Q: What is the correct way to care for, clean and store my acrylic stamps?
A: Buying stamp sets whether traditional rubber or acrylic, is an investment - there is no doubt about that - so you want them to last. Here are some tips for proper care, cleaning and storage of acrylic stamps.
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Clean your stamps after each use to avoid staining. First, you should stamp off excess ink to scrap paper and then, moisten the thicker side of a Double Scrubber with a few squirts of CTMH My Acrylix Spritz Cleaner or equivalent. While your stamp is still on the block, swipe it across the damp surface several times to remove any remaining ink. Then, swipe it a couple of times on the other side of the Scrubber to dry it off. If you don't have a Double Scrubber & Spritz - make your own using a small pile of baby wipes and a soft cloth. Clean the ink from the stamp with the baby wipe and dry using the cloth. Be sure however that your baby wipes are alcohol free (most are these days) and lotion free, and that your cloth is lint free. Alcohol should be avoided as it will dry your stamps. It should be noted that staining, while unattractive, will not affect the stamp's performance.
Avoid direct exposure to light (both sunlight and artificial) as light will cause the stamps to discolour, turning them yellow. While the yellowing will not affect the 'utility' of the stamp (i.e. you'll continue to get a great stamped image), it just doesn't look as nice and they can be a bit more difficult to see through. This is why Close To My Heart My Acrylix stamps are packaged in a frosted envelope - the 'frosting' helps to minimize the light passing through the packaging, yet you can still see what's inside. If you are looking for similar storage for your non-CTMH acrylic stamps, try the CTMH Paper/Stamp Organizers - 3 sizes are available.
- Store your stamps somewhere that is cool and dry. Excessive heat can cause a break down of the polymer stamp material making them gooey and difficult to stamp with, or they could become brittle and crack.
- New stamps should be 'conditioned' prior to use in order to remove any manufacturing residue which may 'resist' the ink. To condition, simply ink up with a light colour ink and stamp off on scrap paper a few times until you see a nice even stamped image. You can even rub the surface of the stamp gently with a white eraser if your find that the stamping off process doesn't work. I've even been known to use my thumb - giving the surface of the stamp a good swipe before I use it.
- If you use stamp with bleach, solvent inks or acetone - be sure to clean your stamps immediately. These harsh chemicals can damage the polymer stamp material if not removed.
- If you're acrylic stamps lose their 'stickiness' simply clean them with mild dish detergent and let them air dry and they'll be good as new! Losing stickiness is not a defect - it just means that dirt and oils from your skin have transferred to the sticky surface. The dish detergent you choose should NOT contain lotions, but should be of the 'clear' variety. To minimize the transfer of oils etc, try not to handle your stamps immediately after you have applied hand lotions etc.
- When removing your stamps from the carrier sheet, especially intricate designs, peel them away gently using your thumb and index finger, a bit at a time, to avoid tearing. When acrylic stamps are new, they can be quite 'stuck' to the sheet. The good news is that if you accidentally tear an acrylic stamp you can still use it, since you can reassemble the design on your block for a flawless stamped image (you definitely can't do that with wood mounts!)
Do you have a craft-related question you'd like the answer to? Drop me an email, or leave a comment below and I'll feature your question on a future FAQ {Friday} installment.
