Im sure this question has been asked a million time, but What is the best way to remove PVC's from a coin?
I believe the most commonly recommended solution I've read here would be a soak in 100% acetone. You can buy it at Wal-Mart in the makeup section.
Try any hardware store for 100% acetone. In the makeup section, you'll get nail polish remover, DO NOT USE IT ON YOUR COINS! It contains small amounts of acetone and has many other chemicals that will damage your coins.
@rickmp - They (Wal-Mart) sell a bottle clearly marked "100% Pure Acetone" - but not all hardware stores I've been to will sell acetone. Some will sell Xylene, as has also been recommended... This is one of TWO items I buy at Wal-Mart (which I otherwise avoid) - the second is Peel n' Stick Hobby Foam, which I use to protect coins during shipping.
I'm sure WalMart sells that, but certainly not in the beauty aids aisle. 100% acetone is not healthy for skin or nails or lungs.
So is there a procedure? Do I just dip it/soak it? I assume I don't want to rub it. And will this hurt the grade?
Make-up section? I don't think the acetone in the make-up section is full strength. Try the paint department. Chris
This stuff should work. An easy way to test it for purity is to leave a small amount out in a loosely covered, clean, glass container and wait for it to evaporate. Then, check the bottom of the container for any greasy residue. There should be none. This brand contains only acetone and a very tiny amount (on the order of a few ppm) of a bittering agent (denatonium benzoate, the most bitter substance known to man) to guard against it being accidentally ingested. You're never going to get 100% reagent grade acetone outside of a chem lab, and acetone will absorb water from the air anyway, but the lack of any residue indicates a lack of organic contaminants that will end up on your coin after the solvents are removed. Once you have your acetone, soaking the coin in the liquid then rinsing with distilled water should do it. Make sure to specifically use distilled water (available from the grocery store most likely), as pretty much any other type of water contains minerals and possibly other stuff you don't want ending up on your coins. To dry the coin, you can either air dry or place it on a soft cloth towel (without rubbing), then pick it up and replace it on the towel in a dry location with the other side down. I think this is safe, but air drying after exposure to distilled water seems safer. Acetone will not affect the grade of the coin. You've already got a damaged coin and properly removing PVC residue can only help the situation.
I use straight acetone I soak em for a few hours or overnight in a glass jar use glass as acetone dissolve many plastics. Then I just rinse under the faucet. Gets rid of grease and organic matter too without touching toning and surfaces. All I've soaked graded clean many cac approved to I buy acetone by the gallon at the hardware store I use it a lot for my work too tho
An alternative to acetone is Xylene (Xylol). I only collect early copper, however, so you'd have to ask those that have used both if it's better/worse than acetone.
This stuff? It has other ingredients. ONXY Professional 100% Acetone 16 oz. ONYX-Professional-100-Pure-Acetone-8 oz. Ingredients: Acetone, Denatonium Benzoate. Acetone is very harsh on skin and nails, and women's bodies pay heavily for it. That's why it also comes in diluted and "hydrating formulas" to nurish that which its stripping away from one's body. Many make-up section acetone or nail polish removers contain colorants as well. Buy your acetone in a hardware section or store. AND buy a respirator mask to protect your lungs, as well as proper gloves to use while handling the stuff. Be careful of disposing of acetone. Do not pour it down your drain, especially if you have PVC pipes! Acetone and Xylene are VERY toxic to health and environment. Use with caution and under very good ventilation. Just because spills evaporate, doesn't mean the gases have gone away. They are in the air and taken in to the body, absorbed by skin and CAN and DO cause health problems... DESPITE all the tough talk that some will surely rebuke such comments with.
[/QUOTE] Acetone and Xylene are VERY toxic to health and environment. Use with caution and under very good ventilation. Just because spills evaporate, doesn't mean the gases have gone away. They are in the air and taken in to the body, absorbed by skin and CAN and DO cause health problems... DESPITE all the tough talk that some will surely rebuke such comments with.[/QUOTE] Agreed. Xylene especially needs to be done in a well ventilated area (I've never used Acetone). Generally, I do it in my garage with the doors open, and it's still powerful. One good thing about Xylene is that evaporates quickly, so cleanup is not much of a chore.
