30 Second C1 Peroxide Soak

Got this the other day in a lot I purchased so figured I'd give it a little soak.

This was after about a 30 second soak in a 3% hydrogen peroxide bath and then soaked in water for about 30 minutes

Interesting Mike and thanks for showing.

I also heard that the "Muddy Water" variety of the Canadian 1898 2 cents Map stamp might be brought back to its' original stated and may not be a variety at all (?)

Chimo

Bujutsu

Very Nice results. Do you dilute the hydrogen peroxide solution with water or do you use it straight?

Very interesting Mike. Will it remain Orange now ?

Stallzer, I've stamps that have been peroxide treated close to 10yrs. ago that haven't changed any----not yet anyway.

With a lot of patience this can be done to a mint stamp also. You can try placing the stamp on a raised platform in a bowl of peroxide and place a larger bowl over the top. This will expose the stamp to the peroxide without getting it in the solution. Be prepared to wait a few days.
I have also heard of folks using a fine paintbrush to 'lightly paint' the top surface of the mint stamp without affecting the gun side but have not tried this myself.
Don

I have a mint copy of the same stamp with brownness and was thinking earlier of trying a Q-tip soaked in peroxide to "paint" it.

I like that other idea too though Don. But doesn't the peroxide lose it's "value" after being exposed after a little while? thought I had read that before. Guess I could give it a shot and see.

Brad - it's a 3% pre-mix that comes in a brown bottle. You can get it at the grocery or drug stores

I did overdo it last year with a browned/ 6cent Washington. Think I soaked it 5 or 6 different times for prolonged periods and it ended up looking fluorescent orange at an angle. Looked pretty cool though LOL This time I only soaked it for about 30 seconds one time. I might give it another 30 second bath as I still see a little brown in the scan.

If I experiment with the mint stamp, I'll post the results here too

Nonetheless it's a great improvement but it does touch upon a sticky subject with the purists, is it preservation or alteration ?

Use of Peroxide is restoration. In one sense, it helps preserve the stamp which will otherwise turn black. Unfortunately, reversing sulfurization will result in the permanent loss of some pigment. Repeated cycles would likely cause the stamp to fade. Once reversed, it is necessary to avoid conditions leading the sulfurization (often mislabeled oxidation). Storing in hard plastic backed approval cards is the most likely cause. Hawid or Blue Ribbon mounts on the other hand don't seem to cause a problem. Exposure to urban air with higher levels of sulfur combined with some moisture may also hasten the process.

I would consider a Q tip to be too big to use to apply hydrogen peroxide. Placing the stamp on a plastic net over a dish or peroxide can have a good effect but it will take time. Avoid sealing or creating sweat box conditions because the gum will end up as disturbed. A lid with a cutout large enough to expose the gum to outside air seems to work well. Higher concentration hydrogen peroxide available from some beauty suppliers will work faster.

Clark

Mike33, I prefer Q-tips to paint brushes on mint stamps that exhibit this problem (have tried both.) You can either "drag" or "roll" it over the area (most affected US stamps are engraved (raised design) so can be treated without touching the paper at all.) Just make sure the Q-tip is blotted well before you put it to the stamp. If you get the paper wet, you'll affect the gum. You'll have to do multiple applications with the Q-tip before you'll see any color change (patience is a virtue, and if you're convinced absolutely nothing is happening, i.e. you must be doing something wrong, it probably means you're doing it exactly right ;-)

The iron minerals in the inks that do this have been chemically reduced from exposure to sulfur (either in the air, in the paper, or somewhere else like certain stockcards/holders.) They react and form darker minerals. During this process, Fe +3 becomes Fe +2, generally called "sulfuretting." To answer the question about whether those dark colors can come back, they certainly can (if they're exposed to sulfur again.)

BTW, it's very common for people to call these ugly dark brown things "oxidized," but that's incorrect (oxidation is essentially the reverse process. It's what adds those lovely yellow, orange & red hues to rust...)

As an interesting side note, the sulfates and sulfides in paper can react with water to form sulfuric acid. When paper conservationists talk about "de-acidifying," they're not really talking about removing acid, they're actually talking about dealing with the sulfur.

One final note - if you give a used stamp a "bath" in hydrogen peroxide, you should finish it off with a good rinse in distilled water. I would not recommend using anything over a 3-5% hydrogen peroxide solution (hydrogen peroxide is also used to bleach hair... it's pretty aggressive on the paper, which is why a rinse is required after immersion...)

P.S. stallzer, I don't know of anyone who considers this an "alteration." It's simply a reversible (and undetectable) chemical process.

Was typing my response as Clark posted. I still believe (having tried both) that a Q-tip is better. I think otherwise we pretty much agree. Great minds, LOL!

Figured I'd mess with the mint stamp tonight:

here's the front and back of how it was when I started.



Flipped over my watermark tray and put it in a baseball card case with about 3/4 inch of 3% peroxide mix.The watermark tray is actually floating in it. I closed the lid and set it on a shelf.



It had been sitting for about an hour when I came back to read Clark saying it should be left open. I just went over to do it and can already see an improvement. I removed the lid and will let it sit overnight. I'll post the results in the morning

[EDIT: I've heavily changed this post from the original.]




I consider it an alteration. Granted, it is one that is often accepted by many collectors and dealers. I don't really have a problem with it.

I am not familiar with the specifics of the orange pigment of the C1. But I know for pigments that contain chromates, the peroxide treatment is not a "reverse" reaction and the process results can be detected (just not by the naked eye, but the detection process is not practical nor economical) because the surface chemistry is different. Perhaps this does not apply to that particular stamp.

I've enjoyed seeing the results of Mike33's experiment and others shown in previous threads.

Enjoy your stamps and your experiments.

k

Hydrogen peroxide = H2O2?

yes, diluted in water

I use it straight or mixed in hot soapy water but only, of course, on used singles. It works lovely and does remain orange.