Consensus On Securing Stamp Mounts To A Page

What is the best or most common way to secure stamp mounts to a page?

There is no consensus! I use a dab of glue-stick.

That seems a little dangerous, though probably the norm. Reason I ask is twofold. First I would like to build a few pages of GB QV. And second I saw a tube of adhesive liquid (not called glue) associated with Hawid mounts. Guess I never associated stamps and glue.

What am I missing? Are you referring to mounts that have come loose and no longer have their own adhesive or what?

Consensus = anecdotal evidence; neither of which = factual information.

I have some album pages with stamps 50 year old Crystal Mounts that are in fine condition. But it would be nuts for me to insist that Crystal Mounts should be used in this public forum. (I suspect that Crystal Mounts were just highly susceptible to environmental conditions but in a public forum like this is it best to just tell folks to avoid them at all costs.)

I am an engineer, I am an engineer who has had an extraordinary amount of medical industry exposure in the last 6-7 years. Both disciplines (engineering and medicine) rely heavily upon empirical, evidence based data. Making decisions based upon guesses, anecdotal evidence, or casual observations can lead to injury or death.

Luckily our hobby only deals with our material's health. I urge anyone who experiments with modern adhesive and other chemicals around you stamps to be wary of unsubstantiated claims, document what you do, follow up often with close observations, and verify as much as you can.

For example, do not trust that the album pages or stock books are 'acid free' or will remain 'acid free' over time. Take your albums out and page through them and make sure your stamps are in good condition. Buy a pH test pen https://www.amazon.com/Lineco-Testi...95684&sr=8-2 and test your pages in a inconspicuous area.
Don

"Inconspicuous area": under a stamp?

Peter

You guys are a mess! =) One reason I enjoy this forum.

With the HUGE pile of experience collected in this forum it seemed to me that folks would have experimented with mounting stamps and come up with a process that was acceptable for them.

Consensus or collaboration utilizing Knowledge Management to facilitate a decision.

Hi Peter,
"Inconspicuous area" = a back page or tight along the edge of a page (next to the posts).

Hi Moyock13,
If 40-50 years ago you asked for a consensus about Crystal Mounts, I am sure that the majority of the people would swear on a stack of bibles that Crystal Mounts were fine. (Hey, it says right on the package "Safe".) When someone is using a product or method of course they think it is fine. (In the same way I think my wife is beautiful, my kids are smart, and my religion is the right belief system.)
Don

So, Don turned me on to the pH test pens a while back. They are on the top 10 list of best things since sliced bread!

The dangers of a dab from a Pritt stick on the back of a mount aren't obvious, unless accidentally swallowed in philatelic excitement. It makes it possible to move/re-use the mount, and avoids dampening the page with water.

The dangers of a dab from a Pritt stick on the back of a mount aren't obvious, unless...
- it outgases over time
- it turns acidic over time
- it is hydroscopic over time
- it has some other physical property that is not understood because the manufacturer has not done accelerated aging testing


Don

"Inconspicuous area" = a back page or tight along the edge of a page (next to the posts)

Thanks Don, but I was just kidding about that!

Peter

I use one of two methods:
(1) If I think the placement will likely be permanent I use the adhesive on the mount back. I don't moisten the entire back, but rather a thin (1/4" / 6mm) strip at the top so I can still tilt up the mount to see what is underneath it. If one uses clear mounts this may not be a consideration. On occasion I have had a mount come loose and have to reattach it (because I didn't activate / apply adhesive on the entire back) but that is rare.
(2) In most cases I use hinges to attach a mount to a page. I got the idea to do this from someone, or maybe more than one, here on the forum. I can tilt up the mount to see what is underneath, and I have more flexibility for moving the mount if I want to reorganize the page (a quadrille page without boxes, for example).

I also have on hand a tube of Hawid Special Adhesive. It is described as on one site as: "The Hawid special adhesive for SF mounts has been specially formulated for glueing polystyrene film. Its solvent-free formula makes it the perfect choice for remounting stamp mounts or for freely designing custom pages with your own selection of mounts." It is priced at $3-$4 for a 0.4 oz (12ml) tube.

To answer the question in an easy manner, I use Hawid top loader mounts.

I use a slightly wet Q-tip (not dripping) and start from the middle of the bottom of the mount and wipe outwards, and then do it again for the other side. The reason I do this is it reduces the amount of water that gets into the actual mount. The newer adhesive gets a milky look when wet and so is easy to see if it wet enough. The older Hawids don't always do this.

I only wet a small portion of the very bottom of the mount (5mm or so), NOT the entire mount to allow it to flex as the page moves.

I have only been making my own pages for a few years, but I have not had any mounts break loose yet.

If we are taking a poll, I use a Pritt glue stick. I've been doing it for about 40 years. Personal, anecdotal, experience has shown me that the glue dries out over decades - it mostly stays stuck, but there is an occasional 'leaper'. A little dab'll do ya! I stay waaaay clear of the edges of the mount - if you get a dab on the edge, it may migrate inside and damage the stamp while it is still in its non-dry state.

Just like my grandfather who used Crystal Mounts, I am not aware that I am damaging my stamps. When I 'got' my grandfather's collection in the 1970's, I didn't like the look of the Crystal Mounts, so I moved his collection into Showgard/Scott/Hawid type mounts with the black background. I may have unknowingly dodged a bullet with that decision. Out of the frying pan and into the fire??? Who knows?

What Don says is true - we don't know the very long term affect of mounting stamps in Showgard-style mounts with glue-stick mounting. But what other way is proven to be safer? I've seen plenty of stamps stained/toned by their hinges, I've seen Crystal Mount problems, I've seen Fat Tongue Syndrome on hinged stamps, and I've seen stamps stored in stockbooks (manila stockpages, mostly) where the stockpage material has discolored the bottom half of the stamps.

Find a method you like and look on the forums for potential problems. You'll have to decide on your own after that.

I lick my Hawid mounts. Less filling, great taste! I make sure everything is dry before loading the stamp.