For proper clean up, one should be very careful with placing rags or other materials (newsprint, etc.) in a fire safe trash can as it can be combustible. Things which came in contact with these chemicals should not be used for other chemicals or for eating/drinking from, and should be washed thoroughly... this goes for both Acetone and Xylene.
When it comes to that, 100% water isn't healthy for the lungs, if you inhale too much of it. Acetone is one of the very safest organic solvents you can find; as long as you don't inhale the concentrated vapors, drink it, or ignite it, you will be perfectly safe. Yes, it can "dry" your skin -- it can dissolve the oils from your skin, leading to cracking and itching. I try not to get it on my skin for that reason, but I don't panic if I get it on me. A simple mask won't do a darn thing to abate acetone vapors; you'd need one with a charcoal filter. But again, infrequent exposure at low levels just isn't worth worrying about. Acetone dissolves some common glove materials. Plain rubber or latex gloves hold up okay, but nitrile gloves don't. Don't take my word for it; look up the MSDS for acetone, and for grins, compare it to the sheets for grain alcohol (slightly less hazardous), or paint thinner (way worse), or gasoline (don't even think about it). Yes, you'll be safe if you never, ever let acetone near your home or loved ones. But it rubs me the wrong way when people make exaggerated claims about the risks of relatively benign chemicals. I'd hate to see someone use something much more dangerous -- to their health, or to their coins -- because they're scared of acetone. Disclaimer: -jeffB received no compensation from Big Acetone for this message. -jeffB has a small long position in acetone (maybe two-thirds of a quart), but does not own any stock in acetone manufacturers or resellers.
@-jeffB epitomizes my earlier comment about tough talking rebukes. Don't say I didn't tell you so. Someone ALWAYS chimes in like this. To be clear, I never said NOT to use Acetone or Xylene. The only thing to protect you when using hazardous materials, is intelligence. You can and should use these materials, properly and intelligently. Don't be stupid and don't underestimate the damage they can and DO do. Your health and safety are worth more than your coins. I point this out not to admonish -jeffB, but to properly advise the less well versed and experienced, such as the OP. ACETONE MSDS
For completeness, we should note that rags and newsprint are also combustible when they aren't soaked with acetone. Acetone will evaporate very quickly from these materials, but until it does, yes, they're very easy to ignite. Also, since it evaporates quickly from them, it'll make for a higher concentration of vapor (much higher than just an evaporating bowl of it), increasing the risk of ignition or narcosis. Don't just put them in a fire-safe trash can; put them outside in a fire-safe trash can. Acetone vapor, like most flammable vapors, is heavier than air. So if you've got acetone-soaked rags, the vapor can creep across the floor, and if it finds an ignition source, fire will flash back along its path. This ignition source could be a refrigerator motor, or a pilot light on an appliance, or a static spark. One thing acetone won't do is start a spontaneous fire like oil-soaked rags. Rags soaked with some vegetable oils will slowly oxidize over time, building up heat, sometimes enough to start a fire. My in-laws had a serious garage fire start this way. Acetone and xylene won't heat up on their own when exposed to air; they need an ignition source.
I usually take my used rags of acetone oil and other stuff and throw em in the woodstove instant disposal. I usually let acetone evaporate a bit tho so is less volitile
Is best used outdoors tho the heat and air cause it to evaporate quicker. For coins I use a glass jar with a lid and soak em. As to rags I don't use for cleaning coins as they can cause rubs and surface scratches. Just soak rinse and carefully pat dry to avoid water spots
I take exception to this. I "chime in" when people post bad information about certain topics. If I "always" do it, well, it must be because someone "always" posts information that is wrong and misleading. Saying that acetone is "VERY toxic to health and environment" just serves to trivialize the idea of toxicity. We've got a million organic solvents that are toxic, carcinogenic, persistent in the environment, damaging to the ozone layer, and on and on. We have a very few that are relatively benign. Acetone is one of them. Please don't steer people away from it, if there's a danger that they'll be steered toward one of the really bad ones. Feel free to have the last word here for tonight; I'm needed in bed.
