PVC question

Morgan13

How long does it usually take to remove pvc film?
A week a month?
It's not something I have dealt with much.
I also do some searches on here.

silviosi

MEK is not long.

Tom147

In my experience, If it's gonna come off, a dip in pure acetone ( glass container & lid. Be careful, highly flammable ), light PVC will come off fairly quickly. If it doesn't come off in 24 hours ( my max. ) it's not coming off.

TheGoonies1985

Use 100% pure acetone and a glass container with a metal lid that has no plastic on its inside or glass lid even better. I do 1 coin at the time for 12 hours each side and when I turn the coin, I use fresh acetone. Once done I rinse the coin under fresh acetone then let it dry. I was my container with a Q-tip soaked in fresh acetone for my next coin.

12 hours is likely more than what is needed. Many have said a few hours is too much. I rather do it longer just to be sure. I only have use this on silver coins and have no experience with copper coins and acetone.

If it is truly bad, then do it 24 hours on each side. If that does not work then it is not PVC.

Pharmacies have acetone but as said buy the 100% pure only.

As some ask no the PVC will not return unless stored in PVC plastic again. No need to worry that the PVC will come back if stored properly after the acetone bath.

jmlanzaf

minutes or less, as I mentioned on the prior thread which disappeared. Nothing will happen hours later...

Edited to add: there's no harm in going out a few hours. But you indicated in the prior thread that you went 24 hours and even used a Qtip. If there is still residue, it is not PVC. Acetone will not remove toning or hazing. So a "filmy" look may not be PVC at all.

Crypto

You can also you mineral oil and qtip if inactive and on the surface. It’s less stripy than acetone. Especially on circulated coins where the surface being bare look weird.

PeakRarities

@Crypto said:
You can also you mineral oil and qtip if inactive and on the surface. It’s less stripy than acetone. Especially on circulated coins where the surface being bare look weird.

Have you tried denatured alcohol before?

Sapyx

Whichever solvent you use - ethanol, isopropanol, acetone, butanone, xylene, and others - it will almost certainly have at least begun to dissolve immediately.

If it's not gone within half an hour, further soaking in the solvent isn't going to be of any further benefit. It won't hurt, but it won't help either. If it's still there after soaking in solvent for half an hour, it's probably not PVC goo and therefore won't be removed by solvents.

Note: there is a difference between "PVC goo" and "PVC damage". PVC goo is treatable and removable easily with solvents. PVC damage is not. PVC damage happens when PVC goo remains on the coin over a large area, for a prolonged period. Pure gold and .999 silver are not affected by PVC goo so should show no damage. But anything alloyed with copper or zinc, that metal within the coin will react with the sulfuric acid in the goo. PVC damage may then result.

PVC damage is irreversible; the coin has become corroded in that spot where the PVC was in prolonged contact with it, just as if acid had been spilled on it. Because in truth, acid has been spilled on it, just very slowly. There are ways of trying to cover up PVC damage, but just like covering up a bad cleaning job, most such methods are considered "coin doctoring" and unethical. The only ethical treatment of PVC damage is the same as the only ethical treatment of poor cleaning: using the coin as a pocket piece until the damage has worn away.

The vast majority of the people who go around saying "acetone ruined my coin" actually mean "acetone removed the PVC goo from my coin, revealing the underlying PVC damage". But it was the goo that did the damage, years before the solvent had been applied; the solvent merely revealed the truth about what had already occurred,

Crypto

@DeplorableDan said:

@Crypto said:
You can also you mineral oil and qtip if inactive and on the surface. It’s less stripy than acetone. Especially on circulated coins where the surface being bare look weird.

Have you tried denatured alcohol before?

I haven’t, I got away from treating coins when many of the raw “gems” dried up on eBay or at least my tolerance to buying raw on eBay dried up. I did quite well for a while there and had to treat them often before submitting. I never thought about using other alcohols because at the core they’re solvents opposed to an emulsifier like an oil