Maybe i am a wee-bit on the paronoid side. myabe i am, maybe im not. In practicing taking photos of coins lately, i have come to the conclusion that lint, dust, cat/dog hair, and any other foreign material hovering around my picturetaking target... well, it just plain sucks I thought to myself this weekend, how i read other folks on CoinTalk mentioned they keep a can or two of canned air by the camera. My question, is it safe? Canned air contents are under pressure. There is a chemical in the can, and i cannot imagine my being the only one to 'play' with that liquid contents of said cans. It freezes, yet burns. And i cannot imagine that i am the omly person to witness fluid ejection even when used with the utmost care. So.... has anyone who uses canned air ever had a spray or even a droplet or two come out of the can and onto their coin? Can the can or air, even without the presence of any ejected material, leave any type of misted material on the coin?? In a nutshell.... how safe is my coin if i were to use the godsend of canned air to free the coin from the clutches of airborne containamets?
You might want to consider actually finding some canned "air", rather than the stuff they use to clean off computer equipment, etc. (1,1,1,2 tetrafluoroethane is pretty common for this, if I remember correctly.) There are probably some "green" organizations that actually sell cans of just plain 'ol compressed air. I would think these would be pretty safe.
I have the same exact fears myself. But on the other hand Badthad, who is very anal about his Lincolns uses it, maybe we can get his opinion.
Even canned air, with no chemicals, will have the same effect. It's canned under pressure. When it's released, it's below freezing, and the expansion causes it to condense. No matter what, you will always get a certain amount of liquid. They make small puffer bottles for cleaning cameras. It doesn't use compressed air, just squuze and release, like a dog's chew toy. Get one of those. Guy~
Harbor Freight Co has an aerosol can that can be re-filled. It has a standard tire valve built in. plain air.
Yes, that is what the back of the can i looked at from work today said. I was thinking along those same lines. but was even more afraid of the actuall chemicsl coming out and getting on the coin. I was wondering what someone whose might use canned or compressed air has to say about using it. I do like the idea of a 'puffer' more so then the canned air... but does the puffer offer up enough 'blow' to rid the dust ect from the coin prior to taking the photo. Do you have a link showing just the type of think your talking about?
Go to a pharmacy and get a flushing bulb, used for flushing out ear canals or nasal passages... They hold enough volume of air that you can actually blow the coin off the desk... They are about a 2" diameter bulb forming down into a cone...
Just give it a shake and blow some Just give it a shake and blow some into thin air then use on coins at about a foot away - I've never had a problem doing this and I really don't care whats in it - Remember - "don't sweat the small stuff, it's all small stuff" but that irrigation bulb is a good idea but maybe not quite strong enough for some cleaning. Also do not use the canned air on expensive proof surfaces though it could hurt them if to close.
i do have a 5 month old, so i have a few of those around the house... but then again.. i might just want an un-used one :rolling: :goofer:
Read the lables. If it states purified or filtered that is one thing. If it states just air, be carefull. Someone I know that is heavily into cameras found out the hard way. A can of compressed air was just that, compressed air. Blowing into a sensitive area in a camera, out came a lot of dust. Same dust in the air around you. The can read compressed air. Not filtered, not clean, not anything except AIR. For a coin, probably no big thing but I wouldn't use one that just says AIR if you have a breathing condition or you value thoes coins. And if you do purchase a rechargable can that you can charge yourself, just where do you get your air? If from an air compressor, that too is just the air around you so you are putting in air with dust, blowing it under pressure onto something.
After reading some of the responses, and to be honest, several things were brought up i didnt think of which makes me glad i started the thread. I wont be using any canned, compressed or chemicly induced air flow systems lol I dont like the thought of dirt, dust, moisture or the possibility of chemicals being deposited on any coins. Most here know me and my collection i have very, very few high priced items. But to me it doesnt matter how much the coin is valued .. i would rather try to keep what i have as clean and natural as possible. No need to see 20 years from now that i destroyed what i do have because i was not carefull with what i use to blow lint and dust off a coin to take a picture. No... i am going to listen to whats posted above and use a booger sucker ... sorry, dont now the technical name is .. or is it really flushing tube i think in the end, it leaves me with the least chance of anything happening i wouldnt want to happen.
