Does anyone here use an ultrasonic coin cleaner?

longtimecollector

Stopped at a dealer today and watched while he tossed a cuppla unc but grungy silver washingtons in his ultrasonic cleaner...... honestly......... they came out very nice........... Anyone else heard of such a thing???? pros ??? cons ????

tsacch

i know not about it....do tell more people

coinbuf

I gave my wife a small one to clean her jewlery with, bought it from the sharper image for $60 or so. I've tried it with almost every kind of coin and the results are pretty good. It takes the grime and dirt off but has'nt changed the toning or surface on any.

Chris

Rob790

I have one but have never tried it on my coins. It's used a lot in the jewlery business. It usually removed grim and dirt, won't do anything for milk spots or any type of chemically attacked surfaces. Most of my coins are uncirculated so never tried it out but it would probably do an ok job if I ever get a grimy coin.

It requires a special fluid and works by causing 'cavitation' to occur in the fluid. Cavitation means that it basically causes bubbles to form and these bubbles pop off the grim from the surfaces in the fluid.

They are developing special ultrasonic washing machines in Japan that don't require detergent. Personally, I like the smell of freshly washed clothes.

majorbigtime

In adddition to ultrasonic, I've heard of folks who use Water-Pik type pressure washers. Anyone have any experience with these?

Rob790

I have used the water pic and it works well. Especially with hot/warm water. It is a good way to degrease coins without 'chemicals'. It is also gentle enough not to damage delicate proof surfaces. I like it best for 'cleaning' coins cause of the low risk of damaging them. If the pic can't remove it, it stays.

grip

Try the car wash hose,and make sure you have a good grip on the coin,works well,and recomend
wearing gloves,the pressure is extremly strong.
Al

BigE

The sharper image ones say to use a little ammonia, does this hurt copper?-------------BigE

kieferscoins

I call the local fire dept. and they bring their Engine over to my house. I tie myself to a tree and hold the coin out while they blast me with the fire hose. It has great results. You don't have to even take a shower for a week afterwards

Cameron Kiefer

BigE

It's good you keep the Tree protected--------BigE

SilverDollarMan

Do u have 2 scrape ur skin off the tree?

nwcs

Ultrasonic cleaning is harsh cleaning a coin. Destroys the surface.

ormandh

How is it harsh for the coin? Please, explain. -Dan

DesertRat

I've heard of people using Efferdent denture cleaning tablets to clean jewelry. Wonder what it would do for a coin?

Cratylus

I've not tried ULTRAsonic, but I have tried using really loud, harsh language. I scream at my coins all the time to look better. My results have been less than spectacular with this method. ;-)

nwcs

It's harsh because first it causes vibrations. This likely will cause the coin to rub against a side of the cleaning device or whatever is used to hold the coin. And depending on what is used as the cleaning solution, the vibration of the cleaning solution against the coin is also harsh.

Rob790

If you use a plastic container to hold a single coin in it, there is no way that the vibrations can damage the coin. Also, if the cleaning solution is not caustic to the coin, it will not damage the coin either. The cleaning is done by bubbles and not particulates in the solution so there is no way it can damage a coin's surface. Ultrasonic cleaning is a very gentle method of cleaning, which is one of the reasons it has some popularity. It is only intended to remove verdigris from the surface with bubbles. No damage will occur if done properly.

bass

anybody cleaned a coin with ultrasonic and got it thru PCGS
Thx
Sam

nwcs

Of course if it does take off material from the coin that was on it wouldn't that same material be more likely to bump up against the coin during the cleaning process?

magikbilly

Lemme see what I have read about in the past day for "cleaning" coins...potato, waterpik, ultrasonic, salt, unknown jewelry dips, denture-cleaning tablets and a lot of other suggestions......is it me or are these methods way too obvious and gentle?

Billy

kieferscoins

I think you should just leave the coin alone or let the experts (like NCS) do it.

Cameron Kiefer

magikbilly

<< <i>I think you should just leave the coin alone or let the experts (like NCS) do it. >>



Exactly!

Billy

ormandh

For a $10 or $20 coin. How much they going to charge? For higher end stuff it may be worth it, but for a small time collector who relies on cheaper pieces to fill a collection it seems a little too expensive to do. Any insight from someone who knows please tell. -Dan

bruma

Anyone who has seen a boat propeller eaten away at the base of the vanes knows the destructive power of cavitation. It may take a long time, even a very long time, but ultrasonic can be dangerous.............Bruce

BigE

<<I think you should just leave the coin alone or let the experts (like NCS) do it.>>---------Why so NCS can use their ultrasonic on it-------------------------------BigE

PTVETTER

for those hard to clean coins try a high speed wire wheel or grinder leave it there long enough and the dirt and coin will disappear therefore no more problem.

ormandh

Ya think?!