Splitcoaststampers.com - the world's #1 papercrafting community
You're currently viewing Splitcoaststampers as a GUEST. We pride ourselves on being great hosts, but guests have limited access to some of our incredible artwork, our lively forums and other super cool features of the site! You can join our incredible papercrafting community at NO COST. So what are you waiting for?
Over the weekend, I had a yard sale where I was selling some duplicate SU stamps. A customer saw them, indicated she used to do stamping years ago but now the stamps were in storage (spending over a $1,000/year to store them). Man with her indicated "you have no idea how many times I've moved those stamps!" They then indicated they should just bring them over to my house and just give them to me, at which point, I said "I would not object and, in fact, would be happy to take them off your hands!" Man starts jumping up and down, excited that this would be the last time he would have to move them. He counted on his fingers that he had already moved them at least 7 times.
Anyway, long story short, they made two trips to my house with 4 12-bin iris mini-chest carts, 2 large plastic totes, 2 short plastic totes, a milk crate filled with paper, and a stack of about another 12 plastic drawers containing everything stamping related, including (????) a 1,000 or so stamps.
Dilemma is: Many of these stamps are stained with Stazon ink. How do I economically and timely clean the Stazon off while also conditioning them??
I don't expect to get them sparkling shiny new, and I would say none are "cracking" from being dried out, but there are at least a few that look like they could definitely use some conditioning.
__________________ Brenda
<-My sibling kitties, Milo and Rousseau
I wonder if they need to be cleaned? I see Tim Holtz in videos using filthy stamps all the time!
Next suggestion is that I use rubbing alcohol to clean stamps with stubborn ink. I know that some folks believe it will ruin the stamps but mine are fine. Might be worth trying with a few stamps that aren't your favorites just to see how they clean up.
Good luck and congrats. I think!!
__________________ Dear Paperlicious is my blog...with a series on how I'm learning to improve my cardmaking by studying others.
Stazon makes a stamp cleaner. You can use that. But I will tell you stazon STAINS. You might get a stamp just a bit cleaner, but not much.
Wood will stay black also, unless you want to sand the wood blocks down.
Everyone used stazon back in the day. Thank goodness we have Memento ink now!
__________________ The quickest way for a parent to get a child's attention is to sit down and look comfortable. Practice safe eating always use condiments
__________________ The quickest way for a parent to get a child's attention is to sit down and look comfortable. Practice safe eating always use condiments
I have cleaned some stamps with olive oil. It cleans the rubber and the wood pretty good. I read somewhere to use it.... then someone said olive oil isn't good for the stamps. So, who knows.... but it will get lots of stain off.
I wonder if they need to be cleaned? I see Tim Holtz in videos using filthy stamps all the time!
Next suggestion is that I use rubbing alcohol to clean stamps with stubborn ink. I know that some folks believe it will ruin the stamps but mine are fine. Might be worth trying with a few stamps that aren't your favorites just to see how they clean up.
Good luck and congrats. I think!!
I can see how alcohol might dry the rubber, but for as many stamps as there are, it's going to be far more economical to use rubbing alcohol instead of stazon cleaner!
So I would probably use the alcohol to clean them, and then a quick swipe with a baby wipe after the alcohol, just to minimize the evaporative effect of any leftover alcohol. (I use the wet ones in the green package to clean most of my stamps-- they're more hand wipes than baby wipes with some aloe in them. I usually buy the travel pack at Target... they sell a bigger canister over near the paper plates and plastic bags, not the baby aisle.)
They just gave you all that?? Holy cow! Yay for you!!
I would suggest using Simple Green. You get it by the gallon at Home Depot and dilute it so it lasts a long time/does a LOT. It cleans and conditions. I use it all the time.
For stubborn stuff, I would start with that, then maybe the stazon cleaner just for the rubber. Forget the wood. That's hopeless.
I do find stazon does stain permanently often if not removed immediately. Seems like what's more important is some cleaning and conditioning so the stamps give good images.
