I may have posted this hack before but I had a graphic example today while photographing a new coin. This 1833 Capped Bust Half Dime (PCGS AU-50, LM-2, Rarity 6) has a vertical slab scratch right across Miss Liberty that I could not see with the naked eye but which appeared glaringly in the first photo. Dabbed a teeny bit of Hunter fan oil on it and voila! The scratch disappeared in the second photo. The scratch doesn't go away, the oil just prevents the light from reflecting from the angled surfaces of the scratch. Any light, white/clear mineral oil will do. Just use as little as possible. The reverse is shown as well, just because.
That's a cool hack.... Years ago when I finally reached a place in life where I could start getting some of the nicer coins that I dreamed of my whole life, I bought an 1801 large cent 100/000.... It was one of those kid dream coins for me. I was so excited when my dealer got it in... I went to go pick the coin up and he tells me, that I will have to wait. He just couldn't let me have that coin with the slab so horribly scratched up and he would have it re-slabbed for me.... Well, I couldn't stand the wait so I told him I would take it scratched, and buddy it was seriously scratched up... I picked up a bottle of lens restorer from the parts house. Thirty minutes of elbow grease later and that slab looked better than it did when it left PCGS.
While WD-40 and many other compounds would accomplish the same thing on a slab scratch, I wouldn't recommend anything that is adulterated with many other chemicals. Penetrating oils like WD-40 are loaded with chemicals.
I picked this idea up from Spud on the CU forum. He has been using Ritchie Compass Fluid. Use an eye dropper or syringe to put a dab or two on the scratched slab. It’s dissolves if left, but is easy to wipe off. I found an old scratched NGC slab covered with a few scratches and put on enough to cover the slab. Pay no mind to the ugly Lincoln under the scratches. The difference is fairly dramatic. Before After
Is this a temporary fix for only the photo taking, or do you rub this in using like a microfiber, wipe away, and it removes the scratches permanently?
I will be trying this method soon. What did you use to rub it in? Microfiber cloth? Did you use hand power only, or any sort of tool?
I used an old cotton tee shirt. I banned microfiber cloths from my life after I slowly ruined a $200.00 pair of glasses and discovered micro scratches in the paint on my old show car attributable to microfiber cloths……. I just repeatedly put small dabs on the tee shirt and rubbed and rubbed until the polish was dry… another dab and repeat over and over….. Takes a bit of time and some elbow grease. The only caution is that the polish will dissolve the TPG hologram on the reverse of the slab so don’t let that stuff touch the hologram. Found that one out the hard way.
No, just temporary. As soon as the photos are done wipe the fluid or what’s left off. It cleans off easily…..leaves no residue or mess. It doesn’t do anything to physically eliminate scratches, just covers them making them invisible until you wipe it off. As a rule I don’t use it. Most slabs can be cleaned good enough with PlastX and a microfiber cloth. One glaring exception are the NGC slabs. Whenever I try buffing scratches from these I end up creating more than I take off. This compass fluid hits the target. Here is a screen shot of Spud talking about its properties.
Hey, I resemble that remark! Update - I'm still following Spud's advice from the quoted thread with the Ritchie compass oil. Easier cleanup than the mineral oil I started with, as compass oil drains/dries fast and doesn't etch or mar the plastic slab. Same beneficial effects. But if you've got a blemished coin that you want to make look better, you can borrow that ageless trick from Sears fashion photographers: smear a little Vaseline on the lens for that soft 80's glamour shot focus. Kinda like they're using on PlentyOfFish...
