Initial Results Are Staggering
All collectors face the challenge of dealing with rust (known as "rust" when a dealer buys a stamp, and "toning" when a dealer sells a stamp!) on stamps at some stage.
The preferred, and usually recommended, method of dealing with rust is to throw the stamps away! Almost every blog, forum and dealer site has a discussion how to deal with this problem, and I don't intend to re-hash what has been said hundreds of times and can be found by Googling.
What I do want to do is to present a "teaser" of some current tests using a method described by a gentleman of very senior years. Preliminary tests conducted by a member of the Grumpy Old Men's Club forum (here), have shown remarkable results.
Further testing with modern and multicoloured stamps will be of interest to see if the process works on all issues. It is a wet process, so won't work on mint stamps unless Mint No Gum is an acceptable outcome.
This is Hyderabad SG 43, a very common stamp that is usually found in a poor state
This is the back of the stamp showing rust, and a marker pen addition, which was meant to prove, after testing, that this was the same stamp!
Here is the front of the stamp after testing
....and the back, minus the marker-pen arrow!
At this early stage, I'm wondering if a bleaching process is evident, but as I don't yet know the "recipe", I'm keeping an open mind.
I'll post updates as and when they come to hand
