Things You'll Need:
- Container (or coffee cup)
- Room temperature water
- Tweezers
- Paper towels (or blotting paper)
- Book
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Step 1
Fill a container (bowl or large coffee cup) with with 3-4 inches of room temperature water. Never use hot or warm water (it will cause ink and envelope colors to run).
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Step 2
Separate stamps by the color of their backing and color of their cancellation. Stamps with heavy black or red cancellation or stamps attached to colored paper will bleed in water. Separate these stamps individually using fresh water for each stamp.
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Step 3
Place stamp(s) face down in the water (you can soak 30-50 at a time if they have moderate cancellation and white paper backing). Spread stamps out and gently press them into the water to ensure total soaking. Leave them to soak for 15-20 minutes (sometimes longer).
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Step 4
After 15 or so minutes (or longer), the stamps will begin floating off the paper (some may even sink). When this happens, with tweezers, gently remove the stamp from the water (Warning: the composition quality of the stamp may weaken due to long exposure in water).
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Step 5
Remove and discard the remaining paper from the water checking to make sure that no stamps are attached to either side.
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Step 6
After all paper is removed, some stamps may be at the bottom of the container. Run your fingers along the bottom and tickle the water to make the stamps rise so that you can pick them up with your tweezers.
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Step 7
Place the stamps face down on a paper towel (or blotting paper). Do not let them overlap! To prevent the stamps from curling, put several layers of paper towels over the stamps and then place a book over the layered stamps. Give sufficient time for stamps to thoroughly dry.
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Step 8
Empty the container and refill it with fresh cold water to start another batch of stamps.
