firstfrog2013
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What I collect: BNA Liberia St Pierre U.S. Bolivia Turkey
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Post by firstfrog2013 on Jan 6, 2018 17:59:12 GMT
I'm hoping someone stumbled on a solution to remove those old hinges stuck on hundred year old stamps without destroying them.Most of my stock gets a good soaking in mild dish liquid first.I almost always follow with watermarking, but those old hinges don't ever seem to let loose.I haven't found a way yet that removes them.Any ideas or experience?
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Beryllium Guy
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What I collect: Worldwide Stamps 1840-1930
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Post by Beryllium Guy on Jan 6, 2018 18:15:00 GMT
I'm hoping someone stumbled on a solution to remove those old hinges stuck on hundred year old stamps without destroying them. Most of my stock gets a good soaking in mild dish liquid first. I almost always follow with watermarking, but those old hinges don't ever seem to let loose. I haven't found a way yet that removes them. Any ideas or experience? Frog, are you talking about typical glassine-type hinges, or perhaps paper ones? I am pretty obsessive-compulsive when it comes to removing very old hinges from very old stamps, but I have generally had good luck. If cold or lukewarm water doesn't do the trick, then I sometimes try hot water, which has helped in some cases. If that doesn't work, then I try "Super Safe" brand Stamp Lift Fluid. Anping put me on to this. This is especially good when I am trying to remove heavy hinge remnants from unused stamps or from stamps with water-soluble (fugitive) inks. For this type of work, I use a fine, artist's paint brush for applying the fluid to the hinge on the back of the stamp. Then I use the edge of my tongs to lift one corner of the hinge remnant, and then a pair of tweezers (with better tight-gripping tips than stamp tongs) for carefully pulling the hinge away from the stamp. I have had good success with all of the methods described above. |
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firstfrog2013
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What I collect: BNA Liberia St Pierre U.S. Bolivia Turkey
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Post by firstfrog2013 on Jan 6, 2018 18:52:12 GMT
Wish I knew what kind of hinges they were,whatever they are they sure were made to hold .Warm or cold water never works. You would think Ronsol would remove anything but that doesn't touch them either.I'll get some lift fluid but man I hate to pull at old stamps,a very dangerous practice with expensive stamps.
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Beryllium Guy
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Post by Beryllium Guy on Jan 6, 2018 19:28:42 GMT
Wish I knew what kind of hinges they were, whatever they are they sure were made to hold. Warm or cold water never works. You would think Ronsol would remove anything but that doesn't touch them either. I'll get some lift fluid but man I hate to pull at old stamps, a very dangerous practice with expensive stamps. Frog, can you post a scan of some of the problem hinges? I would like to see if they look like anything that I have seen before. I completely understand your concern when you talk about pulling at old, expensive stamps. I try never to actually pull at the stamps or the hinges, for that matter. I never force anything that does not want to come on its own. I would describe the technique more as peeling rather than pulling. I essentially hold the stamp flat against a clean, flat surface, and then peel back the hinge, which should be wet all the way through with the Stamp Lift Fluid. Usually, I need to apply the fluid 2-3 times for the fluid to soak in and loosen the hinge. This can take a couple of minutes, but you want to be careful that the hinge has not dried again. It should be moist and supple for removal. I was planning to use this technique to remove some hinge remnants from unused stamps this weekend. If I can get any good photos to illustrate how I do it, I will post them here. Edit: The citrus-based adhesive solvents like Goo-Gone may also work. As Steve ( tomiseksj) has demonstrated, the previously unsoakable modern US self-adhesive stamps can be removed that way, and I have also found that unsoakable wine bottle labels can also be successfully removed using this solvent. |
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firstfrog2013
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What I collect: BNA Liberia St Pierre U.S. Bolivia Turkey
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Post by firstfrog2013 on Jan 6, 2018 23:23:00 GMT
not sure you can see hinges but they are really stuck down and from appearances have been for a long long time.  My guess old glassines |
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Beryllium Guy
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Post by Beryllium Guy on Jan 7, 2018 7:48:42 GMT
not sure you can see hinges but they are really stuck down and from appearances have been for a long long time. My guess old glassines Thanks for posting the photo, Frog. I agree with your opinion that these look like old glassine hinges. With that in mind, these stamps look very similar to many others with old hinge remnants that have soaked off successfully in water for me. I cannot imagine why these are not soaking off, unless someone used some other kind of glue to attach them to the stamps in the first place. I have had problems with old paper hinges because someone used a non-water-soluble glue on them, but I cannot recall ever seeing what appear to be rather normal looking old glassine hinges behaving as you have described. It seems very strange to me. The only guess I can make at this point is that if water is not working, then I would try other solvents such as the Stamp Lift Fluid or Goo-Gone as I mentioned before. If you are able to brush some of one of those fluids onto the hinge, if the hinge starts to pucker a little bit, then you should be able to apply more fluid to make it supple, and then separate it from the stamp. If nothing happens when you apply one of these other fluids, then I don't know what to tell you. |
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scb
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Post by scb on Jan 7, 2018 8:16:38 GMT
My experiences with old hinges...
