Acetone rinse

tmot99 · July 27, 2004 11:34PM

I've read on a couple of occassions on the forum that you can rinse silver with acetone. Some people have said they use a second rinse with alcohol.

1) Any recommendations as to how to do this or more importantly, what not to do?

2) What type of alcohol has produced the best results?

DanArgent · July 27, 2004 11:44PM

I know for silver jewelry acetone is used to take light oxidation off of a peice. It leaves a better lusture once chrome oxide polish is apllied then a highly diluted HCl rinse. I dont know if this is good for coins though.

Dan

tmot99 · July 27, 2004 11:54PM

I would never bring HCL within a mile of my coins. That woud certainly ruin them.

BAJJERFAN · July 28, 2004 12:05AM

Acetone will only remove those things which it can dissolve such as PVC and some oils and greases. It DOES NOT remove oxidation products or toning. It can also be used to remove water after a coin has been washed and rinse with preferably a distilled or demineralized water. Be advised that the rapid evaporation of acetone cools the coin's surfaces and and atmospheric water can condense on the surface, thus the coin is not absolutely dry. Further be advised that Walmart or Home Depot sources of acetone can contain traces of contaminants fron transport vehicles, transfer lines and filling equipment.
Alcohol such as Everclear or rubbing alcohol serves a purpose similar to acetone but does not always have the solvent power for oils and greases that acetone does.

Steve27 · July 28, 2004 12:58AM

1) Any recommendations as to how to do this or more importantly, what not to do?

Use in a welL ventilated area, and don't get it on anything made of plastic. It's as safe as water for your coins, and it evaporates rapidly, so there's no need to rinse it off.

2) What type of alcohol has produced the best results?

I like scotch, but that's for drinking, I wouldn't use alcohol on my coins (acetone is better).

nwcs · July 28, 2004 1:06AM

Acetone will not remove oxidation, only some surface contaminants.

Some rules:

1. Do not inhale or drink it
2. Use in well ventilated area
3. The rinse can be one or two stage depending on your preferences
4. Air dry (takes a few seconds up to a minute)

tmot99 · July 28, 2004 1:24AM

Thanks so far for the information. I hope to hear from other members as well. The reason I ask is I have a few coins with what appear to be water spots on them that I would like to get off. That's what I get from buying sets from large bulk companies advertising in Coin World.

I also have some really nice looking Washington quarters, some proof, some not, that have what appears to be incredible toning, but have a haze on them. I wanted to see if the haze was a film that could be removed. I would love to see the haze gone with the toning shining through.

1946Hamm · July 28, 2004 1:25AM

I thought I would relate this story to you. A few years ago, I bought a raw proof 1881 shield nickel off of eBay and when it arrived it had a large fingerprint covering one side. It was rather ugly. I wanted to send it to be slabbed but didn't want the fingerprint on it. I had heard about acetone but didn't know where to get some at the time. My son worked at a printing company and brought home some MEK ( methel ethel ketone) so I tried it. The fingerprint came off on the first rinse. I sent the coin to anacs and it slabbed as a pr-63. The fingerprint has not returned in the slab. I have used both acetone and MEK on other coins since and both work well. MEK is very agressive on PVC and seems to work faster and better than acetone. Acetone and MEK are very flammable and need to be used in a well ventilated area.

Has anyone else used MEK as a solvent ?

Myqqy · July 28, 2004 3:23AM

I have a few coins with what appear to be water spots
I wanted to see if the haze was a film that could be removed

I'm really just TTTing this, but it was my understanding that acetone wouldn't affect toning spots/milk spots or haze. These problems would require a commercial dip, yes??

Mercury · July 28, 2004 3:35AM

I would love to here an answer to this question as I recently open a mint roll of 63 Franklins with milk spots all over them. However, if you ingore the spots I beleive most would grade ms 64-66. I have been think about trying to remove the spots from a few, with several diffrent methods, just to see which would work better. But, I still have not done anything, I'm afraid of destroying them.

ss350camaro · July 28, 2004 3:36AM

MEK ( METHYL ETHYL KEYTONE) is highly flammable. It is also not good to get on your skin. It is easily absorbed thru the skin and attacks your Liver. Not good.

It's also an ingrediant in some Drug making 'recipies' and is usually not easily available to the general public. If you buy it in quantity (5 gallons or more) you generally get put on a list down at the local Police Dept.

