I've soaked several indian cents for 2 weeks in verdi-gone and none of the verdi is gone. I changed the liquid 3 times. Is there something stronger or should I wait longer?
Nitric acid! Ribbit Ps: I'm trying to get a pint of the stuff myself but can't find any locally and it costs a fortune to have it mailed so I'll keep trying to find it locally.
Do you have photos of the verdigris? Also is the verdigone turning a blue shade before you change it? Jim
If you have purchased VerdiGone and have not had decent results, contact me. I will make it right. We must first discover what it is you are working with. If it is strictly verdigris and no other problems, nothing we can pinpoint, I'll refund you 100% plus your shipping.
I would like to see the coin as well please. Are you sure it's verdigris? Did you try anything else prior to using VERDI-GONE™?
Heated hydrogen peroxide in small quantities, like a shot glass. Soak as repeatedly as needed. You'll see the verdigris disappear little by little. You won't get any support for this idea from anybody in here but I've found that it works well on copper. I haven't tried it on anything but copper but it does get the surface verdigris off very well. It the verdigris it all the way through the coin, you'll find out exactly what spots are all the way through and which are only surface rather quickly. Try it on lesser coins first if you're skeptical. Lighter fluid works as well but you don't have to watch peroxide as closely and over-soaking won't hurt it much. I can't say the same for L.F as far as over soaking but it does indeed work very well it you've got the time to play.
Peroxide will certainly decompose verdigris, but it can also turn your copper black. Here's a little snipet from my upcoming book on verdigris: http://www.badthad.com/coin/snipet1.pdf
Here are the coins, they were probably metal detector coins and I wasn't expecting a miracle from verdi-gone, ergo this post.
Looks more like yer run-of-the-mill corrosion.....environmental damage....they look about as good as they'll get.
You have severe verdigris. VERDI-GONE™ will not conserve coins this far gone. The only options for verdigris this far advanced are: 1) Mineral acid - A mineral acid such as hydrochloric or sulfuric would remove most of the verdigris. However, since so much copper has been removed from the surface by the verdigris the coins will lose a lot of detail. Verdigris at this stage will contour itself to the coin design. When you remove it, you'll remove detail. Also, the coin will absolutely look cleaned. 2) Recommened! Soak the coin in distilled water for a few days to solubilize the verdigris acids. The water should be changed a few times. Put the coin in acetone for a few hours to dry it. Immediate put the coin into an AirTite or Intercept Shield holder. If you protect the coin from air and water, the verdigris will essentially halt where it is.
Depends on how deep the verdigris is as to whether peroxide turns copper black or not. Light verdigris comes off unaffected.
