I wonder if anyone has a remedy for removing hinge remnants from old mint stamps. I have had a devil of a time trying to use Stamplift. It does not work well for some types of hinges and after the remnants have been removed the gum has been ruined and the stamps are brittle. Maybe there is an alternative method...without having to soak the stamps and end up with unused but no gum stamps.
capetown
re: REMOVAL OF HINGE REMNANTS FROM OLDER MINT STAMPS
Eye dropper, razor blade or xacto knife, tongs and a small artists brush.
In theory you wet the hinge only with the eye dropper, use a razor blade or xacto knife at just the right moment to lift the hinge in one piece, and then very lightly whisk the upset gum to match the rest of it.
For me, in practice, it doesn't usually go smoothly. I have watched a dealer do it and for him it usually turns out light hinged, sometimes very close to never hinged - I should be so lucky.
Silence in the face of adversity is the father of complicity and collusion, the first cousins of conspiracy.. 28 Aug 2017 08:33:11pm
re: REMOVAL OF HINGE REMNANTS FROM OLDER MINT STAMPS
"... the stamps are brittle. ..."
That might be natures way of begging "Get this gum off me. ..."
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".... You may think you understood what you thought I said, but I'm not sure you realize that what you think you heard is not what I thought I meant. .... "
re: REMOVAL OF HINGE REMNANTS FROM OLDER MINT STAMPS
I do what the guy in the video does. (It's nice to see someone showing an example of how to do it. I've tried describing it before. It's much easier to be able to just post a link!)
Some of your success will really depend on the type of the hinge that was used. In my experience, the older the hinge, the more likely it is to remove easily and cleanly. The later hinges, even with this method, can still be a problem.
As the gentleman in the video says, I would practice with some really inexpensive stamps first. Perhaps starting towards the end of the album, rather than at the beginning?
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"You gotta put down the duckie if you wanna play the saxophone. (Hoots the Owl -- Sesame Street)"
re: REMOVAL OF HINGE REMNANTS FROM OLDER MINT STAMPS
I've had great success with the tongs method on used stamps - not on mint, though. My thought on this is because the stamp adhesive activates as well as the hinge adhesive, making it 'double stuck'. I'm not dexterous enough to attempt anything else more tricky, and just leave the remnant as is.
re: REMOVAL OF HINGE REMNANTS FROM OLDER MINT STAMPS
I have used both the tong rubbing method as a first attempt. If that fails I have used saliva moistened Q-tip to very gradually and slightly moisten the hinge until it is removed. Almost all hinges (except those made of paper and glued) can be removed by these methods with very little disturbance of gum. The gum is still disturbed though if you were to describe condition. I would imagine using anything wetter, such as an eye dropper, would be too drastic and most times a disaster.
re: REMOVAL OF HINGE REMNANTS FROM OLDER MINT STAMPS
Thanks to all who replied to my query. It seems that most of you also have had similar problems. I think I will go with the old saying....If it ain't broke don't fix it!
capetown
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