acetone

spanky0071

If I were to go to walmart and look for acetone, where would they keep it? In the cleaning material isle or someplace else? And one other thing, I wanna make sure that olive oil will not damage my dirty coronet coin. I hate to ruin a coin. Thanks.

Placid

Hardware-Paint.

Spinynorman

Look in the paint stripper section. I don't know if Walmart carries it, but Home Depot does.

I prefer mineral oil, myself, which can be found at most drug stores. It won't harm old copper.

Mike921

Isn't that the active ingredient in finger nail polish remover

Placid

Yes, finger nail polish also has other things though like artifical coloring.

Spinynorman

Yes, but finger nail polish remover has other additives in it that won't evaporate like the acetone will.

BAJJERFAN

I have heard some stories that acetone will sometimes cause copper coins to turn purple. That would indicate that commercial acetone is not always of the highest quality as you might expect for acetone used as a cleaner. Use something like mineral spirits or test it on a junk copper coin first. At Walmart you can find it in the paint supplies section.

nwcs

The copper to purple thing is still acceptable toning. ANd it occurs, if memory serves, when the coin has a nice layer of PVC on it and the solution (not acetone, I seem to remember it's like 1-2-2 thiarea or something) would remove the PVC but the fresh copper would oxidize immediately. I believe this is fairly common on Indian Head cents. But acetone itself does not cause a chemical reation on metals.

BAJJERFAN

Acetone is used to remove PVC damage. You would do this before you dip a coin. Thiourea is an ingredient in some dipping solutions. In the situations where I have seen the purple discoloration mentioned the person gave no details of what exactly they were doing. And yes acetone by itself should NOT discolor metals. If you dip a coin rinse it thoroughly with water before using acetone as a final rinse.

Bear

Thats what I have been drinking for the holidays.

mbbiker

i got some from wal-mart it's in the paint area. I havn't had any luck with it so far. I have tried to get haze off of 4 or 5 proof coins and none of them look any different than when they went in. I don't know what i'm doing wrong but i'm sure it's somting.

nwcs

Acetone won't get rid of haze, unless it was part of the PVC problem. Only a dip will likely remove the hazing.

Conder101

Acetone is an organic solvent it tends to act as a degreaser which is why it works so well on the oils that leach out of the PVC flip. Toning, including the hazing often seen on proofs, is almost always in inorganic reaction directly with the metal. Acetone will not remove that toning. Remember thats specificly why we like acetone, it doesn't affect toning. There is sometimes also some water soluable crud found on coins that acetone will not dissolve.

dpoole

I'd never had enough courage and sustainted determination to go buy the stuff, and do all the experimenting with junk coins necessary to assure I wouldn't screw anything up when I tried it with a good coin. However, I had heard that a dip in acetone would take care of the haze you get on silver and modern clab proofs to restore the mirroring. I had wanted to get around to those some day.

Is this not true? How do you get the haze off the mirrored proofs?

nwcs

Is this not true? How do you get the haze off the mirrored proofs?

The only way is through a dip. Acetone does not react with metals and hazing is a metallic based reaction with the coin. Haze isn't from an organic origin so acetone has no effect on it. Acetone is good for PVC removal, and also things like tape residue, glue residue, paint, and even fingerprint grease if it's done quickly after handling a coin.

NBSQLGeek

What is a dip? What chemical? Beer, water, motor oil?

nwcs

Dip is a general term for an acidic solution that strips away the surface of a coin to reveal fresh metal underneath. In very light doses, it can be good for conserving a coin but will destroy a coin if done improperly or if overdone. Here is PCGS's definition:

A term applied to a coin that has been placed in a commercial "dip" solution, a mild acid wash that removes the toning from most coins. Some dip solutions employ other chemicals, such as bases, to accomplish a similar result. The first few layers of metal are removed with every dip, so coins repeatedly dipped will lose luster, hence the term "overdipped".

Link

NBSQLGeek

Oh something like "ez-dip" "ms-70"

shirohniichan

MS-70 is not a dipping solution. A dipping solution would be something like EZ Dip. It may be best to dilute dipping products with purified water in a wide-mouth jar. Acetone can be used as a final rinse to get any dip residue off.

richbeat

Tip for anyone not familiar with acetone: use in a well ventilated area. Acetone is highly flammable!

mr1931S

the acetone you can buy at Walmart is not C.P...Only chemically pure acetone should probably be used on high dollar coins...

nwcs

I only buy the 100% pure acetone at Walmart.

Gilbert

Thiourea is an ingredient in some dipping solutions

You DO NOT want to use this on copper, unless you want to turn it orange, which, the last time I checked is NOT an acceptable designation and will most likely guarantee a bodybag.

mr1931S

i bought a pint of nitric acid a few years ago...cost me $25!?

Walmart acetone,if 100%,should be just fine for immersing SVDB's in to see if the mintmark stays on...C.P. acetone is probably right up there in price with the C.P. nitric...

one probably ought to take the SVDB out of the slab before immersion in acetone,Walmart or otherwise,however...

nwcs

Walmart's 100% pure acetone doesn't cost that much thankfully!

Conder101

<< <i>. Acetone can be used as a final rinse to get any dip residue off. >>



I would use water, preferably distilled water, and plenty of it to remove the dip residue. Then a quick rinse with the acetone to remove the water.

crito

E-Z-est is sulphuric acid and thiourea diluted with water (the new bottles are even more diluted than the old ones). Thiourea is used to prevent oxidation when the coin is removed from the dip. Some plastic residue does appear white, I'm guessing it's not PVC though. But in general, acetone will not remove haze. In fact, if you rinse with it, instead of submersing the coin, you might even add some haze (it picks up pollutants in the air quite easily).