Discussion - Member to Member Sales - Research Center
Discussion - Member to Member Sales - Research Center
I soak lots of stamps, almost everyday, for many years now.
I do not use drying books.
I do not use paper towels.
I do not use blotting paper.
I do not use freezer bags.
I do not use white copy paper.
I use high quality, soft, cotton hand towels.
I use laminate boards with a slick waterproof surface.
I use old Scott catalogues, with slick surface covers, for pressing.
There are 3 stages to a stamp coming out of your soaking water:
Wet stamp
Damp stamp
Almost dry stamp
Wet stamp to damp stamp> Lightly blot between soft towels. Do not use rough surface towels, they will dent your stamps. Towels will become crusty from gum after many soakings, just wash in washing machine and fluff in dryer to renew softness. No need for paper towels.
Damp stamp to Almost dry stamp>Lay face down and let air dry. Cover with a light-weight paperback book if needed to slow drying and prevent excessive curling until you have a batch ready to press. Uncover and leave them out in the air until almost dry.
Almost dry stamp> A stamp that will not stick to your finger when you press down on it and will easily slide around on your laminate board, yet still feels a little bit damp. Slide them around on your board face down placing them close together. No blotting paper needed.
Place old Scott catalogue over your almost dry stamps.
Repeat process. Stack up boards 8 to 10 high. Put heavy weight of books or other weights on top of stack. Stamps will dry in 24 hours, but 48 hours makes them really flat and dry, which is what I prefer, so I soak 4 or 5 boards a day and process 4 or 5 boards a day in a rotating process. There are always 8 to 10 boards in my stack overnight.
From my experience, your stamps will stick, or you will put wrinkles in the cover of your pressing Scott catalogues, if you press DAMP stamps. You should only press ALMOST DRY stamps.
Hope this helps one of you,
Linus
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Just curious. What type of laminate board do you use? I've seen deck boards, circuit boards, dry erase boards with laminate but they don't seem right. Are your boards laminated on both sides? Thanks,
David
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Laminate flooring, tongue and groove, leftover scrap boards from a kitchen floor remodeling job in my house. Shiny, hard-as-nails, coating on one side and composite, smooth, unfinished on the other side. Home Depot sells them, but you would have to buy a case, and that would be expensive. If you know somebody who remodeled their floor, or if you have a Habitat-For-Humanity Restore, you could buy a few boards for not much.
Hope this helps,
Linus
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That is a good way to use leftover flooring. I still have leftover pieces but the surface is not smooth (simulated wood grain) and it probably would leave grooves in the stamps if they were pressed flat using heavy weights.
Will have to keep my eyes open for some that is totally flat.
Thanks for the idea!
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Use a piece of glass.
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Yes, Sally, the surface must be smooth as glass and hard with no ridges so your stamps come out totally flat. Glass would work as long as you could safely handle without cutting yourself on the edges. Also, a hard acrylic plastic cutting board would work or formica countertop pieces glued onto plywood, as long as both are smooth as glass, they would work.
This is a good way to still use those old Scott catalogues that you hate to toss out. I am using a 2001 set myself, they work just fine. I used to use Des Moines phone books back in the day, but eventually the phone book covers would wrinkle, which makes the stamps wrinkle a little. I like my stamps to come out totally flat, with a slight natural bend.
Hope this helps,
Linus
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This is a picture of two of my laminate boards, along with two old Scott catalogues, that I use for pressing out "Almost Dry" stamps as described in my post above.
Linus
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My method starts with cleaning the kitchen sink with washing up liquid, thorough rinsing, then half full with tepid water.
Dump in stamps, minus any on red or other bright paper. Old airmail envelopes sometimes bleed as well.
Three quarters fill a large Pyrex bowl with cooler water.
Make a cup of tea, stir stamps, and start removing those floating about into the Pyrex bowl and the paper to one side of drainer. Drink tea as I go.
When all stamps are in the bowl, they are then placed face down on fresh newspaper (local free rag) using only pages without colour. I can get around 150-200 stamps per page.
