stamp problem

[walletman]

hi can any one help one of my stamps makes marks on leather some of the silver come off the tip can it be fixed are do i have to get a new one i have polished it but it still dos it plz help

[CitizenKate]

Are you saying that some of the chrome finish came off? I have some chrome-finished stamps I've removed the finish from with a torch and a wire brush, and it doesn't leave any marks in the leather (other than the impression the stamp makes).

Kate

[smudley]

I have sen the manager at my local Tandy store take a cigarette lighter and scorch the chrome off the new craftool stamps so they will leave a better impression. Only once in a great while does one of them leave a black mark. We looked at the tool that did the staining, but couldn't figure out why it did it. Then he took some rouge and put it on the flesh side of a piece of leather, and rubbed the heck out of the tool face. After which, he rubbed it on a towel to get the rouge residue off. When he tried it again, no problem.

If you have any rust and/or pits showing on the tool face;

1: Using a solution of Cream of Tarter and lightly boiling water, I basically boil the tool for about 15-20 minutes to get the top surface rust off, then rinse with hot water to get the tarter out of all the nooks and cranies. This will not take off any chrome, except that which is flaking up and about ready to come off. However it will take the discoloring light rust off.

2: I then TOWEL DRY the tools, rubbing them lightly to polish them up some, and check for flaking chrome. If everything checks out good, and there is no flaking, or pitting, and the tool face looks shiny, I go to step 8.

If I find ANY FLAKING CHROME, I pick all of it off that I can then:

3: Check for "hard"rust in the pits and on the surface.

4: This rust must be taken off using a file or sandpaper.

5: Make sure the pits and gouges are smoothed out

6: Then the tool face must be polished out, either on a buffing wheel with compound (fastest), or with a piece of leather flesh side with rouge (slowest way).

7: Then, take the dust residue off by rubbing on a towel or other piece of cloth.

8: Check on a piece of scrap leather for staining. If I find black marks on the leather, I go back to step 6. If I still find black marks, I go back to step 3.

I have rehabbed and modified many tools, some of which looked like they should have been thrown away. The above steps are ALWAYS a major part of the process. I have not yet had any black staining on leather if I followed the above procedure.

I hope this helps. Maybe someone else has a different procedure they would like to share.

[walletman]

I have sen the manager at my local Tandy store take a cigarette lighter and scorch the chrome off the new craftool stamps so they will leave a better impression. Only once in a great while does one of them leave a black mark. We looked at the tool that did the staining, but couldn't figure out why it did it. Then he took some rouge and put it on the flesh side of a piece of leather, and rubbed the heck out of the tool face. After which, he rubbed it on a towel to get the rouge residue off. When he tried it again, no problem.

If you have any rust and/or pits showing on the tool face;

1: Using a solution of Cream of Tarter and lightly boiling water, I basically boil the tool for about 15-20 minutes to get the top surface rust off, then rinse with hot water to get the tarter out of all the nooks and cranies. This will not take off any chrome, except that which is flaking up and about ready to come off. However it will take the discoloring light rust off.

2: I then TOWEL DRY the tools, rubbing them lightly to polish them up some, and check for flaking chrome. If everything checks out good, and there is no flaking, or pitting, and the tool face looks shiny, I go to step 8.

If I find ANY FLAKING CHROME, I pick all of it off that I can then:

3: Check for "hard"rust in the pits and on the surface.

4: This rust must be taken off using a file or sandpaper.

5: Make sure the pits and gouges are smoothed out

6: Then the tool face must be polished out, either on a buffing wheel with compound (fastest), or with a piece of leather flesh side with rouge (slowest way).

7: Then, take the dust residue off by rubbing on a towel or other piece of cloth.

8: Check on a piece of scrap leather for staining. If I find black marks on the leather, I go back to step 6. If I still find black marks, I go back to step 3.

I have rehabbed and modified many tools, some of which looked like they should have been thrown away. The above steps are ALWAYS a major part of the process. I have not yet had any black staining on leather if I followed the above procedure.

I hope this helps. Maybe someone else has a different procedure they would like to share.

hi smudley thanx for advice i will try and let you know bob(walletman)

[JRLeather2]

This works on car parts, I don't see why it wouldn't work on small tools as well.....

=

[smudley]

This works on car parts, I don't see why it wouldn't work on small tools as well.....

=

My concern with using this process is that it might take at least some of the chrome off as well, since Chrome plating involves electroplating. Using this method essentially reverses the flow of electricity and the draw of electrons. I used to work in a plating company many years ago, and can't remember what chemicals we used when stripping chrome from parts, but we used the same process he did in the video. Only, we did it at a lot higher current, and sometimes you could see the water really "boiling", like at a very high boil. When the tank was boiling, we were told to stay out of the area, unless we wore respirators, because of the gases given off.