If you have been experimenting with rubber stamps for any amount of time, you can remember when you forgot to clean a rubber stamp, the one you just stamped with a dark blue ink, and began ink'n it up on a nice pink stamp pad...It's ruined! It only takes one mistake to ink a light ink pad, and the only way to cure it is to clean your stamps thoroughly. But...what is THE best way to clean your art stamps?
I wish there was a way to have a definitive answer to this question, these days colorants come in all types. Some enjoy acrylic paints and others simply stick with old fashioned dye based craft pads. Here are the best tips for cleaning art rubber stamps regardless of what you have used to stamp with.
To remove light colored inks (yellows, pinks, light blue, whites, etc.) you can simply tap the art stamp on a towel, then daub the towel into the grooves and let the ink dry. If you do decide to scrub the art stamp with a commercial stamp cleaner using the scrubber on top, be sure not to scrub to hard or the felt will get into the cracks of the stamp and can make the stamp look fuzzy and streaked. Commercial stamp cleaners work so well because they contain additives that dissolve the toughest inks like blacks and blues. In addition to using the scrubby top of a commercial craft stamp cleaner, you can use an old white sock.
Another way to clean art stamps, and one of the simplest, is to use alcohol free baby wipes. Alcohol free baby wipes work perfectly because they are disposable and just damp enough to clean off the pigment. Some stampers like to use a toothbrush to get the grooves of the stamp die clean. Be careful if using a brush because you don't want to spray ink all over your clothes!Make sure the brush bristles are very flexible since you don't want to scratch your stamp while cleaning it.
Rubber stamping is a fantastic hobby and cleaning your art stamps shouldn't be task! You may find you have to use a commercial cleaner as needed if your stamps start to get tacky after using any of the above mentioned cleaning solutions. Keeping your stamping supplies clean is necessary and will make the art stamps look much better and avoiding the problem of accidentally ruining another ink pad!
Kathy Williams is a art stamp hobbyist and enjoys working with art stamps.
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