More pages are added if needed. When all done they are covered with a few more sheets, moved to a laminated table and flattened with a number of cookery books. (what other use are they?)
They will stay like this for a day then are moved into telephone books using pages 20 or so apart. This is then given the cookery book treatment for a further day, sometimes a little longer.
I find that this is sufficient to keep them flat, they are then moved into envelopes by country, before being sorted for sale or collection.
While soaking and transferring any damaged stamps are removed.
I did, in UK, use blotting paper but seem unable to find the large sheets in Canada, Staples sell the large pads but not replacement sheets.
Self-adhesives get cut close around and saved. Sometimes after soaking and drying where I failed to spot them beforehand.
Time for another cuppa.
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I use old stamp catalogs as weights too, nothing better. I have never used newspaper though - doesn't the ink get on the wet stamps or are you using unprinted newspaper stock?
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No not unprinted stock. Today's newsprint does not come off onto wet stamps unlike that of my youth when it even got on your hands. Hence the butler ironing the newspaper before the master read the news.
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Here's my method... I have this copy paper box full of stamps on paper. I kick it into my pool, and let my pool guests line the soaked stamps along the pool edge! Remaining paper gets sucked into my skimmers, I just change those daily and I'm golden! 
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I can't remember the last time I soaked a batch of stamps, except the occasional fugitive from an album with a hinge remnant or bit of album page adhered to it.
But, when they come out of the tepid water, I lay them face down on waxed paper, directly out of the water.
Of course, they never stick, and I have not had an issue with wax residue on the stamps.
The waxed paper also seems to absorb some of the excess water.
YMMV,
-Paul
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There are many methods of soaking stamps, but today I will share with the club my way.
I soak lots of stamps, almost everyday, for many years now.
I do not use drying books.
I do not use paper towels.
I do not use blotting paper.
I do not use freezer bags.
I do not use white copy paper.
I use high quality, soft, cotton hand towels.
I use laminate boards with a slick waterproof surface.
I use old Scott catalogues, with slick surface covers, for pressing.
There are 3 stages to a stamp coming out of your soaking water:
Wet stamp
Damp stamp
Almost dry stamp
Wet stamp to damp stamp> Lightly blot between soft towels. Do not use rough surface towels, they will dent your stamps. Towels will become crusty from gum after many soakings, just wash in washing machine and fluff in dryer to renew softness. No need for paper towels.
Damp stamp to Almost dry stamp>Lay face down and let air dry. Cover with a light-weight paperback book if needed to slow drying and prevent excessive curling until you have a batch ready to press. Uncover and leave them out in the air until almost dry.
Almost dry stamp> A stamp that will not stick to your finger when you press down on it and will easily slide around on your laminate board, yet still feels a little bit damp. Slide them around on your board face down placing them close together. No blotting paper needed.
Place old Scott catalogue over your almost dry stamps.
Repeat process. Stack up boards 8 to 10 high. Put heavy weight of books or other weights on top of stack. Stamps will dry in 24 hours, but 48 hours makes them really flat and dry, which is what I prefer, so I soak 4 or 5 boards a day and process 4 or 5 boards a day in a rotating process. There are always 8 to 10 boards in my stack overnight.
From my experience, your stamps will stick, or you will put wrinkles in the cover of your pressing Scott catalogues, if you press DAMP stamps. You should only press ALMOST DRY stamps.
Hope this helps one of you,
Linus
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like this post.
Login to Like.
re: My Method of Soaking Stamps
Just curious. What type of laminate board do you use? I've seen deck boards, circuit boards, dry erase boards with laminate but they don't seem right. Are your boards laminated on both sides? Thanks,
David
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this post
re: My Method of Soaking Stamps
Laminate flooring, tongue and groove, leftover scrap boards from a kitchen floor remodeling job in my house. Shiny, hard-as-nails, coating on one side and composite, smooth, unfinished on the other side. Home Depot sells them, but you would have to buy a case, and that would be expensive. If you know somebody who remodeled their floor, or if you have a Habitat-For-Humanity Restore, you could buy a few boards for not much.
