Techniques For Soaking And Drying Stamps

Hi!
Well, I did a few batches of stamp soaking today, getting old hinges off stamps from a recently acquired album. I have not done this in about 50 years, so thought I would pass along what I did and seek your comments.

Took about 20 or so at a time and soaked in warm water for about 5 minutes. I removed the old hinges, washed any residue off, and placed on a paper towel. When all the batch was on the towel, I moved them to the newly purchased Apak stamp drying book.

I "assume" they need to stay in there for 24 hours, and will obviously know if they are dry at that time.

Any suggestions on "doing it better" ???

Thanks all,
Mobilman44

Hi mobilman44,

i do them like this. About 20 or so stamps at a time into a clean plastic tray of hot water with a squeeze of wash liquid added. After 30 minutes soak, longer if necessary, I gently tease off all the hinges or bits of paper. When the stamps look bright and clean I transfer them carefully to a second plastic tray filled with cold water. This tightens up the paper fibres that may have become soft in the hot water. After 10 to 15 minutes in the cold bath I lay the stamps face down on a clean piece of glass (I got a piece of tempered glass cut and the edges polished off.) Lightly cover with a piece of clean cotton, a piece from an old white cotton shirt is ideal. Do not press down onto stamps. Once the stamps are very nearly dry, not damp to the touch, I put them between the pages of an old book and place a pile of books on top. Use a book with thick matt white paper, not shiny coated paper. Leave overnight, then harvest the nice crisp and bright stamps in the morning. The trays I use are 20"x12" white plastic photography developing trays I got new and unused as cheap sell offs due to the burgeoning of digital photography.

Anything special, blocks, strips and so on, I soak separately a few at a time to minimise the risk of damage. I do not use tongs for this, too much chance of causing damage. Sensitive fingers only. Oh. And before soaking anything off paper, check to make sure it is not of more value left on piece with a full postmark or whatever else may be there.

Terry

Hi,
Well, the stamps dried nicely in the "drying book" overnight. Years ago I used a book (Chicago phone book)and that worked too.

Anyway, the thing is, I am only removing hinges (not paper backing) and 5 minutes of warm water easily does the trick - although some hinges come free a lot sooner than others.

Mobilman44

I suggest a liquid body wash(AXE)if a detergent has to be used, as there is not any whitening agents in them like there is in most dish detergents. Just a thought. Also, if you didn't know you may add a little Hydrogen Peroxide to your soaking water for the really stubbornly filthy ones. Cheers!

Hi!
Well, I've been soaking stamps from an old Big Blue for the last couple of days, and have seen the effects of using various types of hinges. Some, perhaps 40 percent, easily peel off without damage of any kind. I would like to think these are the prefolded Dennisons. Next, there are the hinges that won't peel off, but come off easily with a soaking. They are pretty messy, but with a couple of water baths the stamps look just fine. This is about another 40 percent of what I've had. Then comes what appears to be paper hinges. They take a little more soaking, and usually come off after a bit. This has been about 15 percent of the total.

Lastly are some pretty nasty hinges that are more like old scotch tape than paper hinges. They are almost impossible to safely remove, and I've messed up about 10-15 stamps so far. Thankfully, these are few and far between.

What this points out is that if one is going to use stamps, use those of quality. Yes, I know that there are no longer "peelable" hinges readily available, but the ones that are available will at least soak off rather easily.

Of course for mint w/glue and high value stamps, there is no substitute for mounts.

Most the stamps I soak are from U.S. stamps from collectors that the post office did not cancel....i recycle them for postage to send to other collectors...i try to make them look as postoffice fresh as I can when applying the gluestick !