Best tongs or technique for dipping in acetone?

planetsteve

It seems that the tongs available at Wizard Coin Supply, and other vendors, all have some kind of polymer tips that acetone will likely not play nice with. I got the Lighthouse wide grip model, and rubbed a tiny amount of acetone on the proximal end of one tip, and sure enough it changed the texture of the tip. Acetone will probably dissolve it. (I'm also not crazy about how that red plastic coating ends up lodged between the reeds of silver dollars.)

I went to YouTube, and I'll admit to being impatient, and I realize few of us have access to a real lab, but seeing a guy fish coins out of an acetone-filled glass baking dish with bare hands does not look like the right way to do things. I really don't like the feel of acetone, and I don't think I want whatever random oils get carried off skin by acetone to contaminate the coin.

So, is there a known good pair of tongs out there, or some other recommended gear? Any tips on the right container for dipping in acetone?

Aotearoa

I was wondering the same thing just the other day as I was trying to fish out the test Lincoln I've got soaking. I ending up scooping it up with a metal spoon - not something I would want to to with anything of value...

jmski52

You could use some really thin neoprene gloves. Or nitrile. They come pretty thin these days.

TommyType

Beyond being a "mild irritant", I don't think acetone is considered particularly dangerous. (It is the main component in fingernail polish remover, after all).

Unless you are exposed to it for hours at a time, day after day, I don't think there's an issue using your bare hands. Rinse your hands after use....eye irritation is probably your biggest concern.

kbbpll

Might be a different YouTube video, but a bare hands guy in one of them was hawking some kind of artificial skin stuff that he had applied to his hands. Claimed it wouldn't leave fingerprints on coins. I haven't used acetone much but I just use a small shallow bowl and gently slide out the coin with a q-tip. The kind of bowl you put soy sauce in at an Asian restaurant. Probably not recommended for high value coins though.

Cameonut

The Kointongs on the Wizard site are fine with acetone. Done it many times. Worth every penny - all 221 of them.

I would not recommend immersing them in acetone for long periods of time. They work great getting coins in and out of the solvent. I put the solvent in a glass jar so that if you tip the coin up on edge, the curvature of the side of the jar gives you a place to grab it.

BAJJERFAN

You could always use wooden forceps/tongs.

Goldminers

Chopsticks work fine for Asian coins.

Moldnut

I use it almost daily without any form of protection.

Namvet69

I use a pair of bamboo tongs that are sold to handle hot toast. I don't know why we have them in the house but I'm glad. I also use wooden coffee stirrers. Peace Roy

erwindoc

Only dries out the fingers. I use nitrile gloves though.

planetsteve

Now why did I not think of wood? Noted. Thanks.

Turns out I do have a pair of the $2.21 Kointongs that I never bothered using. I'll give em a try now that I know they won't dissolve into a blue goo on contact.

topstuf

RogerB

RE: "Best thongs or technique for dipping..."

I really don't care what the OP wears while dipping, but please, no photos.

georgiacop50

@TommyType said:
Beyond being a "mild irritant", I don't think acetone is considered particularly dangerous. (It is the main component in fingernail polish remover, after all).

Unless you are exposed to it for hours at a time, day after day, I don't think there's an issue using your bare hands. Rinse your hands after use....eye irritation is probably your biggest concern.

The problem with using bare fingers is not what the acetone does to your fingers but rather,
the oils on your skin will readily dissolve in acetone and then when the acetone/ skin oil mixture evaporates off your coins you will leave an oily skin oil deposit on the coins. Never dip any coin in any solvent using bare fingers... except for maybe circulated coins where it wont really matter.

jmski52

Limit your exposure to acetone. Ketones aren't particularly good for your liver.

cameonut2011

I use nitrile gloves.

lkenefic

I use nitrile gloves too...

Batman23

I just use my fingers and only hold the coin by the edges. As others have said, Acetone just seems to dry out the skin. I had that very sticky spray foam on my hands a few days ago, washed my hands with Acetone and cleaned them right off. It is good stuff for many things, I think some are just over cautious.

Justacommeman

*

thisistheshow

@erwindoc said:
Only dries out the fingers. I use nitrile gloves though.

Precisely.

ricko

Occasional, and short exposure of acetone on skin will not cause harm.... but since it depletes the natural oils, it is best to avoid it when possible. Breathing fumes is likely more risky, so be sure to use it in a well ventilated area. I always keep the container capped if not inserting or extracting coins. Cheers, RickO

Hemispherical

@ricko said:
Occasional, and short exposure of acetone on skin will not cause harm.... but since it depletes the natural oils, it is best to avoid it when possible. Breathing fumes is likely more risky, so be sure to use it in a well ventilated area. I always keep the container capped if not inserting or extracting coins. Cheers, RickO

Agree with @ricko. If one is prone to dry/cracked skin (ouch!) it’s best to avoid substances that promote dry/cracked skin, IMO.

1630Boston

Lyndag

I tried some old corroded coins in acetone the other night and was not pleased at the outcome. So I played around with my thoughts. To me, the best results came from dipping my copper coins in very very warm water. That’s it. A few times later and my coins very beautiful lustrous and low and behold a treasure.

