies, and grabbed a bottle of Goo Gone, an adhesive remover. I decided to give it a try on those sticky stamps. Below are two examples:

This is one stamp that multiple soaks has done nothing for. The gum residue on the back was still very sticky.

Here is the back of the stamp soaked in Goo Gone.

And here it is after a careful wiping with a tissue. Note the cleanliness!

Here is another example:









Each stamp got a good rinse. They are now in my ultra-cheap-stamp-flattening-drying-setup. I am curious to see if the Goo Gone effects the printed side of the stamps. I will let you all know if this technique worked at all...

JD

UPDATE: the Disney stamps seem to have come out well. The others got a second wipe-down with GG... now drying... stay tuned...

That is neat.
Thanks for showing us how it works.

I wonder if it has the same ingredients as air freshener for the gum removal?

Do the stamps smell like oranges now or does the good rinse you mentioned remove that smell, if done right away?

cool. Seems safer than lighter fluid too. lol

edit: Before use of any chemicals please read the instructions and look at and understand the hazardous symbols and take precautions to keep safe.

Looked at Goo Gone home page
http://www.googone.com/
but they don't mention removing goo from paper at all.

They have MSDS info available for our chemists also.

Canadian Tire has it $4.00 per 236ml (about a cup)
http://www.canadiantire.ca/AST/brow...sp?locale=en

I not sure about the effect on your stamps, but be careful of the effects on you.
This is from the MSDS...




Steve

May I add a suggestion to check out MSDS on Ronson Lighter fluid? Same idea...I guess as long as youre not sitting in a closed room with the stuff for hours and hours I'm sure you'll be ok. Would using disposable latex free gloves work if youre worried about prolonged exposure to hands and a dust mask for inhalation?
Good luck with your experiment Nells!

Do Not use a dust mask to protect against chemical fumes. Nope, not designed for that, will not protect you at all. Will not stop the passage of enough of the chemical in the air through the mask to your lungs and internal tissues.

A proper mask would be a full face mask with separate air supply pumped to you.

Do not even trust masks sold for spray painting. They protect against passage of some stuff but not all. People who spray with paint all the time either wear a separate face mask with separate air supple or have harmful effects happen to them, sometimes not showing up for years.

Don't risk your health with chemicals you aren't sure of. Don't mix chemicals with others. I remember my dad mixing some cleaners together to use in a bathroom and he collapsed and almost died before he was able to crawl out and get some fresh air and recover. Not worth it.

If it has any hazardous symbols on the label there are there for a good reason. The stuff inside is hazardous, that means dangerous to very dangerous to deadly.

Latex gloves may work but I would check to see if the chemicals will dissolve the latex first before wearing the gloves.

Off soap box now.

Well, I guess I have something to worry about now Puzzler! I spent 2 years working with soldering and flux and such using dust masks and latex free gloves. Thanks for the clarification, and concern!
~Ash - gone to make a note NEVER to mix Goo Gone with Ronson lighter fluid...

lux, sorry did not mean to jump on you, just my worrying coming to the fore and making me curt. Apologies.

I mix Raisin Bran and Cherrios and sometimes worry about that.

No apologies necessary! I more than agree with you...I also have other concerns of this person who suggested I use these items for these situations. So I'm confident you are right. Thanks Puzzler for the clarifications and concern ~Ash

Guess the other question is ... if it is so bad for human's can it really be good for stamps in the long run?

I guess this experiment IS diabolic... look at all the concern!

LOL! I think as far as cleaning self adhesives, and checking for watermarks, small amounts of exposure should be close to harmless...as long as youre not soaking a tub at a time in the stuff in a non ventilated room, we should all be ok. :)

There has to be a better alternative to ronson fluid. Is goo gone non toxic? I was wondering if some sort of ascorbic acid could be used. In the military we used to use fruit drink powder (aka koolaid) to degrease barbecue grills and strip off other things. Wonder if that would work if someone used say lemonade powder (to avoid the discoloration of stamps)?

Let me look at the GG bottle..."harmful or fatal if swollowed"... "contains petroleum distillates"... I think Kool Aid would make a better drink, though this stuff does smell like oranges!

I am about to look at yesterday's test stamps...

OK, the 3 Disney stamps are CLEAN on the back. Very nice. Now for the batch that got a second application... (drum roll)... Three are a lot better, two still have some tacky areas. All smell like orange!

So, what does this tell us? The technique works on some types of stamps that have already been soaked off of paper. Seems to depend on paper and adhesive. I may soak these test stamps in some clean water next, and see what happens. The colors seem to be intact.