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Always be sure to ask the condition of the stamps you buy. I did not think to ask and was not happy when they were received. Bad on me for not asking before I bought them.
Don't get me wrong the board is a great tool to pick up stuff. I purchased five sets from five different people and only two of the I received were in bad shape. I guess I thought the posting would have mentioned how gunked the rubber was. Again I don't blame the people I bought from, it's on me for not being an informed consumer. This won't stop me from buying items in the future, I'm just urging others to ask before you buy.
Unfortunately (or fortunately-not sure which!) for me, I'm REALLY picky about my stamps. I take immaculate care of mine and do everything I can to NOT get stains on the wood and I clean the rubber the second (literally!) after I use them. I've barely touched my Basic Black ink pad cuz it leaves a stain on the rubber that despite all my efforts won't come off.
So I totally feel your pain! I ask a ton of questions before i buy a set--I really like to have a picture of it to reassure myself of the condition. Needless to say, if you ever buy anything from me, you'll KNOW what care I took of it!!
LOL, and really, getting a picture is paramount if you are so picky. Good condition is such a relative term. To me, a used stamp does not need to be completely ink-free to be in "good" condition. It is an art tool, after all. "Used" means used, after all.
It's all so relative, you just can't be sure what people mean, so a picture in this case IS worth 1,000 words! Whenever I've sold on ebay, I always include pictures of the rubber side as well as the label side.
Acrylic paint is a whole different story than ink - I can see why you're disappointed!
I have some stamp cleaner from my lss called Joy of Stamping EZ Duz It - it's pink, smells vaguely of windex, and has to be shaken whenever it's used, because it separates - but, man does that stuff work, even on old staz-on stains. AND it's safe on acrylic blocks. I've never tried it on acrylic paint, but I have used it to remove old metallic ink and it worked. Although if mineral spirits don't work, I don't know that this stuff would.
Picky...ouch.:confused: I don't mind ink stains. I expect for the wood block and even the stamps to have ink stains. Stamps should be well loved!
I haven't played with them yet, I wanted to try and clean the rubber with mineral spirits because of the acrylic paint stuck on the image.
Acrylic paint stuck on the image? That's not picky - that's messy ... and would probably interfere with the stamping.
Picky is one of those words that can be interpreted several ways. There are those to whom it is important to have the wood and rubber clean. There are others (like me) who aren't worried. You could call the first group picky - but just as easily call the second group messy/sloppy. Don't let the words get to you.
In this case, if there's paint on it, even I would be upset (and I'm definitely messy/sloppy - just ask my family :rolleyes
Have you tried staz-on cleaner? It does a pretty good job. I know there are several non-stamp cleansers that stampers here have used - try doing a search ...
Picky...ouch.:confused: I don't mind ink stains. I expect for the wood block and even the stamps to have ink stains. Stamps should be well loved!
I haven't played with them yet, I wanted to try and clean the rubber with mineral spirits because of the acrylic paint stuck on the image.
That happened to me once. Luckily I was able to remove all the acrylic paint (although I can't remember what I used, I think I washed them in dish liquid). They stamped fine after that. I'll keep my fingers crossed for you!!
There are these extra gunky stamps that are for general use at the LSS her and peeps never clean them and they are all nasty. Anyhow I took some ultra clean and started cleaning them and it worked, this was old dried on gunky fuz and general gunk.
I'm sorry your stamps are not acceptable, I hope you get them cleaned up.
(I let my kids stamp with mine so they have marker on the wood and stuff, I'll be sure to take a pic if I ever sell them!)
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I guess I am in the "messy" category, although I would not say 'gunky". Most of my stamps look used -because they are - but they stamp just fine. As far as the wood, yes the mounts get stained, I think its overkill for people to expect used mounted stamps have spotless wood. Like asking an artist to have her paintbrush handles have no residual paint.
JMHO, but everyone is different and to each his/her own.
I found a stamp at Goodwill of some great trees and the price was great. It had green acrylic paint on it and I turned it rubber up and sprayed it with stampin mist cleaner and just let it set for a while. Then I used a toothbrush to clean it. Most of it came off that way. I the used just warm soapy water and the toothbrush to get the rest off. The cleaned again with stamp cleaner to condition the rubber. I hope they come clean for you.
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I finally broke down and bought Christmas Cardinal on ebay. The seller posted a picture which showed that the two main stamps were badly stained where she had used black Staz-On, but they were trimmed nice and close and the wood was in good condition. I decided to bid on the set and was very happy to be the high bidder.
I was able to use Simple Green and a toothbrush to remove all the old Staz-On. They look almost like a new set!
Picky...ouch.:confused: I don't mind ink stains. I expect for the wood block and even the stamps to have ink stains. Stamps should be well loved!
I haven't played with them yet, I wanted to try and clean the rubber with mineral spirits because of the acrylic paint stuck on the image.
Kiss Off will take acrylic paiant off stamps...wipe a damp cloth over the die, then rub KO over the die. Let it sit over night, then scrub with a toothbrush (I use one of those cheapo battery operated ones). Rinse with clear water. If any paint remains, repeat. If the paint is thick and hard, it may take two or three 'treatments' to getall of the paint off...but it WILL come off.
Get KissOff at Michaels...it's usually up by the register, but sometimes it's back in the art supply department. It's in a tube (like lipstick).
I actually just purchased a few stamps on here from the Sell board, and I asked about their condition. From what I've been told, the stamps I bought that are used are very lightly used, very minimal staining. I've bought a used set or two from eBay and haven't had a problem yet.
I can deal with some staining as long as it doesn't interfere with my own stamp pads and the stamped image. I have a few of my first sets that have staining because I used cheap ink pads until I started getting more SU! pads. I might try that cleaning mentioned earlier to see if I can get some of it off.
__________________ Ellen View My Gallery If you are ashamed to stand by your colors, you had better seek another flag.
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Picky...ouch.:confused: I don't mind ink stains. I expect for the wood block and even the stamps to have ink stains. Stamps should be well loved!
I haven't played with them yet, I wanted to try and clean the rubber with mineral spirits because of the acrylic paint stuck on the image.
Kiss Off will take acrylic paiant off stamps...wipe a damp cloth over the die, then rub KO over the die. Let it sit over night, then scrub with a toothbrush (I use one of those cheapo battery operated ones). Rinse with clear water. If any paint remains, repeat. If the paint is thick and hard, it may take two or three 'treatments' to getall of the paint off...but it WILL come off.
Get KissOff at Michaels...it's usually by the register, but sometimes it's back in the art supply department. It's in a tube (like lipstick).
What I learned from the Buy/Sell/Trade MB
