Best Watermark Detection?

I'm going to try the video method soon. I'm going to try to soak and film the evaporation of the Ronsonol off of multiple stamps at the same time. Ideally this helps conserve fluid. Also sounds more fun that watching paint dry! Maybe I'll upload to YouTube and embed the video in this thread...

Fascinating about the video method, especially if the playback is sped up a bit. Can't wait to hear about some results!

What is the significance of a "glass" tray when you said "black glass tray"? Most trays I see are plastic.

The real old-timers did this better. Found this tray in misc. pile at a dealer's table. Compared to the plastic tray, the difference in color is stunning. The old glass tray also has a raised platform such that the fluid runs out to the edges, and can be poured off for re-use.

I have always preferred black glass, it seems to show the watermarks best. Finding black glass trays is often not easy but I found a good source by using the vintage black glass furniture coasters like these...


They are relatively inexpensive; typically listed on ebay for a few bucks.
Don

There are several watermark detector trays that will do the job, for example:
Lighthouse Watermark Detector, black plastic dish https://amzn.to/2Inqnea

SAFE Stamp Watermark Tray Detector https://amzn.to/2jVcut9

For the liquid, you can try:
G&K Watermark Detecting Fluid https://amzn.to/2KnnbA5

Or maybe an UV lamp https://amzn.to/2wJzDIo

Last night, I saw a video on YouTube featuring the Lighthouse Sherlock watermark detector. Although I have seen the Safe Signoscope mentioned several times in this thread, I saw no mention of the Sherlock and was wondering if anyone has used it and if it performs as advertised. I'm only asking out of curiosity and am not considering purchasing one, I'll stick with Clarity and Ronsonol.

old black glass ashtrays when turned over make good dip trays as they have shallow dishing in the bottom which is nice. I also have old fashioned black sheets of glass backed with green felt on one side with success for larger items. these have beveled edges and must have been commercially available at one time.

looking for a tip - or 2.... I've got some German Portrait Types of stamps - either 10N29 - 10N44 OR 122 - 136.

The only difference that I can see in the Scott catalogue is that the 10N's are Wmk 292 and the others are Wmk297.

Ive tried the wet scanning with rosonol and the black ash tray method with same and for the life of me I cant see any watermarks.

can anyone provide a next step, tip or solution - im stumped. Thanks much!

Chances are if the stamps were not acquired as DDR 122-36, then they are the 10N29 set. There is a 10-fold difference in catalog value. Definitely worth making sure, though.

According to my Scott's, the 80pf stamps have very different colors (blue vs. crimson). Should provide a clue (unless my Scott has an error).

so I dont have the full set and I dont know how they were purchased. Trying to determine how to tell which they are. They were my fathers.

In my experience, these watermarks are not difficult to differentiate. So, unless they have large paper remnants, or are seriously damaged,, I don't understand why there is a problem watermarking them.

Yeah. I dont get it. They are not damaged. I think all the paper is off. I guess ill soak them again. Would a pic help?

Here they are in the fluid. Pretty easy to see the difference, even with less than ideal lighting.

Several different kinds of papers were used on the 1948 stamps. I don't believe Scott mentions this. It could be a source of confusion.

Ok. Tks. Also, Tks for mentioning the paper difference. I took another stab at them late last night and now I'm pretty sure they are Wmk 292 except for one 20pf I think is a Wmk 297 (20pf k kollwitz). The paper - yes I did notice a difference. Some are a thinner, almost see through paper - like the 30 pdf I can't id. It harder due to the lighter paper and a big dark cancel. So if they only used this paper on the '48's then I'm just stuck with one mystery. Going to look more into the paper today to see what it's called.