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Red always stains photopolymer stamps particularly badly, and isn't worth worrying about. It won't affect stamping, and if anything, it makes them easier to see than when they are clear. The rubber one, it's harder to tell.
It is said that better quality photopolymers will stain so it is a good thing but I agree, red inks are definitely almost a sure bet-just like many red things on cloth like berry juice...
I also find older red rubber that was not cleaned with a cleaner that has a rubber conditioner in it for a long time can start hardening and it might stain more. I have used a very soft toothbrush lightly on red rubber. You dont want to scratch it.
__________________ Margot
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ok so red is not a big deal? I am wondering if it will help to use a toothbrush onthe other one?? I mean black would ruin something :(
It’s not so much the colour, it’s whether you’re getting transfer onto a new project. Red will almost always stain photopolymer stamps but as long as you’ve cleaned any surface ink, it won’t transfer to your next project. Natural rubber doesn’t stain as easily but again, don’t worry too much about how it looks at a cosmetic level, if you’ve cleaned off any surface ink and you’re not getting transfer to your next project it just says your stamps are getting some love!
Wavejumper mention the Stazon cleaner — if you’ve used Stazon on a real rubber stamp that’s worth a go but don’t be tempted to use it on your photopolymer stamps. It won’t necessarily have an immediate detrimental effect but apparently it will degrade the material over time.
Agree on the red staining. If you really like your stamps super clean, try the Ink Off pad from Inkon3.
Personally, I don't care how mine look as long as they stamp without transferring, but that ink off pad will make especially rubber stamps look brand new.
I recently found out that Murphy's Oil Soap will remove acrylic paint that accumulates on brayers. I have also tried it on really grungy rubber stamps from the thrift stores and it does a pretty good job.
Robin
Last edited by robbinbobbin; 11-19-2023 at 06:17 PM..
I got a set of clear stamps from Honey Bee recently, and used VersaFine Black Onyx to do an initial test. Do you think that stuff came off? No. The only thing that worked was scrubbing it with machine oil! And they were words with a serif font so there was black ink stuck in every single serif, and it was transferring to the paper even with other inks. It took about 45 mins to clean. The VersaFine comes off of all my cheapo clear stamps with dishwashing liquid just fine. I wonder why the supposedly high quality stamps can't handle good ink? I've subsequently used these stamps with dye ink, and while that cleans off with water, the result isn't as crisp.
Cleaning Stamps
