LCS owner prefers VINEGAR over acetone for PVC residue?!?!

I went to a NLCS (Non-local, since it's like an hour away).

There, I saw the owner using pipe cutters to snip his way through a plastic dime tube that had completely degraded and was bonded to the dimes inside.

The mercuries he pulled out were completely covered with blue-green PVC residue. Looks nasty.

So I say, "wow, those look pretty rough. But acetone will take that stuff off right quick!"

To which he said, "oh no, I never use acetone since it's too rough and leaves an unnatural surface. Instead, I use vinegar since it's more gentle on the surface"

Whoaaa there, last time I checked acetone was a polar solvent, while vinegar is a weak acid.

When I had a Morgan with a little bit of green PVC on it, I posted about it here on CT and the resounding opinion was to soak it in a bit of acetone for a while. After a couple hours, the PVC was completely gone and the original surface was unaffected.

Won't vinegar really damage silver coins?

 

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I remember getting the same response from a dealer at a coin show one time (the "acetone is too harsh" part). I assumed he misheard me, and thought I'd said "acid".

Having said that, though, I wouldn't trust a dealer who (a) hasn't heard of acetone and (b) thinks vinegar is a good idea for anything other than restoring dates on nickels (leaving them as detail coins in the process).

 

That would be the last time I took that dealer seriously. I mean if he really thinks vinegar is better than acetone he is very behind the times and is ruining his inventory. How many coins in his case have been soaked in vinegar? You might as well soak then in urine! Unfortunate if this is your only coin shop option in your area. If you have other coin shops you can go to I’d stay clear of that one.

Reed.

 

Also, the earth is flat.

I'm continually amazed by how many people in this hobby, even professionals, ignore science and cling to myths.

 

That dealer is entitled to their opinion but I wouldn't buy from them.

 

I like the store because they have really good prices and I always get a little discount every time.

I bought $9 worth of foreign paper money and the dealer said “$9... let’s call it $7!”

He seems like the type of person to give really good prices for bullion, from what I’ve seen in the past.

But maybe I’ll stay away from anything in the display that’s been soaked in vinegar

 

Run Forrest Run

 

Well if it’s a shop you’ve been going to for awhile and have a history of good purchases I’d feel better about going there in the future. Like you said just stay away from anything that may have been cleaned buy the shop owner. Sounds like you’ve gotten some good deals from them in the past so shop on!

Reed.

 

Since @hotwheelsearl you've Now stated that you've bought from him before and he gives you discounts I can only agree with Reed. Just be careful about that shiny stuff you buy. Lol

 

It's not much difference than a dip in E-Zest except acetic acid is much weaker than sulfuric acid. If you leave your coin too long in either, it's toast. Acetone is more abrasive than acetone which is neutral and does not damage the surfaces of silver.

 

Um...

1) E-Z-Est is different, because it's got thiourea in addition to the acid. It acts specifically on the silver sulfide that forms tarnish, although it does contain sulfuric acid that can damage a coin's surface with long exposure.

2) Acetone isn't more anything than acetone. Did you mean "acid" in one case?

3) Neither acetone nor acid is abrasive. Acids can be corrosive.

 

Vinegar is an acid and not considered a safe way to clean coins.

Maybe he wanted to say acetone/ acetic acid?

 

EZ-est also has thiourea which is a chelating agent to break up the silver tarnish and carry it away from the silver. Unfortunately this reaction requires an acidified solution to work and the concentration of acid in the solution is intended to make it 'fast'. Dilution of the acid slows it down significantly and allows better control.

Straight acid does not do that, so the tarnish loci can reattach in the smaller depression. IMO, Jim

Damn Jeff, you are fast. Should be a moderator! Jim

 

Bite your tongue.

 

Everything’s abrasive if you rub it

 

I once had a dealer friend that used a dilution of vinegar and water. After a quick soak/bath be would hold the coin by the edges and swish it around in a dilution of soda and water. Next he would rinse the coin with lots of water.
He had great short term results with no damage to the luster. I don't know what the coins looked like long term.

I always did water first, acetone second. A dilution of dip was my last choice and that was only for silver coins that I felt could be helped.

The tough part is learning what coins can be helped and when to just leave the coin as is.

 

Vinegar and a pinch of salt will make all your copper coins nice and shiny. It's also useful for your copper plated pots and pans. LOL

Yeah, but maybe not for coins ...

 

Lemon juice and salt will instantly shine copper after a short soak.
ONLY use this for jewelry and not coins.
I will use it on pressed coins, although most of those are copper coated zinc.
But I had a copper bracelet I tested this on, and it really works.
The problem is many people new to the hobby will ruin coins this way
not knowing, because the copper will be nice and shiny.

 

I'll defer to your actual experience, but I'd expect a pressed Zincoln to foam up like a rabid dog if you dipped it in lemon juice and salt. Between the acidity, the high conductivity, and the chloride ions, I'd expect the exposed zinc to dissolve rapidly, and I'd be nervous about getting enough of the chloride off to protect the piece against humidity going forward. (The zinc should protect the copper layer as it rots away, but after exposure to acid chloride I wouldn't even count on that.)

Edit to add: Chloride ions plus any other oxidizer, even air, can definitely attack copper. You don't even need the acid, but it does speed things along. Keep the salt away from copper, unless you want to keep cleaning the piece repeatedly until it's completely corroded away.