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Aloha All !! A wonderful friend of mine been buying me stamps from garage sales. bless her heart. A lot of them are very poorly cared for. this Last batch She got me looks like someone gave their 2 and 3 year olds a black ink pad and these poor stamps:( Can anyone Help me to show them love by what's the best way to save them and giving them a decent cleaning and the care they deserve There may already be a thread addressing this topic but there may also now be many more new tips.Help please. Much Mahalo In advance to all.
First, I'd say that if the stamps give a decent impression, don't sweat it too much! Pristine stamps are unused stamps ;)
If they're wood mounted and the staining's on the wood you'll basically have to grin and bear it - not much you can do short of remounting and that would be a waste.
If the rubber is more stained than you can bear, you can try several things. Water, a bit of mild dish soap and an old (soft) toothbrush is worth a go. Amazingly, Versamark ink is also a miracle cleaning agent. Tap Versamark all over the stamp and leave it alone for a while (10 or 15 minutes is probably fine) then clean with an alcohol-free baby wipe or using the water/soap/toothbrush method.
Some people use glycerin to restore "brittle" and stained stamps. I've never tried it myself but if you search for glycerin in the forum you'll probaby find discussion of it from folk who have.
Hii Ms Joanne a angel to my rescue!! Much Mahalo dear so glad your stopped in you always give very knowledgeable advise. yes they are all wood.. like over 20 + of them. Yes it is very sweet of her and it isn't the 1st time... she got me some before so cute she started by giving me 2 then it went to I cant recall and then again this pass sat with this jar and bag full.... I was so excited and when I got home and started sorting them out I couldn't believe how badly they were . im going to say abused and uncared for they to the point of my jaws dropped.lol but because it was a very thoughtful and loving jesture my friend did I will clean them to the best of my ability and love them because it was so sweet.... I did start with 4 of them with the water and soft tooth brush and a stamp cleaner... the black ink on them are so bad that while cleaning with the brush the wood gets the back splashs so im thinking im going to try and put maybe some painters tape before I try scrubbing the rubber.. trust me its so bad its going to take me awhile to clean. But Mahalo Angel Im trying the versaMark tip now as I visit. it's crazy how we look for good deals and cheap buys since we know how costly this hobby can be...some of the original prices are still on the stamps ($8-$9+ a stamp) I just can't believe anyone would not give proper care. then again maybe some people can afford to waste that kind of funds... im on a limited craft allowance so forgive me for being so shocked lol you know waste not want not!! I will let you know how they work out.. the black on them are so scary that I fear if I don't clean them right they will blacken my color pads lolwish I knew how to post a picture here to give you a look ... oh wait maybe its a pre Halloween joke? a bad 1 at that lol again Mahalo Joanne
Well, the good news there is that if you're getting black "backsplash" as you're cleaning then the stuff is shifting off the rubber! If it's that loose/sloppy, it might be worth putting a baby wipe or damp paper towel flat on your desk and rubbing the surface of the stamp over it to shift the worst first. It sounds as if it might be more surface ink than real deep staining. If it is surface ink then you're right to shift it before you put the stamp into contact with other ink pads as it will most likely reactivate and come off onto the surface of your pads.
If you ever want to do it, posting a pic is easy as long as you have a way to link your camera (or phone or whatever you're using to take your pics) to your computer. Just make sure you're responding to the thread using the "advanced" rather than the "quick reply" then scroll down a little way under the box where you're typing your text and you'll see a button that says "manage attachments". If you click that you'll get a pop-up box that says "browse" at the top and you can use that to find any pic on your computer. Choose the pic you want and then click the "upload" button and your pic will be attached to your forum post.
Are they wood mounted rubber stamps? If they are rubber and you can get your paws on some Ultra-Clean stamp cleaner, that will make them look brand new!
I don't use this as my normal cleaner, and after I use it I clean them with a milder cleaner like Stampin' Mist because the Ultra-Clean is sort of oily. But the Ultra Clean will remove all ink.
First, I'd say that if the stamps give a decent impression, don't sweat it too much! Pristine stamps are unused stamps ;)
Amen, Joanne!
