Remove Toning From Stamps?

Has anyone successfully removed mold/toning from old stamps using solvents like alcohol?

Basically, you can't remove it all in most cases. Hydrogen peroxide is a bleaching agent that is commonly used. However, it can also affect ink and definitely will make the paper weaker. Plus it can be easy to overbleach stamp paper made from wood pulp used from the 1870s to date and can even destroy the stamp.

Note that in Singapore, many collectors collect Singapore FDCs instead of mint stamps for that very reason. The natural heat and humidity encourages mold growth. You may store your collection under ideal conditions but where were the stamps before you acquired them?

I've had success with a mildew remover called ERNI A & B. It is a two fluid set - soak in fluid A then in then in fluid B. For used stamps. Here's a link ... you can find it for less than this of you shop around.
http://www.stampparaphernalia.com/e..._remover.htm

See also here

https://goscf.com/t/28940

Humidity is an issue in Singapore so I have invested a bit on dry cabinets to keep my collection.

The old thread interestingly talked about chlorine gassing, something that I have never heard of.

Toning is toning. Once toned, the stamp is permanently damaged. Similar to fading, etc.

Jack Kelley

Would you happen to have before and after scans?

Sure. Once I get back home from Xmas holiday I'll post some pics. I've used it on several over the past year. Hang in there till the weekend.

Great! Happy holidays!

With slightly mildewed older albums, I've had great success by leaving them outside in a protected place in bright sunlight to kill the bad smell. The UV rays seem to kill the mold/mildew or whatever is causing that musty smell. I'm careful to not leave the album open to any page with stamps on it. And I'm careful to protect the album from wind damage, tree droppings, etc. I wouldn't do this with valuable material, either. But for a general album from which I am removing some stamps, but which someone has left in the basement or garage so it has a mildewed smell, leaving it in the bright sun for a few hours with the album opened up seems to kill off the moldy/mildew smell reasonably well. I'm not claiming that this will remove any staining on stamp material, however. That's a whole different level of chemistry.

If you want to experiment, however, and you have some cheap stamps to sacrifice - you might try some very diluted bleach on stained stamps or on stamps with an organic problem like foxing that is growing and ruining the stamp and see what results you get. Emphasis on "very" diluted -- a few drops, less than a teaspoon in a cup of water or so. Drop the stamp in the liquid and leave the stamp in the mixture briefly to kill the pest or brighten the paper. Then rinse it immediately in water. I would never do this with a valuable stamp, but I've had other collectors tell me that it helps brighten up a stamp which had darkened and it helps kill any growth on a stamp. It may also bleach away the ink on the stamp (!) so experiment with cheap stamps only. I've had mixed results.

Hydrogen Peroxide is another common household chemical which might be worth trying for killing growth on stamps, but I have no idea if it works. I don't think it has any bleaching qualities.

It took me a while but here's a few pics showing the process of using Lindner's ERNI A/B to remove stains/mildew/toning. Basically, the toned stamp is put in the purplish ERNI A solution for 3 minutes (it turns the stamp a scary purple color) then put it in the ERNI B solution for 3 minutes (it fizzes a bit then the purple color goes away). Last step is just rinse in cold water.
I recently bought a nice Dutch Indies lot but most were toned. The example here shows two of those stamps before and after the treatment. Cleaned up pretty good!

BEFORE:

AFTER:

SETUP:

We are mixing up terminology in this thread. Toning of paper is due to acidification, it turns the paper brown and brittle. It is a chemistry issue.

Mildew or mold of paper, shown directly above, is a fungal growth. It is a biology issue.
Don

As I understand it, TONING is a chemical reaction with the iron or copper in the paper. FOXING is the brown discoloration caused by fungal growth (a biological issue)and enhanced by high humidity.

For some lengthy but greatly detailed discussions of how to remove foxing and the chemistry involved, please see the following:

https://stamporama.com/discboard/di...=20&id=12994

https://www.bmstamps.com/guest-auth...-from-stamps

Canyoneer,
In the "AFTER" image (Thanks BTW, for showing us)
the "8 cents 1902" overprint, seems to have faded considerably , or is it the scan?

Thanks.

I believe it's the picture. I didn't scan those, they were taken with a camera on the desk. The desk lamp was probably in a different position between shots. There wasn't any obvious fading that I can tell. I suspect that Erni B part probably has some hydrogen peroxide in it which tends to brighten things some but not sure (hence the fizzing?).

Canyoneer, the results are amazing. If you intend to use that on some expensive stamps, try it on a few cheap stamps of similar quality paper first.