Photopolymer Stamp Care
 

What is the best way to clean and take care of photopolymer stamps?

I just use my regular stamp cleaner or a baby wipe, but I do make sure to store them from any source of light. UV rays will cause them to yellow and harden over time.

What cat woman says! They do recommend you never to use Staz on cleaner on these stamps, so if you ever use Staz-on ink( and I have without a problem) then accept they will be forever stained! If they start to lose their tackiness, you can run them under the tap/ wash with gentle hand soap to remove any dust/fluff/glitter, which is what causes them to stop clinging.

I just give mine a lukewarm bath with some mild diswashing detergent. I bought a small bottle at the Dollar Store just for that purpose. Shake em off, and pat them dry and they're happy, happy, happy.

Get a colander to put them in before washing - no worries about falling down the drain!

I use the Absorber to clean mine; I never found baby wipes that didn't leave lint.

What is the Absorber?

http://www.amazon.com/Absorber-Synth...words=Absorber

Absorber is a car chamois (shammy), works great to clean off stamps it pulls the color off.

Thanks, Drummergirlred.

gentle soap and water and air dry (or something that doesn't leave lint). I just shake and rub off the excess water with a finger and then lay them design side down on a scrap piece of white paper (like printer paper) for the 'cling side' to finish drying.

I didn't know you couldn't use Stazon cleaner. I am sure I have. What will it do?

From what I have read, eventually it will start to deteriorate the stamps. I must admit, I've used it on mine in the past, before I knew this, and as yet they don't seem to have come to any harm, but I don't use it anymore. I imagine stopping using it should help to minimise ant damage it may cause.

It can deteriorate the photopolymer over time. It's best not to use it at all but if you feel you must, do so sparingly and wash again with soap and water immediately after to hopefully minimize any residue and effect.

BTW, alcohol is not good for them and may shorten life span so avoid baby wipes with alcohol. A simple soap and water wash is just fine.

I use a chamois too with water that has a teeny bit of baby wash in it. Maybe 1/4 tsp per 3oz bottle. It's a take on the homemade SU! cleaner. It was baby wash, glycerine, a couple drops of Rose essential oil and water. I couldn't find my glycerine and couldn't care less about the smell. I don't wash mine often though so I use plain water and my baby wash mixture alternately so I don't get too much soap build up. Yeah, I gotta wash mine out more often. I keep it wet in a container and it eventually gets stinky. You can dry it out between used to prevent that if you prefer.

A gentle dishsoap like Dawn works wonders and I heard from someone who contacted SU! that alcohol did not harm the photopolymer and hand sanitizer works great! Both on the stamps and the blocks to get them to stick better. Plus, to help keep ink stains off first ink the stamp with Versamark.

It may not harm it immediately but repeated use over time can shorten the life span. Whomever the rep was at SU is not fully informed about photopolymer stamps and what can be damaging to them.

If you use Staz-on ink. Just make sure you clean the ink off with another cleaner.

And don't use the Staz-on Cleaner, Here's a good place to read up on photopolymer stamps.

Using ink on our clear stamps