If you have a scrubbing pad that you can rub the stamp into, that can be easier than the toothbrush, at least for overall cleaning. I used to have one that was specifically for stamps, but I think a commercial cleaning pad could work just the same - like the type seen HERE. Put some stamp cleaner or maybe some dish soap and water directly onto the pad, and rub the stamp into the pad with a circular motion.
I wonder what makes some of those stamp cleaners oily... would they have some kind of oil-based solvent in them like mineral oil? Hm.
Maybe it isn't a case of not caring, but depending on the age of the stamps (and knowledge of the stamper) the staining might be due to not having the cleaners available to them. Back in the day (70s & 80s), all we had was liquid permanent ink in black and blue (and later red) because the stamps used were for business (such as dates, personal address or CONFIDENTIAL or FINAL NOTICE) and never needed to change out the colors, and thereby not needed cleaning. Unless someone purchases their stamps at a hobby store and sees the cleaners (or has knowledgeable friends who can tell them about it) they wouldn't know about the need to clean the stamps.
I take Lydia's route. Hate the smell and oily feel of Ultra-Clean but I've found it really has cleaned anything I've tried. Argh, Dina - surely it can't come so highly recommended and have something bad for our stamps in it!
Another great cleaner is Simple Green. It's a household cleaner that was originally made for cleaning rubber. Example tires, hoses etc. Many people have used this cleaner and get wonderful results. I use it too. Spritz, wait a minute, scrub with tooth brush or wipe on stamp cleaning pad, and rinse. There is a rubber conditioner in it so it conditions the stamps. I've used it for years and my stamps are in great shape! I keep a small spray bottle in my travel bag so I can clean my stamps when I'm at another place crafting.
My friend has a personalized name stamp that has gotten sticky. It still!l stamps the image OK, but you can hear it as you peel it up off the paper. She's tried cleaning it and even using versamark, but she can't seem to get the stickiness to go away. Any ideas?
I am having a cleaning problem with stamps. After I have used Versa Mark to stamp and cleaned the stamps, the rubber deeper than the image is yukkie, speckled and dirty looking as well as sticky. I can't seem to get that off the rubber. I wonder if some of it is from the scrub pad, but still it is a mess. What do you do to clean that? Where do I find ultra clean stamp cleaner?
Ultra Clean can be bought through Amazon. I'm sure other places have it but I'm dont have info on that. There is an entire thread on Ultra Clean going back to 2008 on this site. As I said above I like to use Simple Green which can be bought in any grocery store or Walmarts.
Another great cleaner is Simple Green. It's a household cleaner that was originally made for cleaning rubber. Example tires, hoses etc. Many people have used this cleaner and get wonderful results. I use it too. Spritz, wait a minute, scrub with tooth brush or wipe on stamp cleaning pad, and rinse. There is a rubber conditioner in it so it conditions the stamps. I've used it for years and my stamps are in great shape! I keep a small spray bottle in my travel bag so I can clean my stamps when I'm at another place crafting.
I use Simple Green too! I don't buy Stamp Cleaners, except for the Stazon Cleaner. But, I always clean my stamps with Simple Green, only wiping my stamps clean, not rinsing. Because it does condition the rubber. I got some stamps once that were in "bad" shape too. Probably not as bad as what yours sound like-- or so it sounds, but they were a gift like yours. The woman who gave them to me, was a stamper & taught classes. I think she was just busy & got many more stamps coming in all the time with no worry....I was & am grateful for those stamps! It's fun to get stamps like that, because you get stamps you wouldn't normally try & find the value in them. But anyway, Simple Green is my choice! If you get some here is the mix: 2 1/2 c. Distilled Water, 1 1/4 c. Simple Green & you can add a few drops of Glycerin to this too! (I don't bother with the glycerin.) Just pour some into a Spritz bottle for easy access. But, the Simple Green took off the GOOK from the stamps that were given to me!!! They're like NEW!
My friend has a personalized name stamp that has gotten sticky. It still!l stamps the image OK, but you can hear it as you peel it up off the paper. She's tried cleaning it and even using versamark, but she can't seem to get the stickiness to go away. Any ideas?
Yes - I've experienced that - a shiny sticky glaze. Ultra Clean takes it off.
