A CHEMICAL named Bestine, which can be purchased in hardware stores or art store s works miracles.

Bestine is a fast-evaporating solvent which won t damage the sta mp even if it is embossed or has foil on it. Since today s stamps are not as fragi le as classic stamps of the past, this chemical is safe to use on them. Here is the technique: Trim the paper around the stamp to a few millimetres and apply Bestine to th e back of the paper with an eye-dropper. You will see the paper become transluce nt within a few seconds. You should be able to peel the stamp off the paper in about 10 seconds. Plac e the stamp face down on a flat surface and let it dry. The back of the stamp wi ll remain sticky because the Bestine evaporates quickly, leaving the adhesive on the back of the stamp still active. To remove the stickiness of the adhesive, once the stamp is relatively dry, apply a bit of baby powder to the gum side. The stickiness will disappear, but y ou will still be able to stick a stamp hinge to the back. A few extra tips: It s best to work with one stamp at a time since Bestine evapora tes so fast that you need to peel off the stamp almost immediately. Or else, the Bestine will dry and you have to start over. Don t worry if your stamp appears gr easy, once it dries this will disappear. Citrus magic air freshener Citrus magic air freshener If you can t find any Bestine, another solution is a can of 100% natural non-aeros ol citrus based air freshener, like Citrus Magic or Zep. The procedure is the sa me, just spray the back of the stamp with the air freshener, wait a few seconds and then peel off the stamp. Talc it to remove the stickiness as above. It is th en ready to be mounted in your stamp ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ SOAKING STAMPS STEP 1. SOAKING. This should really be called "floating", as it is better to flo at the stamps than to soak them. Take a shallow dish, and fill it fairly well (s ay about 20 mm deep) with ordinary cold tap water. Do not use warm or hot water, and do not add anything to the water. Trim off any excess paper round the stamp (leave a margin of about 5mm-10mm), bu t be careful not to trim any of the perforations. The stamp should then be put i n to float on the surface of the water, face up, so that the backing paper gets wet, but the surface of the stamp stays dry. In this way you reduce the risk of the colours running, or of the face of the stamp becoming wrinkled. STEP 2. REMOVING THE PAPER. Some stamps will be ready within a very few minutes of being put into the water, others can take over an hour ! This is something w hich can be learned from experience, although as a general rule stamps on thin o r soft backing paper will normally be ready more quickly than those on thick, he avy, or glossy paper, or on card. When you think the stamp is ready (this is a good reason for leaving a reasonabl e border of paper round the stamp; when the border looks well-soaked, the stamp is probably ready; if the wetness of the border is patchy, it is probably best l eft a little longer), carefully lift the stamp out of the water (plastic tweezer s [tongs] are good for this, as they don't rust !), and hold it face down on a f lat surface. Then peel the paper off the back of the stamp - not the stamp off t he paper, so that the stamp says flat. The paper should lift off quite easily. I f it does not, then put the stamp back onto the surface of the water for another few minutes and try again.

STEP 3. DRYING. Once the above stage is completed, all you have to do is to get the stamp dry. If there is any loose water on the back of the stamp, let this dr ip off, then place the stamp face down on clean white blotting paper, or white k itchen roll. The absobant paper must be white, otherwise there is a risk of colo ur seeping from it onto the stamp. Do not put the wet stamps anywhere that is wa rmer than normal room temperature. People who put their stamps above heaters or radiators, or in the oven (!), tend to end up with little curled pieces of paper . DO NOT "STEAM" stamps off. Manila envelopes will stain your stamps if you allow more than minimum time in t he water bath ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~