Sandi's Samples

Here are a few tidbits I've learned over the years on taking care of your rubber stamps.

Baby wipes are acceptable for cleaning stamps, but they need to be alcohol free (in addition to lanolin free) as alcohol will kill your rubber by drying it out and making it brittle causing it to crack. For this reason you should NEVER use Windex to clean your stamps because it has alcohol. Many commercial stamp cleaners contain a "conditioner" that helps to keep the rubber soft.

Solvent inks like StazOn can be cleaned of most of the ink if you clean them immediately after stamping with regular stamp cleaning solution & a stamp-scrubbing pad. If the ink has sat on the rubber long enough to start drying, you will need solvent ink cleaner like the one StazOn offers.
As for the "new" clear polymer stamps...I have found out that Stampin up black ink will stain so I use Versa Fine or Memories Black. They won’t stain and you can use markers to color with out smearing. I have some older ones that have turned yellow and lost some flex, but still stamp ok. I have newer ones that don't seem to "hold" dye ink as well as my rubber stamps. (The ink looks like I spritzed it with water when I stamp with these images.) I think the new polymers are less porous than the older ones or rubber and that keeps them from holding the ink so I either use an eraser or sanding block lightly and that makes the ink hold a little better.

For those of us who like to make our own cleaner it’s very simple. Here are two recipes that not only work but save money too.

HOMEMADE STAMP CLEANER

I found this recipe a while back:

2 Tablespoons glycerin

(Can be found in the Wilton cake decorating dept at Michael’s or Jo-Ann’s)

8 oz. distilled water

1-teaspoon baby wash

SIMPLE GREEN CLEANER

2 cups distilled water

2 tsp. simple green

1 tsp glycerin

It removes Stazon