Acetone - The magic chemical

In almost every "coin cleaning" thread I've seen on here, someone recommends acetone. It gets rid of stuff on the coin but leaves the toning right?

What I am looking for is a list of things it can help with. I know tape and glue residue, but what else?

Thanks for any help.

 

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Acetone will remove toning.

 

I doubt that it will remove toning on a coin. However, it will remove PVC and fresh fingerprints (probably only before you see the effects).

 

I orgininally messed up my S VDB if any recall by trying to remove verdigris with one long acetone soak (several days). The toning was dellar's darkener that it removed which showed old hairlines. I only use Verdigone now, to remove verdigris. Jim, chemist dude, says long (overnight) soaks in acetone will act like a weak acid- I think it was him who said that. I would use acetone to remove tape residue. If your hesitant, I think NCS is good with these type of problems if you have a high dollar coin. Copper is the riskiest to "clean" as you probably know, the man 12

 

The use of acetone is NOT intended for problems like verdigris.
Verdigris is a product of the coin's metal and some oxydizing agent.

Acetone is mostly used to remove debris that has attached itself to a coin, but not interacted with the coin.
Sort of like removing dust from furniture.
Use it for removing stuff like dirt and oils (including fingerprint oils) BEFORE they interact with the coin's metal.

And it will help prevent other problems from occurring BEFORE you even know there will be a problem.
Tiny specks that will turn into carbon spots on copper coins is one such thing.
BUT IN NO WAY DO I ADVOCATE TREATING ALL YOUR COINS WITH ACETONE.
Do it only when your suspect a problem such as sneezing on unprotected coin.

There are exceptions.
It removes PVC residuals.
But the problem there is that by the time you see the PVC goo the damage has been done.
You are just preventing the damage from getting worse.

 

What is Verdigone? not a product I have come across before, can you link me to it so I can have a read?

 

Here


http://www.cointalk.com/forum/t47318/

http://www.cointalk.com/forum/t49978/

 

Acetone is has now become a really popular substance. It is found at almost any store that sells paints. If you go to Google and type in Acetone you will find 6,970,000 results for that substance. If you go to the search tab at the top of this page and type in Acetone, you may well find a real lot of posts on that subject. Many stories are, for some reason, ficticious and or just exagerated. Some are based on a one time attempt that failed for again, some unknown reason.
I've been using Acetone for many years and have found that most stories about that product are either guess work, copied from somewhere, one time failed attempts, not properly documented with facts, etc. For example leaving a coin in Acetone for several days or leaving a Copper coin in Acetone in the Sun will create a photo reation that will make the coin vanish or disentigrate. At one time I put several different coins in a glass jar of Acetone and left them there for days in the shade in my garage. Then moved the same glass into the sun. Not sure anymore of all the coins but one was a cent, nickel, two dimes and a quarter. One Dime was silver. All came out almost the same as when they went in except one Roosevelt Dime did appear a little cleaner.

 

Well said by Kanga and Carl. I obviously learned about acetone not removing verdigris in a painful way. Waiting for my coin back from NCS. They cleaned up pretty good by the photos. Verdigone is something Bad Thad created. It is an alkaline product he sells for around 13-16$ or so (can't remember?). Works great.

 

No it won't.

 

That's what I thought!

 

Acteone is a solvent. Toning is comprised of elements that are not solvent in acetone (a polar organic solvent) and therefore will not be removed by immersion in this liquid.

Acids and bases are different animals entirely -- but acetone is neither one of these.

 

Kanga, Be careful. It is not always true that once you see PVC residue that the damage has already been done. I have several coins that had PVC residue on them that were dipped in a solvent to remove the PVC and the coins show no damage as a result. That's not to say that PVC doesn't damage a coin's surface, but rather to suggest that if you catch it early enough you can remove the PVC before any surface damage occurs. Just wanted to clear this misconception up -- I've seen it written several times and my experience is contrary to that. Respectfully...Mike

 

The main problem is that most are not really sure of what is on a coin to begin with. Constant references to PVC on Copper in many instances is not really a PVC problem. PVC itself is not the problem but the additives that make it flexible that attacks metals. As this additive leaks out of the PVC, the plastic becomes less and less flexible and it takes a really high heat to melt it sufficiently enough to attach itself to anything. And as those additives leak out they become less and less to the point of non existance leaving that product safe but extreamely rigid.
When someone thinks they have successfully removed PVC from a coin and have no real idea of what was on the coin, they may have just removed something else.

 

Carl- I have read that as well. I think photos are helpful because many times people are thinking they have PVC when in fact that are differnt forms of verdigris- copper acetate, sulfate, etc.. I have read that PVC damage only occurs with high temps and it is more stable than people think. Not that I have anything near PVC except one album for my ASE's in those air-tight holders made by airtite. I have a air-neturalizer (can't remember what it's called) in the ziplock bag and dessicant. I should check to make sure they are ok.

 

OMG! Acetone is an extremely volatile known carcinogen agent. We used it for years at my place of employment and it was eventually banned from all our work sites countrywide. One former employee ended up with with permanent nerve damage. If anyone here recommends it's use, they should also use extreme caution like telling users to handle with proper gloves, use eye goggles and to use in an extremely well ventilated area. Yes, I know, in diluted proportions it's still used to clean extreme stains in toilet, urinals, to clean industrial parts, etc., but it is still a very dangerous chemical.

 

I have no idea what you are talking about. Acetone is not a carcinogen and has not been banned from any work site I am aware of. Wear gloves? Talk to any woman. That is the main ingredient in nail polish as well as most polish removers. Clean urinals? Don't know about that one.

Note 3 things. 1. VERY high vapor concentrations. 2. "In one documented case" - that's right, just one case. 3. It is now used as a medicine.

 

I agree with you on most of the things except #3. A lot of things are used as medicine that are not good for you (hydrogen sulfate, for example). If you are trying to prove that acetone is not bad for you, that's not really relevant.

 

Hydrogen SULFIDE? The only thing that might be called hydrogen sulfate would be the sulfuric acid ion.

 

So is Coke and many people drink that on a regular basis. Not really sure what you are getting at with that one.