Expertizing #287

Bravo! I'm glad you had such excellent results!

Wow...on an earlier thread about this technique I'd asked about the possibility of swabbing lightly in order to preserve gum, and didn't get an answer. Thanks for taking a shot at it. Good to know.

Sorry I missed that. As you can see it does. The only drawback is that it can take longer. Due to the fast brake-down time of the peroxide.

you could probably fix that thin as well.

Thats amazing, and how does one fix thins?

That is great, I must try that with some of my stamps.

When I get enough posts and am a accepted member of the SCF I will advertise this stamp (the thin) and others for sale or trade. I would prefer to let the person that is going to place the stamp in their collection to do what ever alteration they find acceptable.

To me, cleaning a stamp (not removing a cancel) is like washing a car; you wouldn't put a classic 1936 Auburn speedster with original paint in a museum with bird doo doo on the hood. And if that doo doo blemished the original paint, efforts would be made to restore the paint to it's original lustre. Repainting the hood is not an option because it would never match the rest of the car and would detract from it's originalty.

Curt,
Well put! I agree with minor restoration. I am opposed to repair.

I have to agree with revstampman, no repair.

George

This is Mrs Curt and I would like to say a few things about the process for anyone who may want to try it.
I did use a Q-tip/swap, dipped in the HP solution and tapped on paper towel, like a blotter, until it did not leave a wet spot.
Some results are immediately visible, but not the full extent. Swab lightly, walk away and leave it alone, check the look, and swab again.
I used a very light touch, holding the stamp secure with another dry swab in the other hand. No color came off on the swab.
I left the stamp protected under flat weight, just to be sure of no curling.
It certainly felt more like a cleaning than a repair job.
My stamp interest came at my Fathers elbow and I have a great respect for the artistic originality and history in stamp collecting.

I don't care what anyone says, cleaning a stamp is not altering. It's restoring it.
Regumming and reperorating IS altering a stamp.

Now I plan on trying to fix a somewhat expensive stamp I have where I tore the corner off. and am going to try and do it using a regumming technique. But I would never sell it without letting people know it was regummed and had a tear repaired. I have lots of inexpensive stamps to practice on...

cleaning a stamp is NOT bad.

I'm far from an expert on this subject. But I do strongly recommend caution when it comes to cleaning stamps. I have to strongly state that any type of bleaching is a tool of the amateur and professional regards it as a last resort. All bleaching takes something out of paper, which cannot be replaced even with subsequent treatment. You can even possibly compromise the stability of the inks and paper.

I'm not going to get into the ethics of cleaning or repair stamps. There are enough opinions on that subject. I will offer a caution though. The APS insists that repaired, restored or altered stamps are to be identified with indelible ink. Yes that means writing on the stamp.

Here is an interesting site from a stamp restoration service. As you can see they split from the APS over this subject.

http://home.golden.net/~hanssitt/SR...ppening%20at

Does that mean a simple color restoration has to be marked? I don't know because I never had the interest to look it up.

Personally if I was buying a stamp I would want to know and if it has had a color restoration I would want to know. To me it would command a fair discount in price. However I am sure to others it would not. In any event you would certainly lower the number of interested buyers on the stamp.

No, it does not. A peroxide treatment is NOT considered a repair, restoration or alteration. It is a stabilization of unstable pigments. I know Several Expertizers that not only recommend it. But, use the process themselves.

Great thread guys. I love how much I can learn here.

Dianne

Like I said I didn't know what their opinion was on cleaning a stamp. I know that the few people I have spoken to over the years have been split on the subject.

The bad part of cleaning is that this process has been used far more by people to get rid of cancellations and then trying to sell stamps as unused no gum. Another issue is cleaning or bleaching a stamp to give the appearance of an unused issue Removing hand cancels is a big problem with older stamps. Knowing how to detect this is important to learn.

I am on the side that most collectors and stamps do not need expertization. However when dealing with a high value stamp it should be considered to ensure the item purchased is genuine.

Thus when it comes to higher value stamps anything done to it is a concern. I could show you plenty of examples of stamps cleaned and sold a new. You would be amazed at how good some people have become at cleaning anything off of stamps.

I know the thread is about cleaning or restoring the color. But it leads to learning a little more and you all might find this link an interesting study. I have learned over the years to spot fakes and look at stamps with a little more concern. It has been one of the fun parts for me in this hobby to be able to determine fakes.

http://www.slingshotvenus.com/stamp...altered.html