Aloha & many mahalo muchs to you all!! love each and everyone!! I guess if I cant get the ultra clean I will try the simple green.. at this point anything will do!! I just feel who ever done this stamps the way they were done.. should never be allowed to touch a stamap till they got lessons on basic care. lol not to be mean or anything but even these pictures cant even show how badly abused they were... some prices are at 15 dollars a piece.. Yes they are all rubber on wood... I have done versaMark mild soap and a tooth brush 3Xand even a stamp cleaner also... got most of them out but notice on my versaMark even after all that some black is still transferring to the pad... not sure what it is that they used... hope this works but check them out... im still cleaning
OH MY GOODNESS!!! This looks like they were painted! LOL Ink where you don't want the ink too! Have you tried Stazon cleaner? I would try that too & then clean them with the Simple Green to condition them! BY THE WAY....... DON'T get the Simple Green in the car section at the store! It STINKS! Or so I'm told. Get the "All-Purpose Cleaner." Lowes has it & I'm sure they would help make sure you don't get the wrong one too.
Mahalo Much... that is what I was starting to think.. that it was more then just ink.... yes there are many wonderful Images so much that I have not even begun to think how im going to use them.. but that's what I got you wonderful inspiring creative sisterhood for (brothers if your here too)...I found a Betty Boop... the tree house from Dr. Suese, Huskies to Scooby Doo, even a dog house, Giraffes, Zebras, stingray, Bears, tigers and a gorilla together on 1 stamp... so many beautiful treasures hidden under that goop... I don't think this was for business purpose but for sure a serious collector or someone that just was lucky as I am to have it fall in there hands but im the luckest of all to have such a wonderful friend to love me enough to buy me stamps on her garage sale finds...so you all be ready to help me make good use of them and love them like they should be!!! Mahalo
Yikes! You weren't kidding when you said they were dirty! I'm embarrassed to admit it now, but back in the days when I was obsessive about keeping my stamps clean I would use a Dremel to sand the ink stains off the wood blocks if I got ink on them. Over the years I've learned it doesn't matter if the wood is stained, or even the rubber, as long as it's "clean". I used to clean my stamps with Staz-On, then go over them again with Stampin' Up cleaner to condition them each and every time I used them. I skip the Staz-On now, and never sand the blocks.
Oh boy. That's REALLY bad. Sad. But look at how people use tools. Some people care for them and some people toss them around, let them rust, etc. You might not be the second owner...maybe the people before you were, got a deal and didnt care what happened to them. Wow...those stamps were "loved" to death! Like a stuffed toy with all the fur rubbed off!
That kind of wood staining to me looks like they used a cleaning pad because that sprays all over the wood. Been there, done that-though not as bad!
I use simple green with a torn up white cotton tshirt. I find my finger/cloth is better than a pad or stamping on paper, esp with stubborn ink. If I cant get it all off, I start thinking stazon and try that-but I will go back with simple green to condition it. I water the simple green down even more than above said. The cheapest place I have found for it so far has been Home Depot. Huge bottle.
Another thing I will do is lay the stamp flat on a table with the rubber up, spray cleaner on it in good measure and leave it alone for awhile-15-30 mins.
For the negative space between the raised bits, a stamp pad/toothbrush cant be beat but again, stains the wood. I have not tried with painters tape. Interesting idea!
The wood is a lost cause imho unless as was said, you sand them.
The good news, as Joanne said, is that "ugly" stamps can still do good impressions.
Yay for you getting the pictures on here! Those really do look, erm, "loved" don't they?! You'll have some lovely images to play with once you're done with the cleaning though - I think a "thank you" card for your garage sale shopper friend might be high on the list when you get to making
Alohaaaa... Yes already got the sentiment I want to use along with a huge jar of my School kine shortbread cookies!! got my hubby to buy me some simple green today, but have not had the time to clean today. It's the grand-daugther's birthday today and I was working on her card right up until she got here made her a pop up box card . the 1st one for me mahalo TLady. Mahalo all you lovely sweet wonderful Ladies for the help... when I finish my cleaning duties I will post the so loved stamps ~wink~.. your right they sure was loved and now they are loved even more!!
