Stamps Australia Online

This GUIDE will show you how to remove stamps from paper, in a step-by-step process, so that you can have them ready for inclusion in your STAMP ALBUM or STOCKBOOK.

HOW TO GET STARTED: Get yourself organized
• You will need an empty/clean large plastic ice cream container or similar.
• You will need some newspaper pages, which have no color printing.
• You should have at least 5 to 10 pages..... Preferably an entire newspaper....
• You need a large empty clear space near the sink.
• You will need to sort out the stamps, before placing them in the water.
• ....... Pull out all the stamps on red, green, yellow or beige paper.....
• ....... You will need to soak these separately....
• ....... Red and green tend to run and yellow/beige stain......

THE SOAKING BEGINS: Be ever watchful
• Fill the container with lukewarm water
• place stamps in the container
• make sure that the stamps are all submerged
• ensure that the stamps are not all stuck together by sloshing them around with your fingers
• leave them there, for at least 2 hours
• ...... If you leave them for longer.....
• ..... The stamps may become too soft and hard to handle......

THE REMOVABLE BEGINS: Be careful
• After 2 hours have elapsed......
• pick out all the stamps that you are off paper already
• The others you will need to remove, one at a time.
• pick out one stamp out of the water
• Peel off the paper with a stamp tweezers.
• Start at a corner and pull gently.
• It should peel away cleanly.
• if it does not, then try another corner
• Or put back in to soak further.



WHERE AND HOW TO DRY THE STAMPS: watch out for any remaining glue.
• Place each stamp separately, face down on the newspaper
• the newspaper will soak up the water quickly
• Do not re-use the newspaper, as it will have rumpled.
• Make sure that the stamps do not touch each other or overlap.
• If the gum side is placed against the newspaper, the stamps will stick to the page
• .... And you will then have to soak the stamp again.....



HINT: Do not place too many stamps in the water at once, since you will need to remove all the stamps in one session.

SUGGESTION: At your first attempt, do a trial run with stamps that are not important. You can then slowly become more adept at removing stamps and progress to soaking larger numbers of stamps.

THE DRYING BEGINS: Allow the stamps to dry overnight
• The stamps may curl but do not worry
• Option 1) - Place the stamps in a telephone book in the morning
• ..... Several stamps to a page......

 

• Option 2) - Place newspaper pages one on top of each other
• ...... Then place several heavy books on top.....
• After, say 2-3 hours, remove them and you will see that they are straight
• They are then ready to add to your stamp album or for trading with your friends.