I use cloth-torn up tshirts. That works better for me than wipes or paper towels or whatever else. I have a scrubber for very detailed stamps but that almost definitely will mess up the wood. You can rinse them out and re-use. I just find fabric cleans better. Or an old toothbrush after letting the stamp soak in cleaner. You can tape off the wood if needed.
I'm using the home made stamp cleaner (glycerin, baby wash, distilled water) for the very minimally or non-stained stamps to just condition them a little, and I do think it has helped in that regard.
I've also tried adding denatured alcohol into the above mix--supposedly that's what Stazon has in it-- but it really doesn't seem to have all that much of an effect.
Maybe I will try the pure alcohol (I have 90%, I think) and then let them sit in the home made stamp cleaner for a little bit to help condition them.
Still, if anyone has any other ideas, let me know. Even, also, as far as saving time.
__________________ Brenda
<-My sibling kitties, Milo and Rousseau
For really hard to clean stamps...I use 100% acetone nail polish remover!
It works great!
I came across this tip on an old forum on how to clean stamps and that is what they recommended...it was a stamp manufacturer who suggested it...so I assume it is safe to use ...No problems so far for me! ;)
__________________ "God designed the human machine to run on Himself. HE Himself is the fuel our spirits were designed to burn..." C.S. Lewis, Mere Christianity
UltraClean stamp cleaner will get ANYTHING off your stamps, plus it is safe to use even on clear stamps! It's a little bit greasy - I spritz it on my Stampin' Scrub and the Scrub still has it on months later - all I have to do is get out my Scrub and it cleans my Archival Black and Black StazOn right off!!
Lindsay, the Frugal Crafter recommends conditioning old stamps with glycerin, but if you use the UltraClean, they'll already by moisturized! If you use alcohol, I'd use glycerin and let that soak in for a couple days, then clean as normal and the stamps should be good to go.
But the UltraClean is magic! Have fun with all those stamps! :-)
__________________ ~ Susan - Celebrating 19 years as an SU demo! Grammy to Anna 15, Elizabeth 14, Nora 12, Abigail 12, Kendall 10 , Isaac 10, Evan 7, and Hudson 3 with me in my avatar Proud to be SCS Fan Club Member since the beginning!
Lucky you!! wow...how generous. Just for future reference after your stamps are clean....ink with Versamark ink first before applying Stazon and it will wipe right off.
Good luck with the cleaning.
I wonder if they need to be cleaned? I see Tim Holtz in videos using filthy stamps all the time!
Next suggestion is that I use rubbing alcohol to clean stamps with stubborn ink. I know that some folks believe it will ruin the stamps but mine are fine. Might be worth trying with a few stamps that aren't your favorites just to see how they clean up.
Good luck and congrats. I think!!
I think my feelings are like Tim Holtz - if the stamp works and makes a good image, I don't really care if it is stained. How a stamp looks does not matter to me at all if it stamps well.
And I'm with Joan when I also say, Congrats - I think! That's a whole lot of stamps to deal with.
__________________ Bugga in OK
"Be kind whenever possible. It is always possible." Dalai Lama
Thanks for all the input, Ladies! I've got a few options to try. The simple green seems to work on some of it. As I mentioned, I'm not going to expect them to be sparkling--more just to get a good image without residual ink messing up my ink pads and getting them conditioned. And, you're right, there's no point in worrying about the wood because, as you mentioned, once it's stained, it's hopeless.
I've also been using the straight alcohol--it "melted" the rubber on one stamp today--weird. I'm going to also try the UltraClean and the acetone. I'll pour some Ultraclean on a pad that will fit into a Glad container so that I can keep it covered when I'm not using it.
It was such a wonderful gift from someone I didn't even know until that day! The couple even helped us pick up our yardsale because it looked like it was about to downpour! What wonderfully nice people they were.
__________________ Brenda
<-My sibling kitties, Milo and Rousseau
I clean staz-on off with the same cleaner I use on a regular basis- I use Simple Green (not diluted) in a spray bottle. I use an old wash cloth and spray a few squirts on the wash cloth then rub my stamps crisp-and-clean. I've never had stanining on my rubber and it does not damage the rubber (or foam). I swear by Simple Green!!!
Help!! In a dilemma
