Cleaning B-18s?

[steve B]

I wanted to be sure that would work before trying it. Since water looks bad, I didn't want to end up with blank B18s, even the faded commons.

And some inks are doubly fugitive, dissolving in both water and oil based cleaners. British stamps used that for a time, and getting them off the envelope or remaining scrap of paper is difficult.

My wife does sewing, I think she's got a home dry cleaning kit. Plus I have access to loads of industrial cleaners, maybe even a can of 111 trichloroethane I set aside. But a lot of that stuff is really bad for cloth in the long run if not instantly. Unless it's metal, I'm very hesitant to go straight to the chemical cleaners without figuring out what they'll do to the item.

Steve B