Stamp Reconditioning

[Inky Whiskers]

I had a duh! moment the other day I thought I'd share.

At the RSC Virtual Convention in April the question came up about how to recondition dry rubber stamps. Catherine from Stampfransisco shared an easy recipe for a stamp soak that contained glycerine. Hopefully she'll re-post it here as the convention hall is closed & that 's where she posted the recipe.

My duh! was this: I had been stamping backrounds for the TCC swap and the brilliance metallic ink had totally dried around the edges of the stamp. We all know how dried metallic ink can be a pain to remove from rubber! So off to the bathroom I went to see what I could do. I saw that I was out of soap & when to the hall closet and lo & behold...what do I see? A bar of home made GLYCERINE SOAP!!! (I didn't make it at home, but somebody had.) I took that bar and after unwrapping, it I gently rubbed it all over that stamp. I then took an old tooth brush to the crevices and what do you know? ALL of the dried metallic ink came off!!! Plus the stamp felt like fresh supple rubber! I'm going to try this on a drier stamp, but I'm pretty sure that I've found an easy to get & easy to use stamp conditioner. :D

[stampin stacy]

Don't you just love those lightbulb moments. Will have to remember that one thanks Inky Whiskers.

[alsmouse]

Gee, & I just found glycerine this week. If I'd known that it would have been an easier trip. Oh, if any one is actually looking for glycerine in a bottle, look in the laxitives section. I guess it softens things other than stamps too. :)) ~C8>

[stampin stacy]

mmmmm, yummy :p

[Inky Whiskers]

Wouldn't drinking gylcerine make one foam at the mouth? :))

[jhitchin]

Wouldn't drinking gylcerine make one foam at the mouth? :))
Not precisely, no. Glycerol (or glycerin) is a colorless, viscous liquid at room temperature. A solution of just glycerin wouldn't foam. If it were combined with other ingredients such as denatured alcohol, sodium tallowate or sodium castorate, that would create a soap which would foam.

Also, glycerol is not taken internally as a laxative, it's used um.... topically. That is to say, it helps provide uh... added lubrication. Sorry, I really cannot think of a more delicate way to put that.

Jeff

[Inky Whiskers]

We get the picture. EEEW! Paging Nurse Ratchet...

Thanks for the mini science lesson, Jeff! Did you know the VLVS RRR swap box should be on your door step in the couple of weeks? Lucky YOU! Lucky me as I get first dibs on your unwanted stamps. :lol:

[Johns1lpj]

Thanks for all the great information. I did not know that about Glycerine in either way....

[Spideycindy]

Hmmm I just picked some up today at the pharmacy and was not able to explain my purchase...I am sure they must be wondering...hahaha what the optical person is doing with that purchase and when I run out and buy more they will really be wondering!:))
Spideycindy

[piecesandpom]

It's also used in making your own stamp cleaner and I used some in making my own blending solution once my old markers/pen dried up. I really like my own blending solution better than the original. Did I label the identical bottles in my stash? Nope! Did I put the recipe on the bottle? Nope!

A little can go a long way since I did this about 9 months ago and haven't yet had to figure out which is which! :laugh:

[Spideycindy]

So what do we do? Just pour a bit in a flat container and stick our rubbber surface in it and the same for wood mounts? Just the smallest amount and let them soak but avoid the foam? Does Glycerine dry up and if so add water? Just wondered. I have not had time to do any experimenting so far.
Spidey

[StamPoor]

I had a bottle of glycerin for years and it didn't dry up. I kept it tightly capped and stored it in a cabinet.

[Inky Whiskers]

All I remember about Catherine's recipe is that it used plain glycerin & warm water. We were to soak the rubber in the mix (I do not for the life of me remember the ratio of water to glycerin. Sorry! :o ) for awhile then rinse the stamps and air or pat dry.

I've also noticed that older stamps that were showing signs of dryness perked up a bit after using them with Versamark. Glycerin may be one of the ingredients of that ink. I know it's used as part of the suspension formula for some pigment inks to keep the pigment particles from settling to the bottom of the pad & bottle.

From what Jeff told us the glycerin itself doesn't provide the bubbles, it's the other soap stuff that does that tho' I've noticed that glycerin soap doesn't lather up like other soaps.

AH HA!!! Guess what sticky note I just found??? :clap:

Here's what I wrote down in April:

2 tsp glycerin to 1/2 cup of distilled water

That's all I know for now! :D

[piecesandpom]

That definitely looks like a stamp reconditioning recipe to me. I think the stamp cleaner recipe is 2 tsp glycerin to 3/4 to 1 cup of distilled water. Just tried Google and couldn't find what I was looking for so I'll have to give a friend a shout.

[BlingGirl]

Thanks for sharing, I have quite a few stamps that I need to recondition, I'm going to give this glycerin-water mix a try.

[moosekrazy]

Thanks for this info! I was just looking for this information this morning!

Lori

[SilverSagess]

Great tip! I'll have to give this a try!

[JadeBuddah]

Thanks for bumping this up. Will this clean uber stained stamps?

[Inky Whiskers]

It may get a little more ink off, but I've found that the StazOn cleaner is really good at getting more old ink off. An old tooth brush is useful for getting into the tiny areas of the design. Stained rubber isn't a bad thing as long as no ink or paint is clogging the design. It's best to clean your stamps as soon as you finish using them, before the ink dries. You can use anything from a paper towel damp with water on a plate to one of the 'fancy' scrubing pads & cleaners made just for rubber or polymer. Just aviod anything with alcohol in it (like some baby wipes) as the alcohol will dry out the rubber causing it to crack.

[Audreyrose]

I got my stayzon ink off my stamp immediately after using it by using dishsoap and a scrub brush. I was surprised that it came off, but it did. Just brushed away with the scrub brush, and warm water then dried it on a paper towel!! I will keep the glycerin formula handy so the stamps don't dry out. I don't use the stayzon ink very often basically just when I stamp on tile.

[Inky Whiskers]

If you clean the ink off before it dries then soap & water work great. If the ink dries, most regular dye inks will wash off but some may stain the rubber & solvent inks like StazOn & pigment inks may not just wash away. Plus pigment inks are thick enough to clog the image.

"Clean as you go before the ink dries" is the best way to keep your stamps in good shape so they last longer. :D

[SassyStamptress]

Thank You ...

I needed this info .... some of my stamps are really old
I need to print them back to life !!!

[JadeBuddah]

If you clean the ink off before it dries then soap & water work great. If the ink dries, most regular dye inks will wash off but some may stain the rubber & solvent inks like StazOn & pigment inks may not just wash away. Plus pigment inks are thick enough to clog the image.

"Clean as you go before the ink dries" is the best way to keep your stamps in good shape so they last longer. :D

Do you use a stamp cleaner or do you just run to the sink and clean them as you go?

[Inky Whiskers]

I use my SU! scrub pad & cleaner all of the time at my work desk. I keep the StazOn cleaner next to the SU! Mist next to the water spray bottle, so if there's a spot of stubborn ink residue I can tackle it right there.

The one time I don't clean as I go is at my stamp camps when we'll be using the same dye ink color on the same image the whole day. With those, I wait until I get home to clean them & have a lil bubble bath party to get the dried ink off. If I've used pigment ink or StazOn, I clean them after each student/guest at the camp as those inks are a super pain to get off after they've dried. :D

[SassyStamptress]

clean them as i go