Do you have a preferred brand of acetone for cleaning your coins? I picked this brand up at Lowe's and have to say I'm not very impressed.
I tried it on the stains/spots on this W quarter and it didn't help and after a few days reduced the luster. Was going to try it on the crud at 3 o'clock on this Ike but thought I'd see if you guys liked a certain brand first.
Acetone should not reduce the luster. If anything it might enhance the luster. Try rinsing the coin in HOT water and then a few minutes soak in FRESH acetone and see what it looks like. It's not a magic fix-all.
As I suspected. You aren't impressed because you expected too much from it. Too many people seem to get the idea that acetone is some miracle liquid that will "remove tarnish and stains, bring back luster, restore worn details, and remove scratches." Well it won't. It will remove organic matter such as oils or grease from the surface of the coin. It won't remove tarnish or stains, anything that has reacted with the metal (oxides, sulfide, carbonates etc) is there to stay. It won't restore luster other than to the extent of possibly revealing it if it was subdued by a film of grease/oil. It can also sometimes remove regular dirt and salts, but so will distilled water. The advantage of using acetone is that while it removes the organics it will not react with the metal of the coin, and once it is rinsed (flowing rinse with fresh acetone) it dries on its own immediately. Often within seconds. No need to pat dry and risk hairlines.
Nobody with an IQ in triple digits would expect that. I've tried Jasco on 5 or 6 inexpensive coins and it struggles with dirt requiring you get out a Q-tip. Is it a secret what brand people like? With so much crap made in China and Mexico it's likely there are differences even between products that carry the "100% pure" label.
I thought most coin collectors considered cleaning coins at all a no-no. Is acetone an exception to that rule?
There is a difference between properly cleaned and harshly cleaned. Acetone, pure acetone, doesn't react to the coin metal (except for copper I understand) and therefore is acceptable.
Acetone does NOT clean coins, i.e., it will NOT remove toning. Acetone helps remove debris from coins. In other words it will not affect the metal in coins. And by "metal" I mean the pure metal AND the toned (oxidized or other chemically altered) metal. It will remove dirt and oils and other material that has NOT reacted with the coining metal. It will remove fingerprints BEFORE you see them; once you see them the coin's surface has already been affected/altered.
Commercial grade acetone such as available at Lowes/Home Depot/ACE/paint stores is not 100% pure acetIone, it has a small, less than 1% I think, of other components including water. For pure acetone, you would need to find a laboratory supply house. But the hardware store stuff is perfectly fine for our purposes. The key is to understand that once you use it, it is contaminated. So your final rinse should be with unused acetone.
So why does the can list the other stuff? If it says 100% acetone, it can't have anything else, right?
I agree, but what Conder said was also correct. This is one of the things Conder was correct about. The thing that a lot of folks, those not experienced with using acetone, is that there is a very small list of things that acetone will remove from coins. Most things, it simply won't have any, or at best very little, effect. And ordinary dirt and grime is one of them. For ordinary dirt and and grime, distilled water works best. Nope, not at all, but that's because there aren't any differences in brands - acetone is acetone. One brand is as good as any other. Read what I say in this thread - https://www.cointalk.com/threads/proper-acetone-procedure.193708/ - it'll help with understanding what I'm saying in this one.
Because most labeling standards for most things allow that if a product has less than some de minimis portion of other stuff then it either doesn't have to list the other stuff or can call itself 100% to meet the standards of that particular specification. You should read the USDA standards for allowable insect parts in various grains. Almost nothing in everyday life is 100%, you couldn't afford it otherwise and in some cases 100% is literally impossible. Why do you think what we trade as "pure gold, 24 carat" is actually .999 fine? It's because to get to an actual 100% is virtually impossible in a commercial market.
If one doubts contents of a sealed container always check for a MSDS online. http://www.jasco-help.com/uploads/documents/GJAC100_SDS-LL34E.pdf I have used some of that brand as well as other brands and it does what it is suppose to do. It removes excess water from metal ( coins) as it evaporates, so just hold the coin by the edge until the acetone evaporates. Do not rinse with water of any level as the last step, the acetone rinse should be. IMO, Jim
That is a good question. If it is 100% acetone, then it should be the same no matter who manufactures it, and as already mentioned above, it won't preform miracles. It is cheap enough that you might consider just buying a different brand and see what happens.
And if commercial acetone isn't REALLY 100% as stated on the container I suspect the FDA (or whoever) has approved the slight water(?) content is of no consequence. Sort of a "no harm/no foul, close enough" decision.
No matter what method you use, the best thing for any coin is that it be rinsed in hot water, air dried, rinsed again, and air dried. Sometimes just plain dirt or other contaminants will wash off, and then you can use acetone. I used acetone (after the rinsing procedures), and pvc residue came right off my trade dollar. Looks pretty good now.
I rinse most of the silver coins I buy with Acetone just to remove any contaminants like PVC residue. I only use it on silver coins. I've left coins in a Acetone bath for weeks with no adverse effects.
