PTI Stamps not sticking

[CraftyMel2]

Hi Not sure if this is the right area to post in but...here goes!

I bought a set of PTI stamps off Ebay and they don't have anymore "stick". They arrived as though they had not been cleaned ever, seemed sort of dusty even. I wiped them down with wet paper towels thinking that would do the trick but still no stick. I can use tape I suppose but would rather they just stick the way they are meant to...is there a way to do that? I am afraid to scrub or do anything harsh just in case they might scratch or something but am almost wondering if they are just dirty still. I am not used to the clear stamps so much. Any ideas?

[bwstamper]

I have had a few clear stamps that stopped sticking and I just wash them in water with a mild dish washing soap, rinse them with running warm water and let them air dry with the side that sticks to the block up. They then stick like new.

[gregzgurl]

I was going to suggest exactly what bwstamper said. If that doesn't work, try wiping them with rubbing alcohol (not regularly, just this once...)

[CraftyMel2]

Oh wonderful Thank you I am going to wash them now, I have some of the Dawn "free" that I use in my garden! Thanks for the tips ladies, I knew someone here could help me out!!!

[stampencamper]

I have also been frustrated trying to get stamps to stick to clear acrylic blocks; if these reminders above don't work, try this:
to keep unmounted stamps tacky, use glue pen | handmade cards-SU

it truly does return the stickiness back to the stamps. If you toss your stamps around, or do not put back into box after rinsing off; then you may accumulated dust and other pieces of stuff to stamp, but; otherwise it works

[Southern Sparkle]

I would follow what they said above and if those don't work, try a thin, dry coat of Alene's Tack It Over and Over. Not sure how it will stay on clear, but does great on clings.

[CraftyMel2]

Well, bad news. The washing them off in the soapy water did not work. No stick at all. I don't know what could have happened to them :( Oh well, I guess I will have to put some Zig or something on them. Thanks for the tips though

[gregzgurl]

Quote:

Originally Posted by CraftyMel2

Well, bad news. The washing them off in the soapy water did not work. No stick at all. I don't know what could have happened to them :( Oh well, I guess I will have to put some Zig or something on them. Thanks for the tips though

Did you try the rubbing alcohol? I had a few that I thought were goners, then I read about that tip (from our own Beate, even) and tried it - it worked!

[efromhawaii]

I had a bunch of PTI stamps that I had in the CD cases for quite a while and when I peeled them off the case they were all cloudy and would not stick. I tried washing them with dish soap, cleaning them with rubbing alcohol...nothing worked. Someone told me to try Ultra Clean and it worked. I used a scrubbing pad and really scrubbed both the back and front of the stamp and let them air dry and not only are they clear again but they are also sticky again.

Good thing I saved all the PTI films because I put them all back on the original films and got rid of all the CD cases.

[CraftyMel2]

Quote:

Originally Posted by gregzgurl

Did you try the rubbing alcohol? I had a few that I thought were goners, then I read about that tip (from our own Beate, even) and tried it - it worked!

I admit, I did not...it scared me to death! :eek: I am going to go try it tonight though when I get home from work. Only on the back though, right? I will use a Q-Tip. I will let everyone know when I try it.

efromhawaii...what is Ultra Clean? Dish soap? Laundry soap? I will have to Google it

[daffyrs1]

Quote:

Originally Posted by CraftyMel2

I admit, I did not...it scared me to death! :eek: I am going to go try it tonight though when I get home from work. Only on the back though, right? I will use a Q-Tip. I will let everyone know when I try it.

efromhawaii...what is Ultra Clean? Dish soap? Laundry soap? I will have to Google it

It's a stamp cleaner - good for clear stamps. Here's a link so you know what it is: https://www.papertreyink.com/index.p...+stamp+cleaner

Good luck!

[CraftyMel2]

Update: Still no luck :( No stick AT ALL. I am afraid they are done for. I am going to put some glue on them and call it a day. Thanks for the tips...I can't imagine what made the stick go away in the first place; from all I have been told, these clear stamps stay sticky forever. The previous owner may have cleaned them with something that took the stick off or something without realizing.

[Stamper for fun]

Quote:

Originally Posted by CraftyMel2

I admit, I did not...it scared me to death! :eek: I am going to go try it tonight though when I get home from work. Only on the back though, right? I will use a Q-Tip. I will let everyone know when I try it.

efromhawaii...what is Ultra Clean? Dish soap? Laundry soap? I will have to Google it

I know you were afraid to use alcohol and then in a later post you said you were ready to give up on them so maybe try alcohol once more. It may be that when the stamps were originally removed from the clear backing they were removed too fast and that was the cause (there is a real term for that but what it is called escapes me at the moment). I read where you should use alcohol with something that has some "tooth" to it so rather than use a q-tip try a wash towel with alcohol (on the back only). I have done this and the towel worked whereas the q-tip did not. Don't know if it will work for you but worth a try.

[Stamper for fun]

Also, have you thought of contacting the seller and voicing the facts? If the above alcohol with towel does not work I probably would contact the seller.

[CraftyMel2]

Thanks Stamper, I will try that. I asked my husband if he had any thoughts and his cure for just about everything is rubbing alcohol so he was at a loss. I contacted PTI customer service as well and they suggested going into their forum and asking around. I have a little bit of a time navigating their forums though :( I have not left feedback at all for this sale and probably won't. I mean, it's not like the stamps don't work, so I can't really ask for my money back. It was one of their more expensive sets with several stamps in it so I can't complain too much, I paid half of what they go for from PTI so I cannot expect them to be perfect...I guess half of perfect is what I got haha!

[stampjg]

I vaguely remembered an issue with PTI stamps pulling off their backing wrong or something, causing them to be cloudy and have no stick. I never had this problem, so I Googled it and found this thread:

Message Boards - "Paper Trey Ink stamps" - General Stamping - Two Peas In A Bucket

I don't know if it will help, or if it is the problem you have, but at least you know you can at least be pretty aggressive with the rubbing alcohol or a magic eraser...

[CraftyMel2]

WELL!!! I had to come tell you all The scrubbing with a rough towel and the alcohol worked! They are like brand new! They stuck immediately after I patted them dry Now, nothing came off...nothing balled up or anything...but whatever it did, it removed the cloudiness and brought back the stick! I can't thank you enough Thank you so much for encouraging me to try this gregzgurl even though I was afraid and thanks to stamper and stampjg and efromhawaii for the scrubbing tip! Thanks to everyone who posted, you all saved my stamps!!

[Stamper for fun]

CraftyMel, I'm so glad it worked and now you have stamps that stick.

[stampjg]

CraftyMel, it is great that you can now use the stamps you bought! I'd love to see a card you make with this "challenging" set.