Brown paper hinges - no success whatsoever in removing them. Leave them as is.
(that said, there is also another type of 'brown paper' hinges which is similar to below white paper hinge)
White paper hinges - these have got a really thick and sticky gum, which will soften in about 10 minutes in boiling hot water, after which you'll have to slide a sharp blade in between the hinge & stamp, and 'cut' the gum. After some extra soaking, the gum can be scraped off.
Those glassine hinges you've got - let them soak for 5-10 minutes in hot water, then start 'poking/pushing/lifting' (very gently with tweezer tip) the hinge from the edges so that some water gets 'behind'. Work one millimeter at a time, and let it soak more if progress comes to halt. Sometimes the whole hinge will come off pretty easily in 5-10 minutes once water gets behind, sometimes it will take several hours to complete the process. (And no, these hinges don't have any extra gum applied. It is just the combination of arabic gum + 'wax paper/glassine' used that makes them so persistent to water)
-k-
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Jerry B
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Marietta, Georgia USA
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Post by Jerry B on Jan 7, 2018 10:25:37 GMT
Hi
When I was doing cataloging for my friend's store, I came across a few hinge types that were staying no matter what. My friend said that there were some ancient foreign hinges that will not come off, especially "paper" type.
Jerry B
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firstfrog2013
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Post by firstfrog2013 on Jan 8, 2018 19:23:44 GMT
Well I wish to report the following after attempting the boiling water on two stamps one floated off shortly and the other I destroyed by trying to rub the stubborn hinge with spade tongs.Guess the moral is if at first you don't success LEAVE IT BE.
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Beryllium Guy
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Post by Beryllium Guy on Jan 9, 2018 5:58:55 GMT
Well I wish to report the following after attempting the boiling water on two stamps one floated off shortly and the other I destroyed by trying to rub the stubborn hinge with spade tongs. Guess the moral is if at first you don't success LEAVE IT BE. Thanks for letting us know the outcome, Frog. I am, of course, glad to hear that the boiling water method worked on one of your two stamps, but sorry that the other "patient" didn't make it. Please accept my sympathies. |
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Post by dgdecker on Jan 9, 2018 6:53:00 GMT
A 50% success rate with this method for me would mean leaving “ as is” no one wants to destroy a stamp no matter wha its value.
david
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mikeclevenger
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Post by mikeclevenger on Jan 9, 2018 10:03:29 GMT
I know everyone is talking about very old hinges, but does anyone know how to get some of the new US stamps off paper? I have plenty that will not seem soak off the paper no matter what I do.
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tomiseksj
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Post by tomiseksj on Jan 9, 2018 12:43:43 GMT
I know everyone is talking about very old hinges, but does anyone know how to get some of the new US stamps off paper? I have plenty that will not seem soak off the paper no matter what I do. . I've had good success using Pure Citrus. Because most of the modern U.S. self-adhesives appear to be printed on plastic film rather than paper, applying the liquid to the backing paper (rather than the face of the stamp) allows it to come in contact with the adhesive. I use my plastic perforation gauge to scrape the gum off the stamp once removed from the paper but a credit card would work equally well. If the stamps are on a non-porous backing material like the padded priority mailers the removal process is more difficult. |
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firstfrog2013
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Post by firstfrog2013 on Jan 9, 2018 13:35:15 GMT
The driving reason for me to remove stray hinges is to better reveal watermarks.The quest continues.
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Beryllium Guy
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Post by Beryllium Guy on Jan 9, 2018 15:24:10 GMT
The driving reason for me to remove stray hinges is to better reveal watermarks. The quest continues. I can certainly understand your quest on this basis, Frog. I have also persisted in hinge removal for the same reason, although sometimes it's just because the stamp will not mount well in my album (won't lie flat or new hinge will not adhere to old hinge). So, may I ask: what were you able to determine on the watermark for the stamp from which you were able to successfully remove the hinge? If you prefer to post that result on a different thread, I will look for it, as my curiosity has been piqued on this one. Thanks! |
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firstfrog2013
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What I collect: BNA Liberia St Pierre U.S. Bolivia Turkey
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Post by firstfrog2013 on Jan 9, 2018 17:20:22 GMT
BG the two I posted were experiments.I did find what I believe to be a script watermark on a #30.When comparing the postmark on front and what's visible on the back I can conclude it to be so.CV in the range of $1500.
