Watermark Fluids

What types of watermark fluids do folks use?

I went to a lecture in Columbus last year by a top stamp grading expert.
He insisted on using Ronsonol lighter fluid, which does not appear to be sold in my area.

Are other lighter fluids just as good?

Thanks

Ronsonol or Zippo work fine.

Ronsonol in use here. No reason to pay more than needed.

I'm not necessarily supporting Walgreen's as your only source, but their website shows that the product is available at many of their store locations. Simply click on this link and enter your ZIP Code and it will tell you if you local store(s) have it in-stock. (They do not ship it by mail order for obvious reasons.)

http://www.walgreens.com/store/c/ro...1241-product

I use Zippo. Found in smoke shops around here, and is cheap.

THANKS for all the answers and help.

WT1, I tried that Walgreen's site and it works great. I think Walgreen's has come up with a very useful Internet tool.

I ran out of philatelic watermark fluid. Couldn't find anything else home than blue flame fondue fuel. I give it a try and it worked fine but it takes longer to evaporate.

Wow, timbres667!

I would have been afraid to use anything that had a color. I'm glad it worked for you!

Karen

kehess
It was an experiment on near minimal value stamps. I don't know if there is chemicals in this product that may have deteriorate the paper. It's looks ok, not blueish at all.

I've never used Ronsonol or any other watermark detecting fluid yet but my question is do they leave any sort of odor/discoloration on the stamp itself? Do you need to soak of the stamp in water after you detect the watermark?

Ram

Watermark fluid and Ronsonol do not leave any odor or discolouration. They evaporate quickly.



Don't soak mint stamps! lol I at first had the idea that I should wash the stamps off of whatever traces of fluid was remaining but after a minute or so you cannot tell you used fluid on the stamp at all. No damage, no lasting traces left, no smell.

Sometimes, if the water is not clean, that leaves a smell! lol

Puzzler... not I wasn't planning to soak mint stamps.

Thanks for the reply though.

Cheers

Hi

I was told that Ronsonol was a good watermark fluid because it did not contain any oily substances. I bought Zippo and a couple of others and did find they were "oily" to the touch. Even tried the watermark fluids but they evaporated too quickly. So, it has been Ronsonol for me.

I do a lot of cataloging for my friend and when I do Mexico, or any other country where watermarking is necessary, I need something that does not evaporate quickly as I fill the tray with fluid and then use a "dip and dry" process. The commercial brands do not work in this case.

centerstage98
If there is a Wal-Mart nearby (I see you are in the US so there must be) they sell Ronsonol lighter fluid. It is usually near or in the tobacco products. That's where I get mine.

Jerry B

Thanks for all the tips - we have Wal-Mart and Walgreens both so I am sure I will make the score!