... well maybe not a miracle, but it sure will save a lot of time on the trail. After our discussions here, I picked up and tested all of the products suggested: Playdoh, Silly Putty, Blu Tak, and a Kneadable Eraser.

Here are my results:

	Blu Tak	Kneadable Eraser	PlayDoh	Silly Putty
Cleaning	A+	B	A	B
Residue	None	None	None	Oily
Cost	3.00	2.00	??	1.00
Texture	Soft	Firm	Soft	Plastic

Cleaning

All products were tested on pigment, dye based and alcohol inks. There was no discernable difference in cleaning one type of ink over another.

Residue

This was tested by immediately pressing freshly cleaned stamps onto white paper, brown paper, and a third test with vellum. They were visually inspected under magnification for bits of the product left in the grooves of the stamps. While none of the products left any bits behind, playdoh probably would as it dries out. The others don't dry out, so should not have any issue with changes in that respect.

Texture

This property is important because if the product is too firm, it will be hard to get it to conform to the stamp and remove all the ink. Soft and pliable is ideal.

Tips for success

No matter which product you choose - clean immediately for best results.

Concerns to consider

Concerns were expressed about even unscented playdoh being used in the wild.

I am soaking stamps with old dried on embossing ink at the moment and will try to clean that tonight when I get home.

What a great idea! (I must have missed a prior discussion on this concept)

One question—okay, two: What is Blue Tak, and what happens to the ink on whatever you use to clean the stamp? In a kneadable eraser, will pigment and alcohol ink get "absorbed" the way graphite from a pencil does? Or will it stay transferrable and get on the next stamp you clean?

Thanks for the testing and results!

-AG

Isn't the Blue Tac that blue poster adhesive?

7tw2

What is Blue Tak

It's the stuff that teacher's use to put posters on the wall. You can get it at Michaels or other craft stores and Home depot reports that they have it as well.

what happens to the ink on whatever you use to clean the stamp?

It is absorbed as far as I can tell. when I kneaded the products again all traces of the ink disappeared and it didn't get on my hands. Eventually, it would wear out and what it would do at that time is unknown.

Tee

Isn't the Blue Tac that blue poster adhesive?

If so, I have some sitting on my desk!! YEAH!!!

I've dumped out my little LnL of water and tossed my soft toothbrush head. No more bowls of water on the table while I'm making LTCs. Which somehow seem to drip onto something they shouldn't. No more dipping, rubbing and drying stamps every 2 or 4 cards! Changing colors, intricate inking, even rainbow colors on 40 cards are not an issue anymore.

Just think about it... Events with CLEAN STAMPS! Oh the minde boggles with the possibilities!

Tee

WOW! Have you alerted Ryan so he can put this in the Help section?

And to think I thought I was being extra dilligent cleaning my inky stamps every 15 cards. I so admire the person toothbrushing it every 4!

WOW! Have you alerted Ryan so he can put this in the Help section?

Nope, but wondered if you guys would get some and test to verify how it works for you. If several people report they are happy with it, we could find a place to add it to the Wiki.

I also noticed that we made the BnB~ Cool I did cross post it to the stamp carving board for those that have us blocked. Wassa's funny tale aside, this product has the potential to have a widespread impact on the community. I'll certainly be using it to clean any stamp before I let my Marvy's touch it.

If it goes, maybe Webfoot can get it in stock for us. hmmm

Tee

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And to think I thought I was being extra dilligent cleaning my inky stamps every 15 cards. I so admire the person toothbrushing it every 4!

Cleaning? What's that?

Alaska HSM

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Cleaning? What's that?

LOL - that's what I was thinking.

~ pW

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Cleaning? What's that?

We have never cleaned a stamp....that was ours. We even purposely "dirty" the stamp to get different color combinations.

We view our stamps like a good old cast iron frying pan....if you clean them you ruin the flavor.

3 Blind Mice

view our stamps like a good old cast iron frying pan.

We like ours "seasoned" too. The only time we clean them is if we have decided to stamp in an extremely light color.... after using very dark. That's for the ink, not the stamps.