guest column

It’s Like Magic

Removing Self-a dhesive
Stamps from Paper
by Peter Butler FRPSC

F
or more than twenty years now, collectors of used Unit-
ed States stamps have had to deal with the ever-increas-
ing number of self-adhesive stamps issued by the United
States Postal Service, as opposed to the traditional stamps with
water-activated gum. I believe the issues of the Eagle and Shield
stamp (Scott 2431) and the Flag stamp (Scott 2475)
were the first self-adhesive stamps. [I intentionally
did not include the unsuccessful issue of the pre-
canceled self-adhesive Christmas stamps of 1974
in this category.] They provided collectors with the
challenge of trying to remove them from envelopes,
because the traditional soaking-in-water method no
longer would work. These stamps signaled a significant
change in how collectors viewed used stamps and in the
techniques they used to release stamps from paper to
add to their albums.
There were two clues in the Scott catalogue around that time that most collectors missed — the
fact that the Flag issue had been printed by Avery International, the label people, and that Scott values
for used, self-adhesive stamps would be the same, “either on piece or off piece.” The gauntlet had been
thrown down and the traditional soaking of stamps in the bathtub was slowly, but inevitably, dying!

Through the 1990s, with the increasing numbers of self- collector described it to me, with the thickness of the album
adhesive stamps being issued came an increase in the dissat- pages coupled with the stamps and the envelope pieces.
isfaction of collectors who couldn’t find acceptable ways of Throughout this period of dealing (or not dealing),
successfully removing them from paper. Of course, with this with the changes forced on collectors by the reality of self-
frustration, came a number of responses that would change adhesive stamps, the ubiquitous letters to the editor began
the collecting habits of thousands of collectors. appearing in the philatelic papers, magazines, and journals
In the extreme, many collectors announced that they complaining, often vociferously, about the curse of the self-
would cease to collect used United States issues and sold adhesive stamp, the frustrations of removing them from pa-
their collections. Some collectors vowed to end their collec- per, and the impending doom of the hobby.
tions with 1990 or 2000, so frustrating and upsetting were For fifteen years, no one seemed to be able to help col-
their experiences. Others began to cut envelopes, keeping a lectors. It sounded like a solution to “soaking” self-adhesive
margin of paper around the stamp “on piece” and mount- stamps had been ignored by researchers, chemists, glue spe-
ing them in their albums. This proved unsatisfactory after cialists, even the philatelic press. That is, until William P.
a while, because their album pages became “bumpy,” as one Winter, a chemist, wrote a letter to the editor of ἀ e Ameri-
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 can Philatelist explaining his ideas of a solution to the prob-
lem. The letter was published in the July 2008 issue and made For collectors interested in the chemistry,
mention of a solvent called Bestine and a pinch of talcum Bestine is a solvent, a hydrocarbon that
powder. That piece of information began a series of events
and experiences that have forever changed my approach to contains a chemical called heptane.
self-adhesive stamps. They now are included in my United
States collection of used stamps, as clean and “ungummed”
as any water-activated stamps prior to the 1990s. Here is my ready to accept a hinge and be mounted in your
story. album. The stamp never really “gets wet,” so drying
is not a big issue. I often leave the stamps on paper
Using Bestine To Remove Self-a dhesives overnight before using talc.
Winter’s method involved using a solvent called Bestine, My colleague, Dick Osman, who I’ll introduce later, re-
an eyedropper, paper towels, and talcum powder. I already moves the stickiness by removing the glue entirely. He adds
had the last three items so I started my search at Michael’s, another drop or two of Bestine to the back of the stamp and
the craft supply store, for Bestine. I found a small 4-ounce tin then slowly scrapes off the adhesive onto a paper towel with
of the solvent and hurried home to try out the experiment, the edge of an old credit card or something similar. This pro-
as directed by William Winter in his letter. I was amazed at cedure works well and is a good alterative to talcum powder
the easy procedures for releasing stamps from paper and, if you are not happy leaving the adhesive on the stamp. The
within no time at all, I was adding hinges to the stamps and best advice is to try both methods and decide what suits you
mounting them in my albums. “This is too good to be true,” I best.
thought. Why not write about my experiences and share the Actually, this process is faster than the normal soaking
information with other collectors?” So I did. routine. Some collectors who use this method, like to store
I wrote four different articles over a period of two years the stamps in stock sheets to let them completely dry out
as a contributor of a column, “Grassroots Philately,” in Ca- and loose any presence of either substance remaining. (Us-
nadian Stamp News. I received many letters of support and ing odorless talc is wise, any notice of the Bestine is quickly
appreciation from readers, “You have saved my life!” was gone.)
