Acetone on proofs

L

I received my Marine commemorative & it looked perfect except for a smudged fingerprint. I thought I would try acetone & it removed the fingerprint, but now with a glass I can see spots & residue from the acetone. I did the second bath in clean acetone but no different. My question is; Is there a "coin grade" acetone that wouldn't leave any residue? Thanks for your help.

57cameonut

i suspect thats residue from the print.

MrSpud

There is pure reagent grade acetone available from chemical supply companies that is guaranted to be very very pure, but it is expensive and hard to get hold of. If you get regular acetone in a hardware store, even though it says it is pure, it may or may not contain a small amount of impurities that can leave a hazy residue. If you put a few drops on a flat mirror and let it evaporate you can see whether or not it will leave a visible residue. Also, If you carefully lay a coin on a pure clean cotton cloth right after you take it out of the acetone, the majority of the liquid will immediately absorb into the cotton and further reduce the chances of leaving residue on the coin. Just carefully lay it on the cotton cloth for a second and then turn it over on a dry spot on the cloth and let it sit for a couple of minutes until all of the acetone is evaporated. Just be careful not to slide the coin so as to avoid hairlining it from friction on the cloth. Also be sure to use 100% cotton cloth and not synthetic materials like polyester which will be dissolved by the acetone making a sticky mess all over the coin.

L

Thanks, I'll give that a try!