Veep

The blue plastic coin tongs work for me. They’re small, lock the coin in place and don’t dissolve in the solvent. Used them for years.

Hemispherical

@Lyndag said:
I tried some old corroded coins in acetone the other night and was not pleased at the outcome. So I played around with my thoughts. To me, the best results came from dipping my copper coins in very very warm water. That’s it. A few times later and my coins very beautiful lustrous and low and behold a treasure.

Experimentation is the mother of invention. Hoping you did that on non-keeper cents.

Good luck.

Broadstruck

I feel these tongs would make for fun...

EVillageProwler

I use bare hands and a spoon that is not plastic. The small dish I use has a rounded/concave bottom so that I can use the spoon to push to coin upwards by the edge and then take out using fingers or the spoon.

Then I immediately rinse in hot/warm water to eliminate as much residue as possible.

EVP

DollarAfterDollar

I use a small glass roughly 1 1/2 " on the bottom with a quarter inch of acetone. I cover it with a plate to eliminate evaporation. When it's time to rinse I just fill the glass with warm water until the acetone has left the glass and gone down the drain. I will then rinse the coin for 30 seconds each side. I set it on a non embossed paper napkin, dry my hands then dry the coin with the paper napkin twice.

Ready for grading.........

I've never had an issue.

BAJJERFAN

@lkenefic said:
I use nitrile gloves too...

You can buy food gloves like they use at Subway. Get em cheap by the box off of eBay. Good for all kinds of stuff that you might not want to leaves prints or other finger contaminants on. I use em for peeling and cutting onions. The sturdier nitrile and related latex gloves might be handier for things like cleaning and reassembling firearms.

Lyndag

P@Hemispherical yes sir I did. And am glad as the result was obnoxious. However, I did find that just a little H2O is the only way to go. With all the time in the world and much patience and extreme boredom, my Lincoln cents may not be MS 65+ but to me they are 70+. Never seen so many double died that should never have not made a list. But maybe someday someone will see the beauty I see in a very well preserved coin that still has luster and more importantly more details than any modern coin I can name. I will put away the hundreds of wheat coins and copper coins and take comfort in knowing that one day my sweet grand babies will look at them and add their fingerprints on this piece of history.

jdimmick

Acetone is ok, but as mentioned, try to use something, but what every you do, I REPEAT DO NOT DIP COINS IN COIN DIP as it contains thiourea, (cancer causing). I did it for years , and am paying the price!!

asheland

I seldom acetone coins, but when I do, usually just use my bare fingers. Sometimes a Q-tip works...

ShadyDave

@EVillageProwler said:

Then I immediately rinse in hot/warm water to eliminate as much residue as possible.

EVP

I prefer distilled gallon jugs of water from a grocery store over tap. You can get them for $1.00/gallon and you know (for the most part) there shouldn't be any contaminants or minerals in the water. I am on well water and have filters/water softeners, so I play it safe with the distilled...

Musky1011

Use your fingers... just do not smoke while doing it

Kkathyl

I drop it in that plastic cup you get from the cough medicine bottle

thefinn

@DollarAfterDollar said:
I use a small glass roughly 1 1/2 " on the bottom with a quarter inch of acetone. I cover it with a plate to eliminate evaporation. When it's time to rinse I just fill the glass with warm water until the acetone has left the glass and gone down the drain. I will then rinse the coin for 30 seconds each side. I set it on a non embossed paper napkin, dry my hands then dry the coin with the paper napkin twice.

Ready for grading.........

I've never had an issue.

Acetone down the drain. That won't cause any problems 🤔

Aotearoa

@BAJJERFAN said:

@lkenefic said:
I use nitrile gloves too...

You can buy food gloves like they use at Subway. Get em cheap by the box off of eBay. Good for all kinds of stuff that you might not want to leaves prints or other finger contaminants on. I use em for peeling and cutting onions. The sturdier nitrile and related latex gloves might be handier for things like cleaning and reassembling firearms.

I use those gloves when slicing up my Carolina Reaper chillies.

BAJJERFAN

@Aotearoa said:

@BAJJERFAN said:

@lkenefic said:
I use nitrile gloves too...

You can buy food gloves like they use at Subway. Get em cheap by the box off of eBay. Good for all kinds of stuff that you might not want to leaves prints or other finger contaminants on. I use em for peeling and cutting onions. The sturdier nitrile and related latex gloves might be handier for things like cleaning and reassembling firearms.

I use those gloves when slicing up my Carolina Reaper chillies.

They do tear kind of easily tho. Blow them up like a balloon before donning them to make sure that they won't leak.

ColonelJessup

@Moldnut said:
I use it almost daily without any form of protection.

Likewise for over 35 years. During which time I surely have cracked open over 10,000 slabs. I can't imagine less than a third not needing a goop-emulsifying agent. I've got seven. Are you using alcohol before acetone? Rinse or Q-tip? Think on that

if you want it to explode or poison you through inhalation or absorption, you're going to have to work harder than that guy who accidently drank cyanide.

