This Guide will inform you about removing recent AUSTRALIAN stamps from paper and the facts that you should know before staring to soak.

HOW TO SOAK THESE STAMPS OFF PAPER WITHOUT DAMAGING THEM?

AUSTRALIA POST  PRINTING INFORMATION.

Australia Post currently issues stamps in two distinct formats.

PEELABLE STAMPS ( very common)

SHEET STAMPS (rarer variety)

How to distinguish peelable from sheet stamps?

• Peelable stamps are issued in booklets of 20 and in rolls of up to 100 stamps.
• No gluing is required and the sender merely affixes the stamps to the envelope.
• Perforations are rounded with a partial straight edge in some cases .
• The very common variety
• Printed on rough recycled paper
• When placed in water, the stamp will require peeling
• If kept in water for an extended period of time, will become unremovable off the paper and will disintegrate in your hands.
• Further drying these stamps while on paper and re-soaking will not help, as the stamps will become unmanageable and will disintegrate, when touched.
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• Sheet stamps are issued in sheets of up to 50 or 100 stamps,
• The glue needs to be licked before applying the stamps to the envelope.
• Perforations are smaller and perfect.
• The rarer variety.
• Printed on clean white paper. 
• When placed in water, the stamp will separate itself easily off paper and often will be found floating on the top of the water.
• If kept in water for an extended periood of time, it will not disintegrate.

STEP- BY - STEP PROCEDURE FOR SOAKING RECENT PEEL AND STICK STAMPS

<center>I have changed dramatically how I soak stamps in July 2009.

<center>I think that this is earth shattering NEWS.

(1) I remove all stamps that are on red/green paper, since the color tends to run, and I put them aside.

(2) I also remove all the high value stamps, since most are sheet stamps ( check my other soaking general GUIDE for how-to details)

(3) Next I locate a plastic container, which in Australia is a 2 liter ice cream tub. I use it for soaking

(4) I then fill the container with SCALDING HOT WATER, and leave it sitting in the sink.

(5) I count out 50 stamps and immerse them in the water.

(6) I set my timer for 15 minutes and locate my tweezers, which I will need.

(7) I next locate an old newspaper and fold approximately 2 large size pages or 4 small size pages and place the newspaper on the counter next to the sink. I prefer to choose a newspaper page with low colour printing.

(8)After 15 minutes have elapsed, I bring a chair next to the sink, sit down and begin the removal of the paper from the stamps.

(9) Using the tweezers, I grab the first stamp and gently try and peel off a corner. If it resists, I try a different corner.

(10) Due to the extreme heat of the water, the glue tends to coagulate and in some cases, you will see that after removing the paper, the glue is still attached to the stamp.

(11) That glue has to be removed in its entirety.

(12) To remove the glue, I use my fingers and I rub the glue in a downward motion, and it will start to form a roll. Gently scroll down the stamps and you will see that the glue is gone from the stamp entirely.

(13) I then place the stamp face down on the paper allowing the water to soak into the newspaper. Magazine pages are not good for soaking.

(14) Remember that the soaking must be done quickly, and should only take another 10 minutes, since these PEEL AND STICK stamps are now becoming more and more SOAKED and after 10 minutes, they will become unmanageable and will lose their paper integrity and will very easily TEAR.

(15) Next I place the nespaper in the sunlight and allow the stamps to dry naturally.

(16) If you cover them with another newspaper, trying to flatten them, and then place  another heavy object, which is meant to flatten the stamps even further, what I have found is that the newspaper becomes wavy and so have many of the stamps.

(17) To flatten the stamps, I prefer the telephone white pages.

(18) Please allow the stamps to dry fully. They will curl in some instances. Do not worry.

(19) Usually the next day, I remove the stamps from the newspaper and place them face down ( again) between the telephone white pages. I try to put a book mark on each page that I use for stamps, otherwise you will always be leaving some stamps inside the white pages.

(20) There are some stamps that you will have problems with ( despite all these precautions)

- From my experience, the Christmas issues usually have this problem ( I chuck them out, w/o soaking them)

- If someone has already soaked off a stamps, and re-used it, that also sometimes causes the integrity of the stamp to fall apart.

- If the stamp does not wish to be removed, in the first instance, I always put it back in the water and try at the end.

- If that all fails, then I simply throw the stamp away

- If you forget to come back in 15 minutes, you will find that the stamps will start tearing easily

- If the stamps have been in teh water for an extensive period of time, do not try to dry them out and then re-soak them again.

ANY QUESTIONS, OR OBSERVATIONS, PLEASE CONTACT ME. I AM ALWAYS GLAD TO HELP!!

And good luck!