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I'm fairly inexperienced at stamping. Please explain to me why I should clean my rubber or acrylic stamps--I'm just going to ink them again later. Even if it's black ink, it will dry and therefore not cause a problem with a light colored ink pad. Okay, so they won't look brand new anymore--does that really matter? What am I missing? Why should I clean? Thanks for your comments.
Although the ink dries, it will still transfer from ink pad to ink pad, especially with dye inks. You will be sad to ruin a pale yellow pad - don't ask me how I know
Pigment inks build up like paint on your stamps and obscure the designs.
Most stamp cleaners contain a rubber conditioner which will make your stamps last longer. Ink - depending on the type - can contain chemicals which can dry and crack your stamps over time. I've had most of my stamps for 15 years and they are like new. The conditioning makes a big difference to the life you will get from them
Hope this helps!
Quote:
Originally Posted by aprilmom1
I'm fairly inexperienced at stamping. Please explain to me why I should clean my rubber or acrylic stamps--I'm just going to ink them again later. Even if it's black ink, it will dry and therefore not cause a problem with a light colored ink pad. Okay, so they won't look brand new anymore--does that really matter? What am I missing? Why should I clean? Thanks for your comments.
Thanks--that all makes sense...do you have great reasons for encouraging me to dust (instead of stamp), too?
Some of these suggestions may help. Just remember...
Dust is a protective coating for furniture.
If you drop a vase or some other object and it bounces back ..roll the dust up and use it as a quilt batt or stuffing for small items.
Hire a local construction company to come in once a week with a bull dozer to push all remaining rubbish and stuff out on to your deck. What is edible the birds will get..what is light will blow away in the wind..perhaps to your neighbour's yard. Whatever is left can be shoved down the cracks in the deck. You must spend a minimum of 4 hours at your stamping table each day..I think it's a law or something...LOL
Some of these suggestions may help. Just remember...
Dust is a protective coating for furniture.
If you drop a vase or some other object and it bounces back ..roll the dust up and use it as a quilt batt or stuffing for small items.
Hire a local construction company to come in once a week with a bull dozer to push all remaining rubbish and stuff out on to your deck. What is edible the birds will get..what is light will blow away in the wind..perhaps to your neighbour's yard. Whatever is left can be shoved down the cracks in the deck. You must spend a minimum of 4 hours at your stamping table each day..I think it's a law or something...LOL
LOL that is hilarious. Now to convince hubby that its okay not to dust. Have you any suggestions to help with that one. LMAO......too funny.
__________________ CTMH Consultant MTIT
Last edited by scrappintlc; 04-10-2010 at 10:38 PM..
Understandblue raised all the very good points. Plus it just makes them look icky. LOL I am a perfectionist so all of my stamps need to be cleaned right away. I saw a few stamps today at a crop that looked so horrible cause you could clearly tell they weren't cleaned...I literally cringed. Poor abused stamps. I wanted to suggest cleaning them for them. LOL
Also a few more suggestions condition your stamps before you stamp. Couple ways:
Rubber: rub against your jeans this helps in removing any manu residue off the stamp to not to interfere with the crisp image. Black is a big culprit in staining so stamp in a lighter color first(if you remember), stamp off, clean, let dry then stamp in the color you originally wanted.
Clear: use an artist eraser to erase that manu film (clear stamps I think has it more then rubber), then clean. Then stamp (if you remember) in a lighter ink and stamp off, clean, let dry then stamp in the color you want your image to truly be. Now certain clear stamps depending on who manufactured them will leave a "stain" even after cleaning but this in no way affects or will ever affect the image when stamped. Certain inks "dye," if you will, the material used in the clear stamps...again depends on company of those clear stamps.
Sounds like a lot but after awhile it'll come natural to you.
I love love love my stamps both clear and rubber.....after paying good monies for them I want them to last forever and if taking care of them a few extra minutes while crafting does that then all the better. :mrgreen:
I am reading this thread with delight. I hate housework!! My craft room is again untidy (but dust free) and I only tidied it up out about 2 weeks ago. My stamps are... spotless. Now if I could only apply this to my housework hubby would be a lot happier lol.
