Removing Self Adhesive Stamps From Paper

Hi Folks,

Wonder if anyone could tell me the best way to remove self adhesive stamps from paper.

Thanks in advance for any assiistance.

Regards,

Steve

Not a single answer for this question since different stamps used different paper construction and adhesives. Can you post a bit more specifics?
Don

I've had success just soaking them overnight in mild soapy water. John

Edit: After reading the post below from moneil, I remembered that I had to rub off the adhesive from the stamps and that indeed, the paper of the stamps was so thin that they would not only curl, but tear easily

I no longer bother with them at all.

This is a topic that has been widely discussed here, and as Don mentioned, different adhesives and paper may be involved, requiring different techniques.

Go to the search tab at the top of this web page. I used the Google Custom Forum Search option and typed in "Removing self adhesive stamps". Passing over the four ad sites that appear first you will find numerous threads from stampcommunity.org on this topic, filled with interesting and useful experiences and information.

I've tried some of the approaches and solvents I learned of here to successfully remove self-adhesive stamps from envelopes. However, as compared to soaking off older (pre self-adhesive) stamps with water soluble adhesive, I found the process to be tedious. I'm not familiar with the different papers used to print modern stamps, but in some cases after removing the adhesive the stamps were so thin they curled badly.

As an aside, my personal approach has become, when I don't have a mint version of a self-adhesive stamp, to treat the postally used version as I would a postally used embossed envelope stamp … I cut the stamp and paper out of the envelope and mount it as a "cut square".

I just trim around the stamp leaving the paper still attached.

I was wondering the same thing and as I read down I seen jkelley01938 say trim around the stamp leaving the paper attached. I am going to have to do this as well with many of the stamps I just inherited.

I used nothing but boiling water. Somwhere I even had photos of the process, and will upload if I sucefully find them.

But essentially, I soak them in water that has been boiled... face down... they come off nicely and the sticky side remains on the paper.
Never had an issue

HI,
Flip the stamp over. On the paper side, apply enough alcohol hand gel, that you use to sanitize your hands from covid, to coat the paper over the stamp. Wait 2 minutes. The stamp should peel off the paper with the glue intact.
Note, you do not put the gel on the stamp but on the flip side, the side with the paper.

Be careful. British stamps have security slits intended to damage used stamps when removing them from paper. As Don remarked, the best way to remove the self-adhesive stamps differs by country. If you use the wrong method on British stamps you might end up damaging them.

British stamps I have easily removed using lighter fuel, security slits presenting no problem. Just need to be careful peeling them away, so that the whole stamp comes off and doesn't leave that little cut-out behind.

What you do next with the sticky, removed stamp depends on your preferences. I stick them onto a clear piece of plastic and cut around.

I used Dishwashing liquid which left the gum intact and removable, and then I had two options:
Pill off the gum and have a fragile thin stamp that tears easily, or leave the gum which retrieved its stickiness and place a piece of cellophane on the gum.

Good stewardship dictates using cool, clear water. Adding liquid soap is not recommended, it can contain optical brighteners (makes your dishes look cleaner). The optical brighteners then can cause your cleaned stamps to glow under UV and other light sources (like under a VSC6000 if you send your stamp in for certification).
Of course folks are welcome to do whatever they want to their own stamps but when posting in a public forum like this it is best to make informed decisions.
Don

Thanks for the information, Don.
Based on your input, I'd suggest checking the stamp under UV before soaking, to find out if and how much it affected the phosphorous appearance of the stamp. That could be used to build a small database of self-adhesive stamps that are sensitive to liquid soap. Maybe even get from USPS info on which stamps have that type of gum.

I have tried a number of different techniques including a range of solvents and none leave the stamp unharmed. Several techniques also caused the phosphor bands to become visible and discoloured. So I finally decided to simply collect them on paper with a small border. The more I looked at modern stamps removed from paper the more I could see that I was loosing quality and also if I am honest often interesting postal cancellations and the history behind the stamp. So I have given up removing stamps from paper across the board. This is easier for me as all my collections are now in high-grade stock books, having had problems with mold using cloth bound albums. The only time I remove stamps now is when the paper is in poor condition or the stamps are dirty and need geneal cleaning. Nick

Here are a couple of things I have picked up with collecting used SA stamps.

The first is to just collect them on piece but to dress them up. Get a pair of scissors (yes they have them, I've purchased a pair) whose cut imitates the perforations on a stamp. Gives them a nice touch.

The second one is that when SA stamps are removed from the paper, dust the backs with talcum powder so they don't stick to the album page.

If you need to dust the back, then you have not removed the adhesive fully and are asking for future trouble.