So I am guessing it fills the crack in, dries/hardens, and leaves a shiny finish? And does it leave a chemical reaction mark on the rest of the slab?
Not with the proper final light buffing. Theoretically, you're trying to leave it in the scratches, but remove it from the surrounding unscratched areas. It's a skill.
I’ve also store my slabs in small zip lock pouches before putting them in a ngc storage box. As for sticker goo, goo-gone is great
It appears that NGC is well aware of the scratching problem. They offer to put your coin in a new slab for $10. You'll find it on their standard order form under the service: Re Holder. It's still not cheap to replace just one or two slabs, considering postage and insurance. However, you purchased those coins to be able to look at them and enjoy them, share them with others, and get maximum return when you go to sell them (which we all eventually do, or our kids do it when we're gone). Rounding up a dozen or half dozen of your slabs makes the reholdering process more affordable, per coin. I don't work for NGC, but I have found their conservation fees to be very reasonable and the work, well done. If you've been considering getting conservation done, then this is the time to get it. I have found that the conservation expense is less than the increased value of the coin. Of course it all depends on the coin.
I need a few done for chipped slabs. A bulk lot of MS67 warnicks I got through Teletrade many years ago.
The little plastic bags are great. You can get 100 of them for about six bucks on Amazon or Ebay. They protect the slab from almost any normal wear and tear scratch. Get 3" x 4", 2 Mil (Pack of 100) Zipper Reclosable Plastic Bags. Some are a little tight at the opening of the bag and you have to rock the slab like you would rock you sock if you were putting on socks, but it’s simple and takes about 10 seconds. The only problem that I’ve run in to, and it varies between Chinese manufacturers is that the reclosable “zip” seal doesn’t like to stay zipped. It’s not really a problem since the slab is tight enough in the bag that it won’t slip out. Here’s a photo of what they look like.
You can also get 100 of them at Walmart in the craft section for $1.99. They are great for protecting slabs before you box them, and you can put your labels on the bag instead of the slab. Been using these for many years and all my slabs are just as the day they were slabbed.
Corning Glass was making a compound to rub on the windshields of the Supersonic fighter jets during the Vietnam war, it filled in micro pits and scratches, it was then only issued to the Military. You may research it and find that it can now be purchased if it has been declassified...good luck.
Corning still has, I think, an operation just outside of Huntsville, Alabama, east side on U.S.72. I bet that's where it's from.
I just spent a few hours browsing eBay looking for proof modern commems to fill out my collection and although the coins themselves look great, most of them are in scratched up, chipped slabs that look like they've been used as pucks in a schoolyard game of roller hockey. Since I display my coins in a glass cabinet in their slabs propped up on little easels, I passed on nearly every one of them, which is a real shame because some of them were otherwise quite nice. I'm not sure why so many slabs I see, both on Internet sites and in shops are so poorly treated. Perhaps it's because many now regard coins as pure investments equivalent to trading in pork belly futures and just don't care about the ascetics of the overall presentation of the coins themselves.
