Today I will be reviewing Jax brand patina restoring products. If you want to try, I recommend getting the Jax 4-pack sampler from Nobleromancoins.com at https://nobleromancoins.com/product_info.php?products_id=1008 For $12, this is the absolute best price you will find. But it is worth it? At least, do these products do much beyond what a simple Renaissance Wax application will? Brown/Black, Brown, Green, and Black (COMBINED) Let's start with this Philip I Provincia Dacia sestertius. Originally heavily encrusted and ruined, a long soak in Sodium Hydroxide (lye) yielded this disgusting and multicolored piece. This is unacceptable. So I first tried the "Brown/Black" compound. It helped the rust colored parts a bit, but didn't tough the green. The I tried the Brown. Again, didn't do too much. I did some Green for good measure. Finally, I used Black. This finally darkened the rust colored portions enough that they were no longer hugely distracting, but did not do a thing for the greenish portions. Finally, I applied Renaissance Wax which did nothing but give it a bit of a gloss. Maybe it's too unfair to work with such a ruined coin, so let's check out this VBRS ROMA she-wolf coin. Brown After a soak in Gringgott's #2 (a semi-strong base), I got this After using both the Brown solution and Rex Wax, I ended up with the following result. Although the Jax did not change the color of the lighter portions complete, it at least helped to even out the appearance. Green This seemed to be the most ineffective of all. I did this on several coins but only took pictures of this one. After Gringgott's soak, I got whatever this is. Applying Jax Green, and NO Ren Wax, you get this. In-hand, there was virtually no difference. Perhaps a slight evening of colors, but almost indistinguishable. CONTINUED...
Brown, again. This first image is after using Jax. I guess I didn't take a before picture, but there was just a slight darkening of the reddish spots. This picture is after application of Ren Wax. As you can see, it not only made the coin glossier, but also evened out the discolorations in the patina. Finally, as a "Control" piece, we have a coin that was NOT subjected to Jax and ONLY Ren Wax. Fresh out of lye, we have a rough, and discolored piece. Without using any advertised "patina restoration" products, and ONLY using Renaissance Wax, the result is pretty decent. FINAL SCORES Ease of Use - 9/10. Just soak and rinse. Satisfaction - 3/10. Don't expect to repair your coin with this - you will be disappointed. Effectiveness - 2/10. This sort of works, but Ren Wax does almost exactly the same thing. Color Scores Green - 1/10. There was almost no effectiveness whatsoever. Brown - 5/10. This actually did something. However, Ren Wax does the same thing. Brown/Black - 2/10. I didn't see much of a change at all. Black - 8/10. Finally, something that does something. Out of all four colors, I would recommend Black. At the very least, it will change the color of the coin, at least much more than the other compounds. Recommendation DO NOT BUY. Maybe get a bottle of the Black, but the other colors are next to worthless. Avenues for Improvement Maybe make something that's more like a dye, and less like something that doesn't work. The only one that had any impact was the Black. Conclusion All-but-useless products. Save your money and get a tin of Ren Wax instead, and you'll get about 80% of the same result. On the rare occassion you have something that's rekt like the Philip was, then the Black Jax will help. Otherwise, it won't do a darn thing.
If you are using lye, you may as well strip the coin down to bare metal. You will get better results with the Jax.
The encrustation was savage on this one. No amount of mechanical methods even made a dent. This wasn't something that could be dealt with by distilled water. So I tossed it in lye and ruined it. However, one could make the argument that it was already worthless as it was. At least, now we know what it is instead of wondering...
Yes, once I feel like I don't want to spend any more time with it I put some Rex Wax on and call it a day.
@hotwheelsearl I don't intend to highjack but here is a Ren Wax I just tried. Before and after. I would appreciate some criticism or advice.
I'm gonna be honest, those before and after pictures look awfully similar. One thing that I've found works well is to BUFF the coin with a cotton cloth both BEFORE waxing and AFTER waxing. This tends to give it more of a glossy sheen that usually looks pretty nice
If you really want an artificial patina, why not just write on the coin with a black Sharpie? Also, I want to second Victor Clark's comment. Electrolysis is better than lye.
I was considering a black sharpie on the Philip coin! Haha I tried electrolysis on some coins but it did almost nothing. Perhaps I did it wrong, but I had no success with my several attempts.
Done correctly, electrolysis will strip a coin down to bare metal. Usually this is a bad idea. But sometimes coins are so heavily corroded that it is the only way to see what is underneath. There are many websites that explain how to use electrolysis. Here are two: https://www.instructables.com/id/How-to-Clean-Coins-With-Electrolysis/ https://department.monm.edu/classics/COINS/data/cleaning/electrolysis.htm Unfortunately, both sites say to add salt to the water. ERRRRNNNTT! Do NOT use salt as your solvent. It will turn the solution acidic, which will damage bronze coins. Use sodium carbonate (washing soda). Or, if you must use salt, periodically add some baking soda to neutralize the solution.