Watermark fluid

Watermark fluid is another essential collector's tool. It works by wetting a stamp temporarily without affecting the ink or gum. Other chemicals will not work the same way – stick to the suggested items.

You need to place a stamp against a black background, so you can also buy small black trays for watermarking. In a pinch, you can use the back of a black plastic approval card.

Only a few drops are needed for a stamp. The fluid is volatile so you can waste a lot by using more.

The fluid to use is the Clarity brand, available from stamp stores and online stamp supply houses. Equally good and cheaper is Ronsonol lighter fluid, now under lock and key with cigarettes and tobacco. In both cases, have plenty of ventilation. Ronsonol has small amounts of variable impurities. Do NOT use any materials noted in old stamp references, like carbon tetrachloride, which are harmful to your health. In any case, make sure your work area is well-ventilated.

An alternative is using a watermark detector machine like a Signoscope for reading watermarks, particularly if you need a long time to determine which watermark you have.

See

 * Watermark detection
 * Watermark detector (machine)





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