CLEANING:
Pencil or crayon writing or marks can be erased with a soft rubber eraser available in stationery or art supply stores. Pen marks can be erased with harder rubber pen erasers, but do so GENTLY and CAREFULLY, especially near the edge. After washing and drying hands, hold paper firmly on both sides of area being erased.

REPAIR OF FOLD SPLITS OR TEARS
Do not use cellophane tape or any other form of standard commercial tape, as these are usually non-removable and often stain the paper. Use special archival, tissue-thin paper tape available in art supply stores. It is virtually invisible and will not stain the paper.

PRESSING OUT FOLDS
Do not iron out folds unless you have experience in doing so. Before using an iron, experiment with ironing different kinds of expendable paper (i.e. stock transfer slips) on different settings. The safest approach is to lay the certificate on a hard, flat, clean surface and stack large heavy books on it overnight.

REMOVING GLUED-ON STUBS
Sometimes cancelled stocks were glued back into the company's stock book. The portion in the book, the stub, was occasionally glued over the edge of the stock. Some collectors want to keep the stubs where they are because they are part of the history of the stock. However, if you want to remove the stub for aesthetic reasons (framing or display in an album), follow these instructions:

1. Fill a sink or a clean, large and deep aluminum or stainless rectangular steel pan with scalding hot water, the hotter the better. (for fastest results) OK to use lukewarm water instead.
2. Submerge ONLY the stub in the hot water, up to the line where it ends on the stock. Carefully avoid getting any handwriting that is in ink wet, especially red or medium to light blue ink (brown or black ink usually will not run but red or light blue usually will!)
3. Allow paper and glue to soften, which usually takes a minute or two. Test the edge of the stub with your finger to see if it is loosening. If not, WAIT. If water cools, replace with more very hot water or leave stub in water longer (5 minutes or more).
4. When stub paper is soft and pliant, peel or push it off the stock very SLOWLY and CAREFULLY. Do not, repeat, do not swifty yank off the stub (this may tear the stock or rip off part of its surface). Be gentle and patient. With any luck, you will be able to coax the stub off in one piece. If a little glue remains on the stock, gently rub or scrape it off while it is still wet. This can be done under the water while it is still warm. Again, do not use force. A very faint glue stain in the margin of a stock is far preferable to a tom surface with part of the border missing.
5. Place the wet stock on an open towel on a flat surface. It will usually dry without curling or wrinkling. If this should happen, however, the "heavy book routine" will suffice to flatten out the certificate.