Using Acetone on coins...

MadMarty · February 12, 2005 11:45AM

Does acetone hurt coins? another board member was wondering but is afarid to ask...

hamiltonjh · February 12, 2005 11:47AM

I havnt tried yet, but lots of people have suggested I use it on some of my older Japanese coins. I intend to do it once I finally buy the stuff.

If it's done right, so I'm told, it's perfectly safe.

MadMarty · February 12, 2005 11:49AM

Also using it as the final stage, any problems??

hamiltonjh · February 12, 2005 11:52AM

you mean a final rinse?
I was told more than once to dip it in the acetone then give it a quick rinse with water, but the acetone dries FAST so sometimes a water rinse could leave spots.

bushmaster8 · February 12, 2005 12:03PM

Acetone works great on coins but you need to get some o'the good stuff. Hardware variety acetone has trace impurities in it that can hurt more than help. HPLC grade is what I recommend.

MadMarty... there have been lots of acetone threads on the boards, suggest you do a searcharoo....

Sequitur · February 12, 2005 12:05PM

Also using it as the final stage, any problems??

Yes, if the acetone is not totally pure. The mystery guest should search the forums using the word "acetone." There s/he will find several warnings about impure, Home-Depot type acetone leading to spotting or oily residue, especially with proof coins. And I saw it happen on some inexpensive modern proof coins I was experimenting with.

So either get the ultra pure stuff, or make sure distilled water is the final step.

DNADave · February 12, 2005 12:08PM

I recently used reagent grade acetone to dip some coins with a green residue. After about 2 minutes I saw no change whatsoever in the amount of PVC residue on the coin. Now what can I do?

bushmaster8 · February 12, 2005 12:09PM

BTW Russ, it's OK to ask yourself... there are no dumb questions.

bushmaster8 · February 12, 2005 12:11PM

Sometimes you have to soak them for a couple days if the PVC is old and heavy.

carl · February 12, 2005 9:18PM

Never tried acetone but have tried gasoline, fuel oil, baking soda with water, dish soap, household cleaners. But the best thing to use is the fluid you can get from a car battery. This works well with copper coins. It's basically H2SO4. It gets rid of all those worthless details like dates, faces, etc. I used to use HCL for the silver ones but is very difficult to aquire in high concentrations for a cheap price. Actually this is all a joke. Don't dip, clean, polish, wash coins.

ksteelheader · February 12, 2005 10:53PM

I have a spray bottle of alcohol that I use for a final rinsing of the coins after dipping in acetone. It works well because it can run off of the coin and carry away any impurities that were left after the dip.

MORGANHUNTER2 · February 12, 2005 11:01PM

I have a test piece Morgan(1904) that looks like it was in a fire or someone spilled paint on it- no idea, all I know is that I let it sit in pure acetone for 2 weeks and nothing moved the crap off of it. I then let it sit in xylene for a day- and it did start to break up the gunk. since I'm not an expert at 'conserving' coinage, I took it out of its xylene bath and put it in pure iso alcohol and thar she sits for a few more days before going into the distillery wash cycle of my baby fish tank( yard sales are a neat place to pick up silly items). I do have pics of the before the conserving process and am taking them as I go along- and I will do a little thingy here when I feel it is either complete or all efforts are exhausted- maybe in a week or 2. The coin will never be holdered or sold- it's a bent up ol broad but under the gunk I can see some good in it- its a shame the way it was taken care of- but it's mine now and I'm just a caretaker for its time- just like my scotties and kitties.

astrorat · February 12, 2005 11:45PM

If you are buying your acetone, isopropyl alcohol, etc. from a local department store, hardware store, or hobby shop you are probably buying a sovent with trace contaminants . . . regardless of how "pure" the label indicates (fine for household or garage use, however). You need to go to a chemical supply store or possibly a pharmacy and order HPLC grade (as mentioned by bushmaster8) and also realize that there are about four different purities of "HPLC grade' solvents. One other point . . . really pure solvents cost real money. Oh yeah, and don't forget the pure water.

Too many years of chasing a moving baseline at 210 nm!

Lane

nwcs · February 13, 2005 12:50AM

Acetone is an organic solvent. It won't alter metal. Of course, only 100% pure acetone should be used.

Bubblehead · February 13, 2005 1:25AM

I asked my pharmacist if he could obtain some of the "better" acetone for me. I didn't know to ask for "HPLC" but, at any rate, he told me to go to ACE.... He couldn't/wouldn't bother with it..

MacCrimmon · February 13, 2005 1:46AM

$38.38 per liter plus shipping

VENTILATE! VENTILATE! VENTILATE! Your liver will thank you.