just one outrageous response. This past summer I gave a The best place to find Bestine is in art supply stores or
workshop at the Summer Seminar at the American Phila- craft supply stores. Building supply stores or hardware stores
telic Center. The response was so great that I was asked to do not carry it. It also is available online.
write an article for The American Philatelist. This article is For collectors interested in the chemistry, Bestine is a
a compilation of the information presented in my columns solvent, a hydrocarbon that contains a chemical called hep-
and information gained since they were written. tane. Bestine has been used for years in the graphic arts busi-
These are the steps that Winter laid down in his letter, as I ness, basically to separate papers, art pieces, photographs,
remember them, with a few additional pieces of information and documents, etc. It evaporates quickly, leaves no residue,
to add clarity from my perspective: and has no side effects when used properly. The solvent was
• Use an eyedropper to “suck up” a small amount of originally formulated for thinning rubber cement but has
Bestine and apply it, a few drops at a time, to the since been reformulated to remove inks, decals, and labels
envelope side — as opposed to the stamp side — of from all kinds of surfaces.
the piece. Use it sparingly. Allow it to soak through Here is a recently-found piece of information that will
the paper, which becomes translucent quickly. interest readers. We all remember the days when we used
Turn the piece over, roll it slightly, and you will see a special liquid and a black tray to identify watermarks.
a corner of the stamp come away from the paper. The substance was made from benzene. That chemical was
Proceed to peel off the stamp slowly. This process deemed very dangerous and was taken off the market, as were
takes only a few seconds. Wait too long and you will other chemicals such as carbon tetrachloride and lighter flu-
have to start again. id that were used in the hobby for a variety of jobs. The main
• Note that the paper has no adhesive on it. The replacement chemical in watermark identification, now that
adhesive is still on the stamp and, as you would
expect, is still sticky. However, the solvent has
broken down the adhesive sufficiently to not allow
All solvents are flammable and care
the re-application of the stamp anywhere. Carefully
lay the stamp face down on a paper towel. Don’t must be taken to use them responsibly.
worry if it curls, that is normal. After the Bestine has
evaporated, (twenty minutes at the most), dip your
When so used, they are safer than the
finger in talcum powder, just a touch, and wipe it on previously employed substances.
the back of the stamp. The stickiness will disappear,
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 previous chemicals have been discon- pening?” thought Dick. After taking a
tinued, is heptane — a much safer and canister of Pure Citrus home and us-
easier substance to use. All solvents are ing it to remove stamps, not freshen
flammable and care must be taken to the house, he found that what the
use them responsibly. When so used, clerk has said was exactly correct, and
they are safer than the previously em- it did the job as well as Bestine.
ployed substances. When Dick told me of his expe-
The surprise substance in all of this rience, I was flabbergasted. I found a
discussion is the use of an air-freshen- similar air-freshener in Canada, at a
er to obtain the same result as Bestine. Home Depot store and it worked as
Yes, that’s right, an air-freshener. And Dick had said it would with excel-
there’s a great story behind the finding lent results. The Canadian brand I use
of an air-freshener to do the same job! is called ZEP. It’s a familiar name in
the cleaning business so I thought it
Using an Air-f reshener To probably would do the job. The brand
Remove Self-adhesives names of Pure Citrus and ZEP air-
Following the publication of my fresheners are not the only ones on
first column about Bestine, Dick Os- the present market. However, they are
man, from Glenville, Pennsylvania, a step up in price from the regular air-
my good friend, an outstanding philat- fresheners and it is important that you
elist, and a great stamp club advocate, find ones with the following contents.
thought he would go to the local Home Depot to find this They must first of all be non-aerosol.
miracle solvent. He approached a fellow in the orange apron That means there are no fluorocarbons used as the propel-
at the information desk about where he might find Bestine, lant, only compressed air. (That’s important as an environ-
but was told they didn’t stock it anymore. mental issue.) It must be a 100% natural product and it must
“What is it you want the solvent to do?” asked the clerk. be citrus based. You might wonder why the last two points
After Dick’s explanation the clerk responded, “Oh well, if are so important.
that’s what you need, try Pure Citrus. That’s what we use for The answer lies in the chemical d-limonene. This “clean-
that job.” While walking to the location of the air-fresheners, er from nature” has as its major component oil pressed out
he further explained that the spray was used by employees of citrus fruit rind after the juicing process. The peel is sub-
to remove sale stickers from items needing new stickers for jected to a steam extractor and then condensed, leaving oil
the regular price, the following week. “Could this be hap- on the surface. The remaining substance is called technical-