I would stick with Acetone.

nwcs · July 28, 2004 3:40AM

Water spots on the planchet cannot be removed. Water spots that came after striking probably won't be removed even with a dip as the minerals in the water have likely etched into the coin surface.

ss350camaro · July 28, 2004 3:40AM

re: removing Milk Spots

I believe this question has been asked before and the general consensus was that they are not easily removed and, if successful, probably would affect the appearance of the coin in a negative way.

clackamas · July 28, 2004 3:41AM

Acetone is OK to use on coins to clean grime. I use a 3 part bath in different contianers (glass) of acetone since one the contaminants are removed they are dissolved in the acetone and when it dries it can put them right back on the coin. So use multiple baths of it.

XpipedreamR · July 28, 2004 3:49AM

If you're using the acetone on mirrored proofs, you will easily see the dissolved contaminants(already in the acetone) after the acetone evaporates. I have used isopropyl alcohol, the 90% stuff, to wash it off. The higher the percentage, the better. I wouldn't use denatured ethanol from the hardware store because of the same potential contamination problem (i.e. the specific denaturing agent, other organic crud). Maybe a high proof food grade ethanol like Everclear would work. I'd try the isopropyl, though.

Steve27 · July 28, 2004 4:11AM

"I'm really just TTTing this, but it was my understanding that acetone wouldn't affect toning spots/milk spots or haze. These problems would require a commercial dip, yes??"

No, milk spots are forever, learn to like them.

Shamika · July 28, 2004 4:45AM

<< <i>1) Any recommendations as to how to do this or more importantly, what not to do? >>

DON'T SMOKE!!!

Boom · July 28, 2004 5:34AM

I have many rolls that are original, both old and new. A lot of coins have what appears to be, well...almost like somebody sweat all over them - those kind of spots. I don't like chemicals at all. Is everyone saying just learn to live with this or does acetone remove this spotty looking stuff? Thanks.

JustMakesCents · July 28, 2004 5:48AM

One other question for the acetone users out there...

Do you wear any kind of protection for your hands? I figure since it is used as fingernail polish remover, that it was okay to retrieve my coins out of the acetone with my fingers? Anybody know why this might be bad? Haven't used it much, but don't want to start a bad habit!

Jeff

BAJJERFAN · July 28, 2004 5:59AM

Acetone will leach body oils etc from your pinkies and contminate itself otherwise its fairly harmless as far as skin contact goes I would use powder free latex gloves myself.
If you have coins with milk spots on them yu mite consider putting them in an ultrasonic bath in hot distilled water. Practice on a junker first.

theboz11 · July 28, 2004 6:11AM

I have used acetone and had no problems with not wearing gloves,Have used MEK for changing color on vinyl upholstry but not on coins,, very hazardous stuff and can kill you,, I am not sure about the spots but have had reasonably good luck with MS-70 on the white film on coins but it will remove toning as well if not used in moderation. Roll a q-tip across the coin,, do not rub.

Conder101 · July 28, 2004 1:01PM

If the spots are from improper rinsing of the planchets before striking forget it they are pretty much there for life. If they were caused after striking from water evaporating on the coins (truly water spots) then aetone will have no effect on them but you may have success with a soak in wark distilled water. (True water spots are the result of mineral deposits left after the water evaporates. The warm distilled water MAY redissolve the minerals and thus remove them. Sometimes the minerals will only dissolve in an acidic solution and that could be bad for the coin and could affect the toning.)

MEK is a great solvent but it is more toxic than acetone and I believe more expensive. I don't know if it is used in drug recipies or not.

Acetone on the other hand IS used in the production of Crystal Meth. Buying large quantities of it will also get you noticed by the cops. Our local Wal-Mart has signs up stating that because of it's use in drug production they will not sell more than five gallons per person per day.

fishcooker · July 28, 2004 1:14PM

I have heard that acetone is a mutual solvent, which means it provides a mechanism for other stuff to penetrate your skin along with the acetone. Rather than bother with figuring that is bad or not, I just wear a latex glove and be done with it.

bestbino · July 28, 2004 1:22PM

Rubbing Alcohol is Isopropyl Alcohol. Acetone is commonly found in everyday Fingernail Polish Remover.

HCL acid will surely eat your coin.

BAJJERFAN · July 28, 2004 1:23PM

Perhaps you have confused acetone with dimethylsulfoxide aka DMSO as a way to get thngs thru the skin. Drugs taken in this way are said to be administered transdermally. The nicotine patch is a common example tho I don't believe it involves the use of a solvent

Conder101 · July 28, 2004 10:25PM

No confusion, Acetone will do the same thing.

Acetone rinse

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