Soaking Stamps And Drying Book.

Hi I have soaked stamps, put them between paper towels, and put books on top. They always come out wrinkled. I have two questions. Can I still save the wrinkled stamps, by re-soaking them. Also should I buy a drying book? And if so what is the best drying book in terms of how many pages and size relative to price. I know I'm cheap, but I appreciate a good value. Anyway, I looked at the showgard dessert magic drying books. Does anyone have experience with these. I am sure they are great because showgard is a highly trusted company. Also if I were to purchase the drying book how would my routine go? Would I first soak hinges off ect, then wait for them to dry on paper towel until they are just damp, then put them in the drying books and apply pressure with heavy books on top? Can someone please help me my wrinkled stamps are really frustrating me! Also I am really nervous to soak some of my higher value stamps, any tips? Thanks so much.

OMG. I can't believe you've asked THAT question. You are going to be BOMBARDED with answers !!

Click the search button at the top of this page and put in the word SOAK. I'm predicting there will be about 50 pages of threads about soaking, drying, pressing, etc.

Be sure and look for Rod's Sandwich Bag method -- it works wonders.

Good Luck
Kirk

Reply #1

I have the Desert Magic book and find it great. I soak and then dry mostly on a paper towel (15-30 minutes) and then place in drying book and books on top. Even though the absorbent page looks somewhat rough the stamps dry nice and flat.

Trick is to let them dry and also to get the glue off the stamps before you dry them. Excess glue makes the stamps curl. Drying in a book takes less time actually. Overnight (8 hours) or a day (24 hours), depending on your humidity level where you live and when. I'm in the North so don't get much humidity very often.

Sometimes it is too dry here and the stamps curl because of that, mint ones that is.



Yes, of course. Perhaps they are wrinkled because of not enough pressure when drying (not enough books or heavy enough) or perhaps too rough a paper towel. Or too much glue left on (soak in water with some dish detergent (a mild soap) and then rinse in clean water before placing on paper towel.

I sometimes, when the Desert book is full, and I have a good roll going on soaking, use plain white printer paper (typing or printing on paper transfers to stamps) and put the mostly dry stamps in between a folded sheet and place that in a big phone book with books on top. Leave longer (2 days) in there to dry.

You can resoak as long as the stamp is not left too too long. Over soaking at one time can do a stamp damage.



The answer depends on what books you are placing on top. I use the 8 x 11 book (whatever that is) and use phone books to pile on top. I don't have many large things to pile on the larger Desert book. Fits on a shelf nice and neat for storage also. Convenience versus price I guess.

I had a different drying book before and the pages would wrinkle and curl a bit after time. Desert has not done that yet.



Soak all the gunk off, including any glue. 15-30 minutes max in water I would think, although I have forgotten stamps overnight. But some modern stamps do not take well to over-soaking. Warm water helps a bit for some.

Soak, rinse, rinse, fill with water again so the stamps float nicely and are are easily accessible with tongs or fingertips (yes, fingers don't poke holes in stamps like tongs sometimes do), place on paper towel (or dish towel) for that first blotting and then into the Desert book, back down on shiny page and face on blotting page.

The idea of the rinse is that when soaked the stamps end up floating in a soupy mixture of glue, paper bits, hinges, God knows what else. So rinsing and rinsing are very important steps. Removes that excess glue I mentioned.

If stamps still have glue let them dry 'completely' on paper towel only, doesn't matter if they curl, and then soak again with the whole drying book process. Rub the backs with your fingers gently when you take them out of the water to tell if any slippery glue is remaining.



Why? They act just the same as regular value stamps. Do the soak, dry, soak dry routine with them maybe. Handle gently.

Do Not leave on paper towel when putting stamps between books. Place stamps in a drying book or between printer paper, something flat.

Good luck!

Thank you so much Puzzler! That was the comprehensive and thoughtful reply I was looking for. You answered all my questions. Thank you so much! :)

Thoughtful rejoinder():

You're welcome. Remember to try Rod222's way with the freezer bags also. There are many other ways to go about it and a lot of it is trial and error depending on humidity and what you have available for supplies and time. Oh, and money. And all the new stamp glues and adhesives.

Once you get a method that works though, it is fun fun fun.

I poke stamps around in the water with tongs only when they are very dry to start out with. After that during the rinses I use fingers. I take the stamps out in the end with tongs but that can be tricky if you are not used to it and expect a few stamps poked through.

The drying book I use is the Imperial Stamp Drying book. It is worth the price. I have three of them for really large batches and they can be used over and over again. I soak the stamps and leave them on the edge of the soaking container to let some of the excess water run off. Then I place them in the drying book and put some heavy books over them. Takes about an hour or two to dry, maybe a bit longer.