Question about PVC Damage

Discussion in 'Coin Chat' started by paragal, Mar 12, 2014.

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  1. paragal

    paragal New Member

    I'm new to the love of coins - my dad passed along a small collection that he had to me. He had some Morgan's that are being stored in pliable plastic flips and from what I have read, the greenish powdery film some of them have is likely PVC damage. I plan to buy some safe holders for them, but first need to try to clean them with acetone. My 2 questions are (1) since they were all held in the same material, should I clean all of the coins even if I don't see damage on some of them? and (2) what type of holders are recommended? Thanks much in advance.
     
    paragal, Mar 12, 2014
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  3. KoinJester

    KoinJester Well-Known Member

    Welcome to CoinTalk

    1. Yes soak them all in pure Acetone then rinse in distilled water. Change the acetone after each coin is also recommended

    2. Cardboard flips, air tights, kointains , or non pvc flips
     
    KoinJester, Mar 12, 2014
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  4. rysherms

    rysherms Alpha Member

    be VERY careful cleaning coins. no rubbing. keep in mind EVERYTHING that touches those coins scratches them. acetone is ok, but make sure you rinse them thoroughly with distilled water after and pat them dry with microfiber.
     
    rysherms, Mar 12, 2014
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  5. cpm9ball

    cpm9ball CANNOT RE-MEMBER

    It's better to be safe than sorry. From what I understand, the early stage of PVC contamination can go undetected.

    Saflips are the best to use unless you want to spend the extra money for AirTites.

    Chris
     
    cpm9ball, Mar 12, 2014
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  6. rysherms

    rysherms Alpha Member

    beat me by 3 seconds
     
    rysherms, Mar 12, 2014
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  7. ldhair

    ldhair Clean Supporter

    Acetone without the water rinse has always worked for me.
     
    ldhair, Mar 12, 2014
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  8. paragal

    paragal New Member

    Thanks to you all for the help!
     
    paragal, Mar 12, 2014
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  9. rzage

    rzage What Goes Around Comes Around .

    Use only pure acetone as Koin Jester said as some try to save a buck by using nail polish remover which has many added chemicals that are harmful to coins . You can buy pure acetone at most hardware and paint stores .
     
    rzage, Mar 12, 2014
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  10. desertgem

    desertgem Senior Errer Collecktor Supporter

    I would strongly recommend not rinsing with water. Hold by the edge until the acetone evaporates. Acetone will pick up any water and carry it off when it evaporates ( usually within seconds ). If you rinse with any kind of water, it does nothing for the problem, and you have to wait an indeterminate amount of time before holdering the coin to be sure it is dry. Acetone if pure leaves no residue that can damage the coin.
     
    desertgem, Mar 12, 2014
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    micbraun, BadThad and ldhair like this.
  11. saltysam-1

    saltysam-1 Junior Member

    What are the various methods used to hold the coin or remove it from the Acetone? Holding it by the rim seems obvious. Anything with rubber the Acetone would attack. Couldn't other holders made of metal also cause an interaction with the coin and the Acetone? If laying in a flat container, would the underside still get the same amount of treatment? I have not looked at scientific supply houses, but I would venture to say they would be the best source for utensils.
     
    saltysam-1, Mar 13, 2014
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  12. GDJMSP

    GDJMSP Numismatist Moderator

    paragal -

    When you get around to doing this I would suggest you just do 1 coin at first. I say that because there are other things that could be on the coin besides PVC residue. And while acetone will remove PVC residue, there are many other things it will not remove. So do the 1 coin, and if it works, great. If it doesn't, then you know it would be a waste of time on the others.

    As for some of the other comments in the thread. Yes, many are not in favor of a final rinse in distilled water. I am in favor of it, and there is a reason for it. The reason is because with some coins, (it doesn't happen every time but it does sometimes), the acetone rinse can leave the coin looking unnatural, kind of like it has what I describe as a whitish cast to it similar to what it does when you put it on your skin. This is specifically because acetone, as mentioned, removes all traces of moisture.

    Now everything, even a coin, has a certain amount of moisture on it. This is natural and it cannot be avoided for there is always moisture in the air. So any time you remove all traces of moisture from an object it is going to look different than it did before. In other words it will look unnatural. The final rinse in distilled water replaces the natural moisture removed from the coin by the acetone. Then you let the coin air dry (no patting, no wiping with a cloth) while standing on edge for 24 hours, and it will completely dry in 24 hrs every single time, and it will then look natural again. And no, the distilled water can in no way ever hurt your coin, any coin, if you follow those directions.

    Another thing, no pure acetone will not leave any residue on the coin. But therein lies the problem. For once you place a contaminated coin in the acetone to remove that contamination, then the acetone itself becomes contaminated because whatever was on the coin dissolves in the acetone and it is no longer pure, and then it will leave a residue on the coin due to that contamination. But there is an easy way to solve that problem, you do more than 1 acetone rinse, with clean acetone each time.

    In the link I am going to provide I describe what I call proper acetone procedure - http://www.cointalk.com/threads/proper-acetone-procedure.193708/

    Read that thread and you will find it. Now you will probably have some people say oh you don't have to do all of that, you don't have to soak the coins that long, etc etc etc. And yes, in some cases they are right, you don't. But in some cases you do have to do all of that and in some cases you do have to soak the coins that long in order for the acetone to do its job correctly. So my advice is to always do it this way so as to cover all situations. Other wise you may end up starting over from scratch, do it this way and you never will.
     
    GDJMSP, Mar 13, 2014
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  13. GDJMSP

    GDJMSP Numismatist Moderator

    Never used anything but my fingers and never had a problem. And yes, it works just fine with the coin laying flat. Coins are not flat, they have raised surfaces so the acetone gets the bottom side just as well as it does the top. And in the rinse stages you don't ever lay the coin down you just swish it back and forth in the acetone.
     
    GDJMSP, Mar 13, 2014
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  14. AWORDCREATED

    AWORDCREATED Hardly Noticeable

    Too poor to pay attention in chem lab?

    [​IMG]
     
    AWORDCREATED, Mar 14, 2014
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  15. McBlzr

    McBlzr Sr Professional Collector

    I remember those squeeze bottles fro chem lab. Where can you buy them now ?
     
    McBlzr, Mar 14, 2014
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  16. AWORDCREATED

    AWORDCREATED Hardly Noticeable

    Just about anywhere.
     
    AWORDCREATED, Mar 14, 2014
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  17. McBlzr

    McBlzr Sr Professional Collector

    I found one of those side squeeze bottles on eBay for $1.45 w/ free shipping from China !
    I think that should work well for an acetone rinse.
     
    McBlzr, Mar 14, 2014
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  18. desertgem

    desertgem Senior Errer Collecktor Supporter

    Be sure to get a polypropylene (PP) one. test it with a small amount of acetone in it for several days. Any deformity of the bottle is bad.
     
    desertgem, Mar 15, 2014
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  19. DeLaFe

    DeLaFe Active Member

    Acetone is a carcinogenic substance. Direct exposure to your hands is not ideal.

    Sent from my SM-N900P using Tapatalk
     
    DeLaFe, Mar 15, 2014
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  20. desertgem

    desertgem Senior Errer Collecktor Supporter

    According to what authority? Most do not list it as one.
     
    desertgem, Mar 15, 2014
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  21. Conder101

    Conder101 Numismatist

    It's probably only known to be a carcinogen by the state of California.
     
    Conder101, Mar 15, 2014
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