HOW EXCITING!!!! I'm so glad you took advantage of my tutorial! ;) Have a BIG piece of cake for working so hard on your card, & ENJOY! "Happy Birthday" to your Grand daughter! And we can't wait to see your new creations! :grin:
Just wanted to say that back in the day when I was in Art classes that is how you left a stamp because the residual ink help the next print.
I don't see abused stamps, I see loved and used stamps that probably belonged to a person that was trained in art not papercrafts. And yes, times have changed and cleaners condition stamps now unlike in the past.
Gosh, with the condition of those stamps, I think I would just rip them off the blocks and trim those that weren't trimmed before down to the image only and then put them on easy mount and use them with an acrylic block. It's pretty clear if you leave them untrimmed, that the non-image parts of the stamp will pick up unwanted ink when you use them and probably get ink on your project in unwanted areas.
Reminds me of a set I bought from someone on the BST board here. She listed the stamps as new and never used, but when I received them they were wet with black ink and there was ink all over the front & back of the wood, the stamps and the envelope she had sent them in. When I asked her about the "new condition" she replied that they were new, but she want to stamp off images of them to keep before sending them to me and didn't have time to clean them before she mailed them.
Good luck with your treasures. It does look like you have some really nice images there.
Gosh, with the condition of those stamps, I think I would just rip them off the blocks and trim those that weren't trimmed before down to the image only and then put them on easy mount and use them with an acrylic block. It's pretty clear if you leave them untrimmed, that the non-image parts of the stamp will pick up unwanted ink when you use them and probably get ink on your project in unwanted areas.
Reminds me of a set I bought from someone on the BST board here. She listed the stamps as new and never used, but when I received them they were wet with black ink and there was ink all over the front & back of the wood, the stamps and the envelope she had sent them in. When I asked her about the "new condition" she replied that they were new, but she want to stamp off images of them to keep before sending them to me and didn't have time to clean them before she mailed them.
Good luck with your treasures. It does look like you have some really nice images there.
OOOoooo! This story sounds like what happened to me once---when I bought Longaberger baskets from a demonstrator....when my baskets came in, she swiped them out for the ones she already had in her house. So, I ended up with her old baskets! I wasn't too pleased! She never knew I figured out what she was doing, I just never bought baskets from her again! It just seems a little DISHONEST!
Gosh, with the condition of those stamps, I think I would just rip them off the blocks and trim those that weren't trimmed before down to the image only and then put them on easy mount and use them with an acrylic block. It's pretty clear if you leave them untrimmed, that the non-image parts of the stamp will pick up unwanted ink when you use them and probably get ink on your project in unwanted areas.
Reminds me of a set I bought from someone on the BST board here. She listed the stamps as new and never used, but when I received them they were wet with black ink and there was ink all over the front & back of the wood, the stamps and the envelope she had sent them in. When I asked her about the "new condition" she replied that they were new, but she want to stamp off images of them to keep before sending them to me and didn't have time to clean them before she mailed them.
Good luck with your treasures. It does look like you have some really nice images there.
Oh brother. That exact thing happened to me with an ebay seller. The pic looked showed a clean stamp and then arrived not much better than the pics here. I was shocked and angry. She said the same thing! Wanted some images before sending it off and sent me an extra stamp to make up for it-I informed her that once I had paid for it, it was NOT hers anymore to play with! I took her off my seller list. I paid good money for that stamp-she had no idea what my plan was-I could have wanted to make a gift of it-which was no longer possible! Really ticked me off. I would have returned it but it was not worth it financially despite what I had paid for it.
