Ink on wood! Help!

[Andie3]

Hi there!
I am SO new to this and have a strange question- my friends daughter used some of my stamps and got ink on the wood. I knwo that it doesn't affect the stamp ... but it bothers me because if I ever try to resell them they may not go. Help! Has anyone experienced this before? Any suggestions would be fabolous.
Thanks
Andrea

[lulu101]

You could try clorox on a q-tip and rub it in. Sometimes it works. When i get my blocks i coat them with polyurethane (varnish). I buy the Delta Ceramcoat and mount the stamp and sticker and brush it on. On another post i heard that you could also buy a spray.

[cbet]

Don't Panic!

Try sanding it off with an emery board - as long as the stamp wasn't sitting with the wood on the inkpad for a long time, it shouldn't have soaked in much.

I know some of the stampers here use clear nail polish to coat the blocks to keep stray ink from sticking; some of them spray the blocks with clear polyurethane spray to protect them from stray ink before they mount the rubber.

Or when you need to sell the stamps, hope you find someone like me. I unmount 'em anyway, so I couldn't care less how stained the wood is

[Andie3]

Thanks everyone! Someone told me Magic Eraser? I will try your ideas.

[laura6]

i buy used stamps with ink-stained wood all the time off eBay. i figure, this way, i don't worry if I am going to stain the stamps... they're already stained LOL. but seriously, if i like the stamp i could care less about the wood.
-laura s
PS why not get your daughter a few of her own stamps (try the $ stores, $1 spot at Target and the Craft Stores.... even your old or duplicate stamps). then whatever she does to them is ok

[willsygirl]

Sandpaper works a treat...before I sell a set I sand off the ink - works fabulously well

[D_Marie]

I use fine grit sandpaper to get rid of ink stains on used sets I buy and then seal the wood to keep it looking new. I seal the wood of all of my new sets when I get them. I know it doesn't affect the stamping but I prefer to have my sets look like new. If I get ink on the sealed wood, it wipes away easily. It's nice to be able to loan my sets to others and not worry that they're going to come back stained.

[jkstampin]

I have found sanding to be the best way for me. If it is really bad, you can unmount the stamp and totally sand the block down. Then seal with a spray varnish and remount the stamp. I now seal all of my blocks before mounting my sets. They really clean up so much easier.

[stamphappy1650]

If you are the kind of person that want clean wood, you might want to coat the wood with varthane or clear nail polish so the ink won't stain the wood, because I guarantee this will happen again.

Personally, I don't care if the wood is stained. I gave up on clean wood long, long ago. As for reselling, I rarely sell my stamps and if the wood is stained it means I really use it a lot and wouldn't sell it anyway. In my stamp room, clean wood is either a brand new stamp or one I don't like

[polargirl]

Originally Posted by jkstampin

I have found sanding to be the best way for me. If it is really bad, you can unmount the stamp and totally sand the block down. Then seal with a spray varnish and remount the stamp. I now seal all of my blocks before mounting my sets. They really clean up so much easier.

After spray varnishing your wood mounts, does the rubber stamp adhere to wood block good??

[jkstampin]

Originally Posted by polargirl

After spray varnishing your wood mounts, does the rubber stamp adhere to wood block good??

Yes - I've never had a problem at all. What I've been using most recently is minwax polyurethane because I can get it at Joann's with a coupon. I've also used Krylon.

[craftingcaren]

If you use Krylon get the shiny one, not the matte. I used to use the matte one and the ink doesn't come off it as well. I have a brownie troop that has gotten ink all over my stamps!