Air freshener new way to remove self adhesive stamps

[FredsStampDen]

Has anybody tried using Pure Citrus liquid air freshener to remove self adhesive stamps?
It works great.

[noernberg]

I read about that in the American Philatelist. Getting it off paper is one thing (the Bestine works good, too), but what are the results regarding the residual adhesive on the back?

Thanks for sharing.

-Doug

[youpiao]

Judging by the name of the product, I would guess that the "active ingredient" is the same as in Goo Gone, and I'd also bet that Goo Gone is much cheaper. Anybody have experience with using it on self-adhesives?

[FredsStampDen]

Place a paper towel over a hard surface (I use a cutting board) then with a old credit or debit card just scrape the gum off the stamp onto the towel. Bestine works too, but requires the same gum removal procedure and it is very flamable.

[youpiao]

I read about that in the American Philatelist. Getting it off paper is one thing (the Bestine works good, too), but what are the results regarding the residual adhesive on the back?

Thanks for sharing.

-Doug

I don't suppose you've tried Bestine on books, have you? The Half-Price Books chain uses several different types of price stickers, one of which is on glossy paper and is non-removable (not without doing some kind of damage to the cover, anyway), even with Goo-Be-Gone (my preferred name for the product ).
I wonder if Bestine is safe on the cover inks.

Tedski

[youpiao]

Here's a discussion that mentions several different products that have been used.
http://www.bookthink.com/phpBB-3.0.1/ph ... f=2&t=4099

Tedski

[noernberg]

I've used the Bestine successfully in a lot of places. Even removing those etiquette labels, and Stamp.com stamps. I bet it would work on the stickers. It evaporates really fast (it's is essentially heptane), and is extremely flammable (like FredsStampDen said). I bought mine at my local Hobby Lobby for less than 5 bucks. They had it in an unanticipated place... near the drafting supplies.

I might try the citrus stuff, though. I need to practice the whole adhesive removal thing, because I have been learning that, although the talc thing works fine for the moment, over time, the adhesive simply migrates around it and the stamp begins to "stick" again. That would stink.

I heard that the whole Goo-Gone thing didn't work all that well on stamps, I think it was due to the fact that it took forever to dry. There may be some other reasons, but I don't remember what they were.

[FredsStampDen]

The air fresener removes all kinds of adhesive labels. Would not try using Goo Gone. Also would not use the talc for the same reason Noerberg said. If you scrape the stamps good you do not have to use talc or worry about gum residue. Like everything new you need to practice a little in order to perfect it.

[noernberg]

I'm working on it now (with what I have available).

I removed the stamp with Bestine... Easy and quick. Ok, now I have stamp off piece, but with lots of adhesive.

I tried both wiping with alcohol on a cotton swab, and soaking with rubbing alcohol. No luck there yet. Still tacky as ever.

My next step was to try that and trying to gently remove the adhesive with a credit card, assuming the alcohol "softened" up the adhesive. I managed to learn one important lesson... substrate is vital! I started with the table top, but half he design came off the face of the stamp when I tried to "unstick" it from the table I had it face-down on. Next step... move to a different substrate. Now I am trying the glossy pages of a stamp drying notebook as my work surface.

Also, despite trying a gentle hand, I have managed to rip the majority of my stamps in pieces with the credit card method. When you do that, are your stamps "soaked through"? Maybe it's the type of stamp that causing me the grief. I am using those hard-to-soak Madonna and Child Christmas stamps, so perhaps they are too fragile?

Next trip to Lowe's, I'll get that Citrus stuff. I think that's where I heard you could get it. Hardware stores.

[FredsStampDen]

After you remove the stamp it will retain the gum, apply some Bestine to the gum then try scraping. I scrape half the stamp from the middle to the outside then scrape the other half from the middle to thne outside. The same procedure seems to be required even when using the Citrus product.

[noernberg]

SUCCESS! I destroyed a couple at first, but that was because the stamps were soaked through. I tried on some "fresh" stamps, and it worked well. I have found, though, that it needs to be an iterative process.

To summarize the process I just used...

1) Apply Bestine to envelope side, which soaks through to back side of stamp. I prefer to use a clean cotton swab, which I reuse until "dirty" with adhesive. Cover entire stamp with Bestine so you can see it through the wetted paper. Carefully, but quickly remove stamp from paper.
2) Place stamp face down on suitable surface - preferably glossy, non-hygroscopic, like the glossy stamp drying book pages.
3) Re-apply Bestine to better than half of the backside of the stamp. Gently hold down close side of stamp with finger from one hand, and proceed to gently "push" adhesive off with credit card edge (one direction, away from you) with the other. Maintain light, uniform pressure at first. Rotate stamp, and repeat for the other half. This is the first rough pass to get 90%+ of the adhesive off. Directionality is key. Work from the center of the stamp towards the perfs, and only in that one direction.
4) Wipe credit card clean with cloth, and repeat step 3 as needed to get last bits of adhesive. May need to "work it" with the cotton swap a bit to get stubborn areas to come loose. Keep the credit card and the substrate you are working on clean to avoid "re-contaminating" with adhesive. You can use the solvent to clean the credit card, too, if needed.

Now for all the US stamps I tried, this was good enough (after about 3 or 4 iterations). The tackiness was sufficiently gone that I could touch the back of the dry stamp with my dry finger, and it would not stick. There were some French Marianne self-adhesives that were more stubborn, however. The adhesive was effectively gone, but a hint of tackiness always remained. Any more cleaning, and I would damage the stamp. In this case, I opted for an ever-so-slight amount of talc. I figure that since the adhesive was 99.something% gone, the odds of adhesive creep around the talc, and future problems was minimal, but it was just what it needed to take away that last residual tackiness. A last resort, so to speak.

I don't know, what do you guys think?

I presume one could substitute the Citrus or other solvent for the Bestine.

Thanks for the tips, Fred!

-Doug

[michael78651]

Well, what do you think if you made this a two-step process as far as the "soaking" goes. First step is like you detailed. If you still have some adhesive on the stamp afterward, what about using the citrus spray to work the remainder of the adhesive off the stamp? Sort of use the heavy duty product first, then go lightweight for the rest.

Of course you could always be like me and don't soak at all.

[bcgrizzly24]

Everyone keeps talking about talc. Has anyone ever tried plain old corn starch?

[michael78651]

Don't know if you'd want to use something organic like corn starch. It will tend to attract mold over time.

[revcollector]

I read about that in the American Philatelist. Getting it off paper is one thing (the Bestine works good, too), but what are the results regarding the residual adhesive on the back?

Thanks for sharing.

-Doug

I don't suppose you've tried Bestine on books, have you? The Half-Price Books chain uses several different types of price stickers, one of which is on glossy paper and is non-removable (not without doing some kind of damage to the cover, anyway), even with Goo-Be-Gone (my preferred name for the product ).
I wonder if Bestine is safe on the cover inks.

Tedski

Goo-Gone usually works well if you have a label peeler and use it properly, however you may have to spend 10 minutes or more on one label to get it off completely.