Is 99.5% acetone good enough?

Looks like it's working well - lots of crud removed.

 

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This.

No rubbing, please. All you'll be doing is moving the grit around.

 

Okay, I figured that was the answer. I just worry that two days of soaking isn't going to get it all off. I might have to leave the older stuff in a jar for a longer period of time.

 

If it hasn't come off in a day or so it probably won't come off. And that's a good thing. Remember what you're trying to do is remove the organic stuff that would attack the surface of the coin. You're not trying to remove the patina that occurred during circulation. That's the coin's badge of honor: it shows that it did its job.

 

Agreed. The only reason I asked was because the sliminess (sp?) told me that there's stuff still on the coin that has been weakened but not broken off. I'm not sure how long is an acceptable time to wait for such a coin.

 

Then try another rinse... the fresh acetone will do more good than time will do.

 

They're back in acetone, flipped over and spending a night bathing. We'll see what they look like tomorrow.

 

Redeposits. The second rinse should handle that; although I recommended flipping them, it's not like the acetone is unable to reach the bottom side at all. I didn't notice any real signs of PVC in your pics, so if it's there it's early stage and you've done right by them.

 

Looking good so far. I'm thinking a day or so rinse with distilled water would not be a bad thing seeing as how the acetone has removed some crud.

 

Did you use water before jumping directly to acetone? Water should ALWAYS be the first solvent in any conservation project.

 

I'm going to agree and to disagree. If there seems to be any oily/greasy/plastic residue on the coins, water would be useless. Acetone will strip organic material from the coins and then the water can solubilize the inorganic stuff. I probably would use water first 90% of the time, but using acetone first isn't that bad.

 

Negative on the water. I have quite a few more coins to do, so I can do this with those if needed. Can you elaborate? I thought water leads to rust. Distilled water? How long of a soak? Immediately into acetone afterwards?

 

I had plans to run them under hot tap water before doing the final acetone rinse. I was also thinking of rinsing them one last time with distilled water and blow/air drying right after. Thoughts?

 

He received a large batch of coins in album pages which were very likely PVC-based due to their flexibility. We talked about it in PM, and I felt in this case the direct step to acetone was warranted despite there being no notable "active" plasticizer infections.

I'm thinking he's soon to become an active player in the OFEC trade market.

 

I just realized I didn't buy distilled water last time I was out. Will regular water rinse with a blow dry be sufficient for this? Should I skip the water rinse altogether? I know it might sound like me being lazy, but it's not so easy for me to go to the store with two babies at home.

 

Unfortunately, these aren't for trade. I do, however, have a few thousand excess world coins from my world type set that I'm always looking to trade. I didn't know there might be an active OFEC trading market. If there is, where might I get more info on that?

 

How bad is your water? I wouldn't touch a coin with tap water here, because I see the residue and minerals and additives every time the cat's water bowl goes dry.

If you have pretty neutral (ph 7) water without a lot of additives, it might be OK. Or you can just wait until the next scheduled shopping trip.

 

Not good. Lots of additives. White chalky stuff floats in it and it's remarkable specifically after I boil water. After this soak and a quick last minute rinse, should I just leave be?

 

With water like that, no way to use tap water unless you make your own distillation system.

 

Sorry. I meant one last acetone swirl to get rid of residue.

What purpose would the distilled water serve if I bought it?