During the Summer Seminar, Peter

showed an eager group of students the
steps to remove a self-adhesive from
paper.

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 Dick Osman demonstrates his technique.
The students couldn’t wait to try it.

grade d-limonene. It now replaces a wide variety

of products including methyl and ethyl alcohol,
acetone and fluorinated solvents, to name a few,
and works well as a cleaner and adhesive remover
and is a very safe, versatile chemi-
cal that can be used in many ap- was no place for chemicals in philately.
plications. This last bit of informa- But that was then and this is now.
tion comes from the website of the The chemicals we are advocating are
Florida Chemical Company Inc. Try much safer and easier to use and, re-
entering d-limonene in Google. You member, the stamps of today are far
can read a host of articles on this more resilient with their plastic coat-
wondrous chemical and how it is ings and special varnish finishes than
used today in so many ways. We can the classic stamps prior to the 1920s.
now add “used in removing self-ad- There are no fugitive inks on mod-
hesive stamps easily and safely from ern stamps, and the fears of mounts
envelopes” to the list of uses on a va- destroying stamps and substances mi-
riety of websites. grating to covers from plastic sleeves
Success! Give it a try!
As you might expect, both these are not a part of modern philately and
processes work equally well on self- the non-reactive materials we now use.
adhesive stamps from other countries. Some Australian Bestine and air-fresheners are not about removing classical
stamps are a little harder to remove but you will be success- stamp from covers, they are about recovering today’s self-ad-
ful, and England’s Machin stamps are easy to remove, even hesive stamps — a reality in modern philately — from paper
the newest high-value stamps with the four “U”-shaped die so they can be displayed in albums in excellent condition. A
cuts. This is despite threats of disaster if removal is attempt- condition that cannot be accomplished by soaking in water
ed. The two methods make the removal of stamps with ho- with its resulting thinned paper, glue residue, discoloration,
lograms easy and the holograms do not end up cracked or and the wasting of hours of time re-soaking with little pleas-
creased as they do when water is used. ing results.
Pick up a non-aerosol, all natural, citrus-based air-fresh-
Conclusions ener, and a tin of Bestine. Raid the medicine cabinet for a
little talcum powder and an eyedropper, and you are ready
Most of us have grown up with a healthy respect for using
for a very gratifying experience with many new issues. Your
chemicals on stamps. My mentor used to whisper in my ear
U.S. collection will be the better for it and you will be back in
that he used a tablespoon of Javex in the water when soak-
business with handsome used stamps in your albums.
ing stamps. “It freshens the stamps,” he would say, “but don’t

T
tell anybody, they wouldn’t approve.” Certainly, liquids for he Author
watermark identification were only used sparingly and with Peter Butler is a Fellow of the Royal Philatelic Society
great care. Those who used lighter fluid or carbon tetrachlo- of Canada and its Executive Director at the National Office.
ride to remove ballpoint pen or scotch tape did so in secret, Peter also is a frequent instructor and longtime-student at
because the chemicals were toxic and very flammable. There the APS Summer Seminar.

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