Oh brother. That exact thing happened to me with an ebay seller. The pic looked showed a clean stamp and then arrived not much better than the pics here. I was shocked and angry. She said the same thing! Wanted some images before sending it off and sent me an extra stamp to make up for it-I informed her that once I had paid for it, it was NOT hers anymore to play with! I took her off my seller list. I paid good money for that stamp-she had no idea what my plan was-I could have wanted to make a gift of it-which was no longer possible! Really ticked me off. I would have returned it but it was not worth it financially despite what I had paid for it.
today she gave me something some guy sold her on getting these metal things that looks like you have to take a hammer to so it leaves a impression.. looks more like something for leather
Sounds like what I'd call metal punches or stamps. Are they patterns or letters/numbers at the end of a straight metal rod or bar-type thing? Believe it or not, even though they're designed for leather or even to punch in to metal, they're great on chipboard! Rest it on the chipboard surface and whack the end with a hammer, paint the board with something like acrylic paint and when that's dry, dry brush another colour on top (if you've never done dry brushing - get just the tiniest bit of paint on your brush, wipe it on kitchen towel until it seems to have gone and then brush it over your project). I'll see if I can find a detail shot of something done that way and attach it here for you (more on the project if it happens to pique anyone's interest in this post on my blog).
Maybe they are press type for a machine-like layout for a newspaper. Which does not mean one cant use them by hand.
Give us a pic when you can.
As someone also new to this place, I agree it is very wonderful. I could spend all day here if I was not careful lol
Skippet, I did neg her...which I HATE doing. I have worked out stuff with sellers before...afterall stamps and not meds....but it was the attitude behind it...so flippant-I cant remember now exactly what her note said but it was salt in the wound for sure...till I complained. Then it was concerned. Too late. What I really wanted was for her to understand to never do that to another buyer again! Ebay is not trading with the GFs who may be very tolerant. I think what I said to her was it was like wearing a pair of shoes to "one more party" and scuffing up the sole...wont hurt the function but isnt right.
Ide hammer in the morning *1 to 5 am ..haha.. wake the world up lol... okay .. had to get that out of my system... so much to do .. so little time in a day... Ms Tlady and Angel... yes she got both numbers and letters I have taken a pic of it hope you can make it out Much Mahalo for all the ideas ..keep them coming...Joanne sweet lady a special Mahalo to you dear now I know what to do with all the chipboards everyone don't seem to want and gifting me with it amazing the creativity here.. Love all of you and a much aloha out 2 each and everyone .. Im really starting to love garage sales that I don't need to go to lol....they are tiny letters and #'s 3m/m /1/8" in size the box has labled
Oh yes, she's done you proud with those - they can be quite pricey! They are indeed metal punches and you could use them on things like copper jewelry blanks and steel washers if the mood took you that way. They even get used for security purposes here in the UK - if you don't own them yourself, local Police will sometimes offer sessions where you can take your bike along and get your post code (zip code for those of you on that side of the Pond) stamped into the frame!
Practice on some scrap of whatever you think you might want to stamp and you'll soon get a feel for how hard you need tap to get the sort of impression you want. It's almost impossible to get a really neatly lined up and spaced row of letters/numbers so you might want to think about deliberate wonkiness as a design choice! If you're stamping into thinnish materials, make sure you have something protecting your worksurface as you can end up with the impression going right through (so use a piece of board, a thick magazine, telephone directory etc under the thing you're stamping into).
Ide hammer in the morning *1 to 5 am ..haha.. wake the world up lol... okay .. had to get that out of my system... so much to do .. so little time in a day... Ms Tlady and Angel... yes she got both numbers and letters I have taken a pic of it hope you can make it out Much Mahalo for all the ideas ..keep them coming...Joanne sweet lady a special Mahalo to you dear now I know what to do with all the chipboards everyone don't seem to want and gifting me with it amazing the creativity here.. Love all of you and a much aloha out 2 each and everyone .. Im really starting to love garage sales that I don't need to go to lol....they are tiny letters and #'s 3m/m /1/8" in size the box has labled
WOW!!! WHAT A GIFT! I have been telling my hubby he should get some of these for his Leather Work, then I could use them too! LOL But, Joanne is right on target! Nice to have people like Joanne here, huh? I went to look at Stampinton...you can find out how much they run here: Steel Letter and Number Stamp Set 1/8 inch - Stampington Scroll down & they'll have the numbers set too. They ARE expensive! If you look around on their blog, they have ideas on how to use them too I believe. It's a SUPER FUN shop! Make sure to do something with these & POST???? We'd LOVE to see what you make with them!
Help!! Cleaning Very Poor Cared For Stamps
Congratulations!