__________________ Catherine (aka Cat). Newly retired RN. Lovin' life.
Remember there's a difference between "functionally clean" and "like new" clean. I keep my stamps functionally clean by using baby wipes (alcohol-free ones) after each use. I don't worry about some staining, my stamps are tools not gallery pieces. So long as there's no ink to transfer onto my next piece I'm good with that. The only stamps that might get a close-up clean are my very detailed ones (like Kinkades for example) as those are much more prone to the problem that Lydia identified - if you let ink build up, you lose the detail as it starts to fill in the spaces.
As for dusting - I always say that if you leave it alone so the coating is an even depth, it doesn't really show :lol:
LOL that is hilarious. Now to convince hubby that its okay not to dust. Have you any suggestions to help with that one. LMAO......too funny.
In our house the rule is...'the squeaky wheel gets the job'! So he doesn't say a thing. Oh and you can send the cat, dog or a small child under the bed to catch the dust bunnies!! LOL
In relation to the subject at hand...I read on another thread a suggestion by Nancy Ruth to use Suave Tropical Coconut shampoo mixed with a little distilled water to scrub your stamps. I mix about a tablespoon of shampoo and 3/4 - l cup of water in a spray bottle. I really works nicely and has a great smell. Nancy Ruth said it would even remove staz-on...and it DOES!!!!!
I really truly laughed on the above posting that stated: Dust is a protective coating for furniture! I so appreciate that! I am still laughing!! I did break down and dust yesterday though, thought the allergy sufferers would appreciate itl Now I hope no vases start falling, there would not be anything there to protect them!!
I keep a toothbrush in a cup by the sink I use to clean my stamps. It is for the stamps I do not clean right away. I use it with EZ - Duz-It stamp cleaner. It has never failed me.
Thanks for reminding me ladies.....I need to get my house "company clean" for the weekend.....the girls are coming over for a workshop.......and chocolate
I NEVER dust...ok ok...I have a maid. I use all my non working time to stamp stamp stamp...oh I dont cook either...nope dont have a chef..but does hubby count..he does the cooking...lol
blessings.
One quick thing on cleaning stamps - Stazon will eat some acrylic stamps. They'll actually dry out, crack and dissolve. So, you do want to clean after using Stazon.
As for dusting, I dust either when it starts making me sneeze or people are coming over. Thankfully (or not) we have people over pretty often... So a solution to prevent your needing to dust is to have noone come over and not have a nose.
__________________ I'm a natural blonde. God just dyed my hair brown. -me My Blog
i clean my stamps, i dont like ink transfer.
i don't dust so i can tell when my soon to be 5 year old touches something she isn't supposed to.
No one visits anyways.
i clean my stamps, i dont like ink transfer.
i don't dust so i can tell when my soon to be 5 year old touches something she isn't supposed to.
No one visits anyways.
I can tell when my 4 y/o touches things he isn't supposed to by the goopy, sticky, DIRTY fingerprints. :rolleyes:
Must be something boy related.... that and Legos!
__________________ All inked up... and somewhere to go. My gallery, small but mighty... or maybe just mighty small! Come see my almost new blog... M'ija Stamps!
I'm fairly inexperienced at stamping. Please explain to me why I should clean my rubber or acrylic stamps--I'm just going to ink them again later. Even if it's black ink, it will dry and therefore not cause a problem with a light colored ink pad. Okay, so they won't look brand new anymore--does that really matter? What am I missing? Why should I clean? Thanks for your comments.
I second what has been said by previous posters (about the stamping, too, not just the dusting!). Just wanted to add that even though the ink will dry on your stamp, once you ink it up the next time, the moisture from the new ink will reactivate the ink already on there. Often if I've used a dark color, and *think* I've cleaned the stamp, I'll go to use another color and - surprise - it's muddy-looking with a bad mix of the dark color in it. So I just keep a damp sponge in a little foam tray next to me and rub them on that as I finish. The sponge gets really stained, but the stamps get cleaned!
I'm with Fiona -- "If you must write in the dust, please don't date it." We hung that plaque just inside the front door when our kitchen was being re-done. The sign should probably just stay up year-round. I don't care for dusting, but I do clean my stamps as it is a much more manageable task.
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Using a green ink pad, leaving the ink to dry and then stamping on a yellow pad....you'll have green mixed with yellow and a big spot on your yellow pad.
__________________ All I want is the chance to prove money won't make me happy!
Why clean stamps? (I don't like dusting either.)
