ACETONE - before and after pics of my Crackout icon - *more pics added*

Crackout

I thought I'd share the power of acetone on cleaning up this coin which obviously turned in the holder:







After the rinse:



And into the type set:

Darkmane

ive never seen such before/after pics and let me tell you... phew

looks a lot better and now i know what to look at!

JxnBoy

Yes, quite a difference indeed. Very nice after.

Did you know when you bought the coin that an acetone bath would clean up the filmy surface?

Crackout

Did you know when you bought the coin that an acetone bath would clean up the filmy surface?


I actually had the coin for quite awhile before I did this. But I had used acetone on other coins and was very confident of what the results would be. And I finally decided that this one was going in my Dansco 7070 because I wasn't going to sell like it was, and I couldn't stand to look at it in the holder any longer!

ms70

Nice results for an acetone bath! How long did you leave it in?

Crackout

How long did you leave it in?


Probably 30 minutes or so - I used a shallow, open glass container and that stuff evaporates pretty fast.

Bear

After the acetone bath, did you wash the coin with

alcohol or distilled water?

beep

Really like the coin after the bath. Yet, I think the coin had some nice character before and is an attractive coin before too.

Crackout

After the acetone bath, did you wash the coin



I think I dipped this coin in distilled water after the acetone and patted dry with a soft cloth. But unless it is a prooflike coin with mirrored fields, usually just acetone and that's it.

clackamas

<< <i>After the acetone bath, did you wash the coin



I think I dipped this coin in distilled water after the acetone and patted dry with a soft cloth. But unless it is a prooflike coin with mirrored fields, usually just acetone and that's it. >>



I wash them under warm water for half a minute or so. We have great water inOR so there is no need for distilled, but you do need to wash them for a little longer. Nce results. You should send it in just for kicks to see what it would grade now. No dip, just acetone, that is as kosher as it gets.

KurtHorn

How come the "after" coin seemingly has much more detail and different looks to the fields? Detail on the feather of the wings, eagles neck, the word IN, banner detail of LIBERTY, the flags above Liberty, the upper window in the building, her breast, and most pronounced the folds of the skirt across her leg and knee appear flat in the original but now have detail on the acetoned coin...

I have to tell you, and it may be due to the differences in the pics, or the fact that I'm up typing this at 4:44am because I can't sleep, but this does not look like the same coin to me. It seems like a different strike to me.

Unless the coin in the clacker had a lot of PVC... I've never seen this kind of change merely from an acetone bath. If I'm wrong, I hope that our friends here on this board will tell me because I've have some cracking and acetoneing to do!

arlea1957

Nice pic, big difference. I am now thinking of doing this to a morgan that I have that was in a sterling silver money clip to get rid of the rings and discoloration..just wondering how it would affect the value + or - or neutral?

stev32k

I've seen some pretty amazing changes most are good, but not all. I've had two coins that showed up with scratches and nicks that were not noticeable before acetone treatment. I guess the haze or surface dirt had filled them in and when the acetone removed all the crud the marks were plainly visible.

GAT

Would PCGS regrade the coin or BB it for environmental damage because of the marks above the eagle's head and wing?

nwcs

Must not have been turning but rather developed some kind of film. Otherwise acetone would not have had an effect. Still, looks great!!

cartwheel

That's a rather startling transformation, but congrats! I have a 1903-O Morgan I bought raw that had PVC developing; after a good soak in acetone, it now resides in a PCGS MS64 holder. By the way, when dipping in acetone, I remove the coin from the acetone and just let it air dry. Had great results so far! You will want to be sure and use a covered container, too, so it doesn't evaporate. And use it with adequate ventilation. And use rubber gloves. And don't smoke around it. Etc.

Cartwheel

greghansen

That's a dramatic improvement. Looks like you have a good eye for the types of surfaces that can be saved with an acetone bath. Good work.

Shamika

Wow, I would never have imagined acetone would do so much. There must have been some sort of organic film deposited on the coin.

mercurydimeguy

That acetone must be on steroids -- the high powered stuff. The results are almost disbelievable.

I have a few with film like that (although not that bad -- you can see nice luster underneath). Maybe I'll get the heavy duty wire cutters out tonight, goggles, some acetone and get crackin

skerke

OK now I'm confused....

Acetone is not dipping - than what is "dipping" just acid?

Is using a simple jewlers cleanig (ammonia) considered dipping?


Skerke

PerryHall

One dealer I know swears by "sudsy ammonia" for cleaning dirty gold while another swears by lemon juice. Probably not too harmful if done without rubbing the surface.

JxnBoy

Would PCGS regrade the coin or BB it for environmental damage because of the marks above the eagle's head and wing?

Since it’s out of the holder all bets are off. Doesn’t really look like environmental damage to me as much as toning or light staining on the surface. I can’t see why it wouldn’t grade if the coin wasn’t wiped, and it looks a lot better after the acetone dip.

Acetone is not dipping - than what is "dipping" just acid?

When people refer to “dipping” a coin, they’re talking about dipping in some type of acidic solution, e.g. Jeweluster, E-Z-est, which strips a microscopic layer from the metal. You’re changing the surface of the coin forever. It removes toning, spotting, etc. but changes the coin from its mint state. Can it be detected? Usually not if done well, but shiny 19th silver just doesn’t make a whole lot of sense, and many collectors like an “original” look, but just as many like them shiny and lustrous, hence the tradition of dipping.

Acetone only eats away at contaminants on a coin and does not affect the coin’s surface. Although there’s a lot of debate on these boards as to what is “cleaning” or “doctoring” or “curating,” my opinion is that acetone is not doctoring or cleaning.

Acetone is completely necessary for any coins with a PVC haze to prevent further damage to the surface of the coin.

…"sudsy ammonia" for cleaning dirty gold while another swears by lemon juice.

Lemon juice, Tabasco sauce, Taco Bell hot sauce, Ketchup, whatever, is going to have some type of acidic origin. This will affect the surface of the coin. I wouldn’t use ammonia or lemon juice on any coin I care about. Especially on copper. Those two will react, changing the surface of the coin.

Crackout

KurtHorn - I don't think the PVC was particularly "thick" to fill in crevices on the coin. But it is so dull and I think it absorbs alot of the reflective light that would normally bounce off lusterous surfaces - thus "eliminating" some detail - JMHO.

And I did not dip this - just the acetone.

I also believe that the marks above the eagle appear more like staining, even though they are kinda rust colored. They were most likely there when the coin was graded the first time and it didn't get a bodybag. But I agree that all bets are off if it was re-submitted.