Hope this helps,
Linus
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this post
re: My Method of Soaking Stamps
That is a good way to use leftover flooring. I still have leftover pieces but the surface is not smooth (simulated wood grain) and it probably would leave grooves in the stamps if they were pressed flat using heavy weights.
Will have to keep my eyes open for some that is totally flat.
Thanks for the idea!
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this post
03:06:13pm
re: My Method of Soaking Stamps
Use a piece of glass.
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this post
re: My Method of Soaking Stamps
Yes, Sally, the surface must be smooth as glass and hard with no ridges so your stamps come out totally flat. Glass would work as long as you could safely handle without cutting yourself on the edges. Also, a hard acrylic plastic cutting board would work or formica countertop pieces glued onto plywood, as long as both are smooth as glass, they would work.
This is a good way to still use those old Scott catalogues that you hate to toss out. I am using a 2001 set myself, they work just fine. I used to use Des Moines phone books back in the day, but eventually the phone book covers would wrinkle, which makes the stamps wrinkle a little. I like my stamps to come out totally flat, with a slight natural bend.
Hope this helps,
Linus
Login to Like
this post
re: My Method of Soaking Stamps
This is a picture of two of my laminate boards, along with two old Scott catalogues, that I use for pressing out "Almost Dry" stamps as described in my post above.
Linus
Login to Like
this post
re: My Method of Soaking Stamps
My method starts with cleaning the kitchen sink with washing up liquid, thorough rinsing, then half full with tepid water.
Dump in stamps, minus any on red or other bright paper. Old airmail envelopes sometimes bleed as well.
Three quarters fill a large Pyrex bowl with cooler water.
Make a cup of tea, stir stamps, and start removing those floating about into the Pyrex bowl and the paper to one side of drainer. Drink tea as I go.
When all stamps are in the bowl, they are then placed face down on fresh newspaper (local free rag) using only pages without colour. I can get around 150-200 stamps per page.
More pages are added if needed. When all done they are covered with a few more sheets, moved to a laminated table and flattened with a number of cookery books. (what other use are they?)
They will stay like this for a day then are moved into telephone books using pages 20 or so apart. This is then given the cookery book treatment for a further day, sometimes a little longer.
I find that this is sufficient to keep them flat, they are then moved into envelopes by country, before being sorted for sale or collection.
While soaking and transferring any damaged stamps are removed.
I did, in UK, use blotting paper but seem unable to find the large sheets in Canada, Staples sell the large pads but not replacement sheets.
Self-adhesives get cut close around and saved. Sometimes after soaking and drying where I failed to spot them beforehand.
Time for another cuppa.
Login to Like
this post
re: My Method of Soaking Stamps
I use old stamp catalogs as weights too, nothing better. I have never used newspaper though - doesn't the ink get on the wet stamps or are you using unprinted newspaper stock?
Login to Like
this post
re: My Method of Soaking Stamps
No not unprinted stock. Today's newsprint does not come off onto wet stamps unlike that of my youth when it even got on your hands. Hence the butler ironing the newspaper before the master read the news.
Login to Like
this post
re: My Method of Soaking Stamps
Here's my method... I have this copy paper box full of stamps on paper. I kick it into my pool, and let my pool guests line the soaked stamps along the pool edge! Remaining paper gets sucked into my skimmers, I just change those daily and I'm golden!
Login to Like
this post
02:36:01pm
re: My Method of Soaking Stamps
I can't remember the last time I soaked a batch of stamps, except the occasional fugitive from an album with a hinge remnant or bit of album page adhered to it.
But, when they come out of the tepid water, I lay them face down on waxed paper, directly out of the water.
Of course, they never stick, and I have not had an issue with wax residue on the stamps.
The waxed paper also seems to absorb some of the excess water.
YMMV,
-Paul
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this post