ColonelJessup

@thefinn said:

@DollarAfterDollar said:
I use a small glass roughly 1 1/2 " on the bottom with a quarter inch of acetone. I cover it with a plate to eliminate evaporation. When it's time to rinse I just fill the glass with warm water until the acetone has left the glass and gone down the drain. I will then rinse the coin for 30 seconds each side?. I set it on a non embossed paper napkin, dry my hands then dry the coin with the paper napkin twice.

Ready for grading.........

I've never had an issue.

Acetone down the drain. That won't cause any problems 🤔

Water is, in this instance, contraindicated for any part of this process except rinsing your dish afterwards. Whatever was in or on the coin while in the dish, evaporated, rinsed or not, is still to some extent present on the coin. Any second rinse other than in a new dish with fresh acetone is ineffective to the point of uselessness.

planetsteve

Water and acetone are miscible, so I don’t think there’s a problem with flushing acetone down the drain with lots of water. OTOH I don’t know about any environmental impact from that.

I have found that the $2.21 Kointong plays okay with acetone. I tried some likewise cheap nitrile gloves, but I thought there was some kind of residues on them and they should be washed first. Chopsticks I haven’t gotten to yet.

So far I’ve soaked bits of green foam schmutz off grandpa’s Morgan silver dollar, exposing brown pitting(?) beneath. That’s PVC damage, isn’t it. I also found it takes some stuff off brand-new Kennedys, but not all the stains on a few of them. Finally a Merc cracked out for an album fared okay.

I have learned to question whether I really should be drinking (anything!) while doing this, as I can just see myself raising that glass beaker to my lips instead of a drinking glass. Also. A cluttered work area is bad. A tiny splash will wreck Air-tites.

lkenefic

When I use acetone or any other organic solvent like that, I stick to a glass petri dish... or a small ceramic plate. Some plastics can start to dissolve in organic solvents (methyl ethyl ketone (MEK) springs to mind), and I don't know what that might do to a coin over time.

krueger

use Nitrile gloves. (blue colored). get at Walmart.
Bare fingers allow chemicals transdermally into blood stream.
acetone , thiourea dip, tricloraltrifloralethane ( bue ribbon, care), MS70.
E&T Kointainer use to sell a product with the same chemical, but its name escapes me now.
Be careful what gets into your blood stream. I used this stuff without gloves and paid the price.

Krueger

krueger

Funny these products always talk about what they will do to your coins but not what they will do to you!
Find the MDS on these chemicals if you can to see the hazards.

BAJJERFAN

@planetsteve said:
Water and acetone are miscible, so I don’t think there’s a problem with flushing acetone down the drain with lots of water. OTOH I don’t know about any environmental impact from that.

I have found that the $2.21 Kointong plays okay with acetone. I tried some likewise cheap nitrile gloves, but I thought there was some kind of residues on them and they should be washed first. Chopsticks I haven’t gotten to yet.

So far I’ve soaked bits of green foam schmutz off grandpa’s Morgan silver dollar, exposing brown pitting(?) beneath. That’s PVC damage, isn’t it. I also found it takes some stuff off brand-new Kennedys, but not all the stains on a few of them. Finally a Merc cracked out for an album fared okay.

I have learned to question whether I really should be drinking (anything!) while doing this, as I can just see myself raising that glass beaker to my lips instead of a drinking glass. Also. A cluttered work area is bad. A tiny splash will wreck Air-tites.

Most municipalities don't have an issue with small amounts of acetone. In concentrated/undiluted form it could damage PVC plumbing. Just dilute it with water in a junk container before disposal. Rubbing/isopropyl alcohol will raise particular hell with airtites too.

jmski52

Any second rinse other than in a new dish with fresh acetone is ineffective to the point of uselessness.

Yes, the principle of successive dilutions is optimal for all contaminants that are soluble in that particular solvent, but water as a final rinse may still have some advantages for things that are not soluble in acetone, such as inorganic salts, etc.

Be careful what gets into your blood stream. I used this stuff without gloves and paid the price.

Exactly. Acetone or MEK can enter the bloodstream directly through the skin as well as via breathing or ingestion. Limit your exposure regardless of the point of entry. Don't be ignorant about it - just because acetone evaporates quickly and doesn't leave a residue - doesn't mean that it's not hazardous. They are all hazardous to some degree.

Hemispherical

Acetone Toxicological Information

Oral rat LD50: 5800 mg/kg; Inhalation rat LC50: 50,100mg/m3; Irritation eye rabbit, Standard Draize, 20 mg severe; investigated as a tumorigen, mutagen, reproductive effector.

The median lethal dose, or LD50, is a term used in toxicology as a measurement of a lethal dose of a substance (e.g., pathogen, medication, toxic substance, etc.). Specifically, the LD50 represents the dose at which a substance is lethal for 50% of tested subjects.

Don’t clean coins, IMO.

Have fun but use caution.

Outhaul

ShadyDave

I use these Pyrex bowls when dealing with acetone. When I'm done, I leave the bowl outside and let it evaporate...usually only takes an hour or so. I'll have to buy the Kointongs that @Cameonut mentioned, thanks!