Stamp Clean up and prep

[woodwzrd]

I am looking at bidding on a lot of old duck and turkey stamp but they all have a strip of clear tape across the face of them. What is the best way to prep these stamps for casting and to remove the tape without damaging the face of the stamp?

These are all additional special licensing stamps for Wisconsin hunting and fishing. Originally they were intended to be attached to your license but now that we have all digital licenses they are more of a collector piece.

 

[monophoto]

You might want to expand a bit on exactly what you mean by 'duck and turkey stamp'.

I'm assuming that you are referring to some kind of paper document - either postage stamps depicting ducks and turkeys (there are such things, and people do collect them) or a stamp that is intended to be affixed to a hunting license. In that case, my thought would be that you will need to use a solvent to remove the residual adhesive from the masking tape, but the question is what kind of solvent can you use that won't damage the stamp itself. The candidates that come to mind are alcohol (either denatured or isopropyl) or acetone. I don't think either would damage the paper, but the ink is a different matter - without testing a sample, there's no way to know for sure.

 

[woodwzrd]

You might want to expand a bit on exactly what you mean by 'duck and turkey stamp'.

I'm assuming that you are referring to some kind of paper document - either postage stamps depicting ducks and turkeys (there are such things, and people do collect them) or a stamp that is intended to be affixed to a hunting license. In that case, my thought would be that you will need to use a solvent to remove the residual adhesive from the masking tape, but the question is what kind of solvent can you use that won't damage the stamp itself. The candidates that come to mind are alcohol (either denatured or isopropyl) or acetone. I don't think either would damage the paper, but the ink is a different matter - without testing a sample, there's no way to know for sure.

Thanks for the reply.

You make a good point since not all "stamps" are created equal. These are all additional special licensing stamps for Wisconsin hunting and fishing. Originally they were intended to be attached to your license but now that we have all digital licenses they are more of a collector piece. The lot that I am considering is a collection of 42 stamps.

 

[jjjaworski]

The masking tape is certainly a problem.
I would suggest something along the lines of alcohol also. Any strong solvents will probably cause problems with the ink the stamps are printed with.

Goo Gone may work.

I would suggest trying some solvents on any used stamps you may have around to see how the ink reacts. Older stamps were probably printed using the intaglio printing process which may be the case with some of the stamps in this lot.

If you can't do any tests on samples before you get this lot, pick out the most damaged and least valuable of the lot and use a Q-tip to test solvents on small areas to see what works.

If you need to rinse off solvent after you find something that works you can dry them on some newspaper. They can be pressed between the pages of a phone book to dry and will come out flat.

Try googling removing adhesive residue from stamps. Nowadays, the internet has lots of information that may be helpful.

Good luck.

 

[jttheclockman]

I would try a low heat from a hairdryer or something of that sort first. Maybe an iron if you talk nice to the wife.

 

[monophoto]

Solvents tend to be flammable - after cleaning with a solvent, I would let them air dry fully before using a hair dryer.

Re James' suggestion of sticking them between the pages of a phone book to absorb the solvent - but when was the last time you saw a phone book?

In the old days, one of the options for drying photographic prints was to place them between blotters to dry. However, the concern was that if a print was not fully washed, the chemicals in the print would contaminate the blotters, which would then contaminate other prints. When I was doing darkroom photography, I always air-dried my prints on fiberglass screens that I could wash to eliminate any contamination.

I could also see a situation where the solvent used to clean the adhesive off the stamps might 'lift' the printing on the page of the phone book. That;'s also a risk with newspaper - if the ink can come off on your hands while reading the paper, it could also be transferred from the paper to the stamp.

In fact, there is a technique for transferring photocopied images to things like wood that involves placing the image in close contact with the wood, and then soaking it it a solvent (acetone) that releases the bond between the powder that makes up the photocopied image and the paper.

So - my conclusion is that if a solvent is used, it would be best to let the solvent evaporate directly into air. It could be potentially conterproductive to put solvent-soaked stamps in contact with anything else until that solvent evaporates.

 

[jjjaworski]

My advice for drying stamps was assuming the adhesive was removed AND then the stamps were washed/rinsed in soapy water to remove any solvent residue.

I have used that stamp drying technique for years when I used to soak stamps off 20 pound charity mixtures.

Put a small batch in warm water and it dissolves the glue on the stamps. Use stamp tongs to place the wet stamps on sheets of newspaper to dry until slightly damp.
Put stamps between pages of phone books OR sheets of newspaper and weight down.
They come out flat .

The ink from the newsprint does not come off on the stamps.

The big issue for you is the tape residue which is going to be a different process all together.

I have seen where using a microwave to remove the new self adhesive stamps from paper works. Not sure if a variation of that technique would benefit your problem.

 

[MRDucks2]

I am gaining a new respect for stamps. Lil' suckers are obviously more durable than I ever realized.

 

[Scotty]

I would contact a museum worker. They often have to clean up and restore items. Maybe they will share some secret recipes!

 

[woodwzrd]

Thanks for the advise everyone. Unfortunately when the auction ended today it was just out of my budget but this will all come in handy when the next ones come around. I'm on the look out now.

 

[RGVPens]

Just a dumb comment...the OP said " a strip of clear tape across the face..." NOT masking tape.
If it's clear tape...and you're going to put it on a tube and cast it in clear...would you notice it is on there after you turn it?
Or did I miss something?

 

[woodwzrd]

Just a dumb comment...the OP said " a strip of clear tape across the face..." NOT masking tape.
If it's clear tape...and you're going to put it on a tube and cast it in clear...would you notice it is on there after you turn it?
Or did I miss something?

I did initially state it was masking tape but edited my post to say clear tape. I can see the tape in the pictures of the stamps so I'm guessing it would show after cast but leaving it was a thought.