Options
How long acetone PVC preventive only?
Early_Milled_Latin_America
Posts: 6,451 ✭✭✭✭✭
I think I am over doing it I do baths for a few hours on each side. Is 30-60 seconds enough (each side fresh acetone) or does it really need a lot longer?
0
Comments
You might need 10 minutes or so for heavy PVC deposits. Soaking for hours at a time is definitely overdoing it. Let the look of the coin be your guide; if the visible film is gone, you're done.
If you use a nylon mesh sling or basket, you can easily dunk the whole coin in acetone and not have to do one side at a time.
There is no visible PVC I just acetone all my new coins to makes sure they are PVC free. That is why I thought maybe 30 seconds is enough. If it for sure has PVC then I would do 10-20 minutes.
Yeah, if you're just going it as a precaution and don't see any residue, I'd keep it short.
Thanks I will just do 30 seconds with these type of coins. It is for precaution 99% of the time (in my case).
So what do I do just put acetone in a glass bowl and swirl it around a bit on each side then rinse the coin off then let dry?
rinse too
Can I just rinse it off in a glass bowl in that contains fresh water? And let dry on good quality paper towels?
wash some high %age alcohol over it, then water
Doesn't have to be glass; some plastics are also safe with acetone. I use a polypropylene container for acetone.
Distilled water and microfiber cloths.
If you don't have PVC on the coins then what are you doing this for?
In honor of the memory of Cpl. Michael E. Thompson
Preventive when I purchase new coins I just have a habit of doing this over the past few years. I never know what they were stored in and just want to prevent PVC if any is on the surface (that I cannot yet see).
Why use water which may or may not be pure when you can use pure acetone for a final rinse? It will quickly evaporate from the coin's surfaces. If you are concerned about the purity of your acetone, put a drop on a clean mirror or glass surface and see if anything is left behind after it evaporates.
Worry is the interest you pay on a debt you may not owe.
"Paper money eventually returns to its intrinsic value---zero."----Voltaire
"Everything you say should be true, but not everything true should be said."----Voltaire
How often do you replace the acetone? Do you use new acetone for each batch pf coins? It is possible you are spreading low levels of pvc of you use same acetone dish on hundreds of coins.
You can also just rinse with fresh acetone. There's no need to rinse with water as long as it is pure acetone. It will dry in seconds and leaves no residue
Did you read my post two posts before your post?
Worry is the interest you pay on a debt you may not owe.
"Paper money eventually returns to its intrinsic value---zero."----Voltaire
"Everything you say should be true, but not everything true should be said."----Voltaire
I dip all my Red Lincons in acetone every few months. It is silly to rinse them with water after the acetone!
Blow them dry with a hair dryer. I don't rub them with a cloth of any kind.
I once found my Mercury Dime and Jefferson set to be in the early stages of PVC housed in those albums that turned after a few years. My dealer friend told me to take each coin and gently roll acetone soaked Q tip over each coin. It seemed to pick up the PVC as the Q tip turned green (thus needing to use another Q tip for each coin). I did this 20+ years ago and the sets are just fine, they would not be if I hadn't done this.. They are nice VF's or better with the Dime set.
Louis Armstrong
I just think I just remembered, I think the bad albums were "Coinmaster"?
Louis Armstrong
Always new acetone and I use fresh acetone to clean the dish afterwards as well then rinse with water. It would be flushed out when I clean them after each use. I use fresh acetone when I turn the coin over as well so new acetone on each side.
I do not think anyone uses new containers for each coin they do an acetone bath. I also clean them from time to time when doing my dishes (always first).
And I check on my coin twice a year. Never had an issue. After 1-2 years I no longer check on them that is more than enough time to know PVC is no longer an issue and they are all in Mylar holders.
I never buy coins with visible PVC. I had 1 or 2 coins that had a bit of PVC and that was years ago and I threw out that bowl long ago not because of the acetone use but because it was an old bowl of no use anymore (I got new ones that I still own). I use acetone as a preventive 99% of the time.
Not until after I posted. Does my agreeing with you make you uncomfortable? 😉
Where are you storing the Lincolns that they get dirty every few months?
You do realize that you risk contamination with the hair dryer unless you filter the air?
I use acetone on most coins I remove from Dansco albums. A quick bath will knock off any cardboard dust on the coins before they go into a new holder.
I know where you are coming from. I never used to worry.
I worry more now about fingerprints.
I have had a few develop prints over time that could have been prevented with a rinse.
Never know if someone packs your coin while eating wings.
In albums.
I've been doing this for decades. It's like washing a car to keep it clean. I did hairline some Proofs when I first started doing this. No problems now that I know what I'm doing. Nevertheless, I suppose I will hairline a coin sometime in the future - only a few members here are "perfect."
PS I hope you haven't scared anyone with that humorous comment about my hairdryer. I'll bet it's safer than the compressed air mist coming from the "filtered" compressors at the TPGS.
A few seconds is all that is needed if no PVC. Just let it sit for a few seconds and then dribble acetone from the bottle over both sides. I usually just hold and wave around in the air for 30 seconds to let the acetone evaporate.
I use acetone on all raw coins I get except bullion. Takes off the oils of someone before me mishandling it.
bob
I'm not kidding about the hair dryer. You've got a heat source in an uncontrolled environment. It would be very easy to get dust or dirt airborne and deposit onto the coin. Your hair dryer is not filtered.
I absolutely hope that I have prevented someone from using a hair dryer.
Reminds me of a guy I know who used a gas power leaf blower to dry off his car after a wash only to have two-cycle oil spots every where.
We'll have to disagree. It should be very interesting to do a study about how much a raw coin is affected by sitting in a Dansco, being fondled by a collector, laying on a velvet pad, being sprayed before encapsulation, and being treated with hot air dryer in a bathroom. Then we might better understand any "over-thought- nothingburgers" such as always handling coins with cotton gloves like a guy in our coin club.
PS Since you don't approve of hair dryers and I've been using them for decades with no discernable harm to my coins including Brilliant Red Proofs, I suspect that this might be the only case where due to my vast experience with hair dryers on my body, hair, and coins that I am more of an authority than you.
Thank me very much.
Lol. I didn't say it was LIKELY, just possible. A hot hair dryer is not a source of clean air. It's just kind of ironic since you are constantly cleaning the coins. I would expect active that concerned with dirt to only use ultra clean air.
Have you considered that if you didn't use the dryer you wouldn't need to constantly clean them? 😀
Lol. A leaf blower would be worse than a hair dryer.
No. The coins are not dirty. However, Red copper is highly susceptible to the atmosphere. The surface IS NOT SET with the patina that comes with a RB coin. So, I consider it to be preventative maintenance as many of my coins are not protected in slabs. If I ran a TPGS, all coins would be run through a degreaser tank just before slabbing. Unfortunately, this would remove the "skin" on many coins so it could never be done.
Hopefully, he will not try to remove the spots off the pain job with acetone. Don't car wash services blow the car dry with "contaminated" hot air?