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mikeclevenger
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Post by mikeclevenger on Jan 11, 2018 10:05:37 GMT
I know everyone is talking about very old hinges, but does anyone know how to get some of the new US stamps off paper? I have plenty that will not seem soak off the paper no matter what I do. . I've had good success using Pure Citrus. Because most of the modern U.S. self-adhesives appear to be printed on plastic film rather than paper, applying the liquid to the backing paper (rather than the face of the stamp) allows it to come in contact with the adhesive. I use my plastic perforation gauge to scrape the gum off the stamp once removed from the paper but a credit card would work equally well. If the stamps are on a non-porous backing material like the padded priority mailers the removal process is more difficult. Steve, is Pure Citrus a product you buy or do you mean use an orange? An orange would probably work, but then my stamp book would smell funny. |
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Anping
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Post by Anping on Jan 11, 2018 11:26:46 GMT
Steve, is Pure Citrus a product you buy or do you mean use an orange? An orange would probably work, but then my stamp book would smell funny. It is a product that you buy. Don't use an orange, old fruit  Here in the UK we can get a Dutch made product called sticker remover...... This is a company that produces all manner of products for the care of decorative surfaces (marble, porcelain, ceramic tiles [grout], sandstone etc). I'm sure you should be able to find a similar product, if you can't find Pure Citrus. |
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Beryllium Guy
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Post by Beryllium Guy on Jan 11, 2018 11:41:41 GMT
Steve, is Pure Citrus a product you buy or do you mean use an orange? An orange would probably work, but then my stamp book would smell funny. It is a product that you buy. Don't use an orange, old fruit Here in the UK we can get a Dutch made product called sticker remover...... This is a company that produces all manner of products for the care of decorative surfaces (marble, porcelain, ceramic tiles [grout], sandstone etc). I'm sure you should be able to find a similar product, if you can't find Pure Citrus.
Mike, another citrus-based product that works very well and is available in the U.S. is "Goo Gone". I have used it just as Steve ( tomiseksj) and Anping have described to remove the unsoakable modern U.S. stamps from envelopes and mailing flats. It also works quite well on wine bottle labels that look like stamps! Goo Gone should be available at super markets or department-type stores like Target, I think. |
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tomiseksj
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Woodbridge, Virginia, USA
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Post by tomiseksj on Jan 11, 2018 13:35:44 GMT
Yes, Mike, it is an air freshener named Pure Citrus. I don't detect a lingering orange smell on the stamps that I've separated using the product. |
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mikeclevenger
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Post by mikeclevenger on Jan 12, 2018 10:13:42 GMT
Thanks Steve, will go get some.
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Beryllium Guy
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Post by Beryllium Guy on Feb 1, 2018 21:38:15 GMT
BG the two I posted were experiments. I did find what I believe to be a script watermark on a #30. When comparing the postmark on front and what's visible on the back I can conclude it to be so. CV in the range of $1500. Frog, just to finish my earlier thoughts on the subject of these ancient hinges, I decided to try an experiment myself. I recently started soaking a lot of very old stamps from Austria, and a few of them did not yield their hinges after a "standard" soak in warm-to-hot water. I had read on TSF about using some sort of enzyme to tackle stubborn adhesive on old Austrian stamps, but didn't have any of that on hand. So, today I tried the Super Safe brand Stamp Lift Fluid, which I originally mentioned in this thread. I am pleased to report that it seems to have worked. I had to use much more fluid than I typically would, so although I applied it with a small art brush as I normally would, I ended up effectively soaking the stamp all the way through. Then I took the edge of my spade-tipped tongs, and very carefully managed to get a corner of the hinge remnant to separate from the stamp. Then I worked from that starting point and bit by bit, and continuing to apply more fluid if I detected any pulling, I was eventually able to get the stubborn hinge remnants off. It took about 10-15 minutes per stamp for me to complete the removal, which included gently scraping off some residual adhesive which was left behind in the spot where the hinge had been. I have now got these drying on blotter paper under some books, but I am optimistic that they should be in good shape when I go to retrieve them this weekend. By the way, the Stamp Lift Fluid is available through Amazon, so it can be shipped right to you. |
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