Bubblehead · February 13, 2005 2:14AM

COOL!

For another $11 and change, a guy could order FOUR litres!

astrorat · February 13, 2005 2:51AM

Remember, shipping acetone is NOT cheap.

I have never heard of Brainerd, we always used VWR-SP (or Fisher Scientific) as a distributor of multiple brands.

Below are two quality brands through VWR-SP (if you, as an individual, are allowed to make a purchase). Most chemical supply houses (and pharmacies as well) should have access to purchasing this quality of acetone.

JT Baker
EM Science

Anything above that level of purity makes little sense for numismatic use (unless you care as to what level the sovent absorbs UV light below 200 nm . . . such as for ultralow wavelength HPLC analysis).

Note: Use in a well-ventilated area far removed from an open flame or live wiring or heat lamp. You should really only use these types of volatile organic solvents in properly working fume hood. Anything else is just plain stupid and dangerous . . . and perhaps even worthy of a Darwin award.

Lane

Russ · February 13, 2005 3:32AM

Using acetone can be rather nerve racking so to calm myself I always light up a cigarette while I'm doing my dipping.

Russ, NCNE

CarlWohlforth · February 13, 2005 3:44AM

We used acetone to clean ink and grease off metal rollers in printing presses way back when I used to work in that industry. There was a different solvent that looks the same but is used for rubber rollers. So we had to figure out how to tell them apart. A good sniff would always work. We usually had numerous small paper cuts on our fingers so dipping fingers into them also worked. The acetone was colder and hurt more. I guess it evaporated quicker. I'm sure we bought the cheapest stuff there was as we bought it in 55 gallon drums. And yes, we smoked while using it, at least I did.

Sigh, I have fond memories of the bad old days

XXX · February 13, 2005 4:03AM

<< <i>Using acetone can be rather nerve racking so to calm myself I always light up a cigarette while I'm doing my dipping.

Russ, NCNE >>

Takes Russ's advice, these chemical operations ARE NERVE RACKING. I prefer to get about half crocked, say maybe eight or nine beers worth, Light up a cigarette off the stove next to where I any doing my chemical work.

It is very convenient to do so next to the stove, so you aren't having to search for a lighter during this operation. Some times I may smoke several cigarettes during a acetone cleaning session.

Take his advise........it is coming from a chemical expert and a fine coin collector.

Thanks Russ, I am going to do a soaking today and this thread has reminded me to go out and get a pack of cigarettes.....I would have probally forgotten that most important step. Keep up the good work.

MORGANHUNTER2 · February 13, 2005 4:09AM

You have all turned this into a rather silly joke- acetone and fire - does equal stupid and possibly death.
I for one prefer to do it in my gargae in the dead of winter when it is near freezing, fire up the kerosene heater so I won't be to cold, crank up some Jimmy Hendrix on the age old 8 track player and begin my experiments on getting ther gunk off my old morgan.

But seeing how I am in Houston and it has not froze here that much I just fire up the proane powered A/C and do it to Hendrix on a CD. with lots of flourescent lighting and bare wires( I need to fix that one day).

XXX · February 13, 2005 4:25AM

<< <i>You have all turned this into a rather silly joke- acetone and fire - does equal stupid and possibly death.
I for one prefer to do it in my gargae in the dead of winter when it is near freezing, fire up the kerosene heater so I won't be to cold, crank up some Jimmy Hendrix on the age old 8 track player and begin my experiments on getting ther gunk off my old morgan.

But seeing how I am in Houston and it has not froze here that much I just fire up the proane powered A/C and do it to Hendrix on a CD. with lots of flourescent lighting and bare wires( I need to fix that one day). >>

Acutally Hendrix is good but, I prefer Kidd Rock. But usually when I am trying to AT acoin with a propane torch then immediatly givuing that hot coin a cooling acetone bath. I never do it in the garage because of the problem with dust conamination and I would prefer the neighbors not seeing me while being intoxicated. Just my spin on doing it in the garage.

SERIOUSLY FOLKS.............Acetone and fire are not to be taken lightly.

bushmaster8 · February 13, 2005 5:01AM

Remember Johnny Cochran's infamous words:

" If it don't ignite, somefin' ain't right."

majorbigtime · February 13, 2005 5:07AM

I know a local dealer who uses acetone. He 'washed" some Australian silver proofs that were hazy for me a few years ago and they are haze free and doing fine!

CarlWohlforth · February 13, 2005 5:46AM

I'm sorry to say my report wasn't a joke. That really was how things went down when I worked on a printing press. Some folks used it to wash the ink off their hands and arms. The chemicals and noise were two main reasons I went back to school to finish my degree...

Using Acetone on coins...

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