How do I use acetone?

Discussion in 'Coin Chat' started by GH#75, Jan 23, 2022.

  1. GH#75

    GH#75 Trying to get 8 hours of sleep in 4. . .

    I recently got myself some acetone, and I am unsure on how to use it. I tried putting it in a plastic container and putting a test coin inside it for a minute, but it didn't really do anything. It also left a kind of residue on the container, so maybe I should use glass? It's also nail polish remover, but it's 100% acetone. Do I need to dilute it with water or something? Any input is appreciated.
     
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  3. Publius2

    Publius2 Well-Known Member

    Best Answer
    Use glass and if the lid has a plastic or any kind of elastomer seal, remove it before using it or test it against the acetone. Anything other than glass or say SS, the acetone can dissolve parts of the material and put it into solution with your coin. Bad juju!

    Do not add water or any other material to the acetone.

    Soak coin for desired time, throw acetone away safely. Soak coin again in fresh acetone, throw acetone away safely. Repeat as needed and for durations as needed. Note that acetone will not dissolve all inorganic and organic residues. Some are chemically inert to acetone. But often those deposits will respond to xylene, which is also available at your hardware store. When cleaning process is complete, rinse coin thoroughly in distilled water ($1/gallon at grocery store) several times and then dab dry with a clean cloth, preferably lint- and dye-free.

    Also, I strongly doubt that your nail polish remover is 100% acetone. Even hardware store acetone that is most definitely not intended for human contact is not lab-grade 100% acetone although it's far better than nail polish remover. A quart of acetone at the hardware store is pretty cheap.

    Always be safe. Acetone and xylene are highly volatile and flammable and are injurious to the environment. The safest, non-industrial, disposal method is to pour out on concrete drive or sidewalk and allow to evaporate or put in shallow pan outside to evaporate.
     
  4. alurid

    alurid Well-Known Member

    I always use a glass container with a screw lid that seals.
    Do a thread search for more information.
     
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  5. green18

    green18 Unknown member Sweet on Commemorative Coins Supporter

    Old glass relish/pickle jars I find to be the best vessels for me. Stay away from plastic containers, as the acetone will react with them (probably the cause of the residue you were seeing). Make sure you're using pure acetone.....I know you said you were using 100% acetone but you also stated that the labeling for the product was nail polish remover........they sneak other chemicals into these products.
     
    Last edited: Jan 23, 2022
    Cheech9712, serafino, -jeffB and 3 others like this.
  6. Publius2

    Publius2 Well-Known Member

    Best Answer
    Use glass and if the lid has a plastic or any kind of elastomer seal, remove it before using it or test it against the acetone. Anything other than glass or say SS, the acetone can dissolve parts of the material and put it into solution with your coin. Bad juju!

    Do not add water or any other material to the acetone.

    Soak coin for desired time, throw acetone away safely. Soak coin again in fresh acetone, throw acetone away safely. Repeat as needed and for durations as needed. Note that acetone will not dissolve all inorganic and organic residues. Some are chemically inert to acetone. But often those deposits will respond to xylene, which is also available at your hardware store. When cleaning process is complete, rinse coin thoroughly in distilled water ($1/gallon at grocery store) several times and then dab dry with a clean cloth, preferably lint- and dye-free.

    Also, I strongly doubt that your nail polish remover is 100% acetone. Even hardware store acetone that is most definitely not intended for human contact is not lab-grade 100% acetone although it's far better than nail polish remover. A quart of acetone at the hardware store is pretty cheap.

    Always be safe. Acetone and xylene are highly volatile and flammable and are injurious to the environment. The safest, non-industrial, disposal method is to pour out on concrete drive or sidewalk and allow to evaporate or put in shallow pan outside to evaporate.
     
  7. GH#75

    GH#75 Trying to get 8 hours of sleep in 4. . .

    Alright, I'll see if I have any spare pickle jars. But on the nail polish remover, wouldn't that be false advertising? It says 100% right on the bottle. And the ingredients are there as well.

    Marking that as best answer! Thank you.
     
    Cheech9712 likes this.
  8. Oldhoopster

    Oldhoopster Member of the ANA since 1982

    The good stuff (maybe a little overkill)

    IMG_20201022_174004.jpg
     
    Jeepfreak81, SmokinJoe and GH#75 like this.
  9. Publius2

    Publius2 Well-Known Member

    I would ask: How much trust the manufacturer/distributor? If it's from anywhere outside the US or Canada, I wouldn't believe it at all.

    Plus, it reminds of the flap a few years ago over the constituents of Taco Bell beef fillings. The advertising said: "Made with 100% beef." But that statement is ambiguous. It doesn't say that the filling is 100% beef but only that the beef that is in the filling is 100% beef (obviously a meaningless statement but that's why advertising people make money). Which doesn't preclude the possibility that some portion of the filling is something other than beef.

    Read your label carefully. If it says something like "Made with 100% acetone" then it's still possible for other ingredients to be present. Here's a test: Put a good-sized drop of the product on your finger and then rub it between finger and thumb. If it doesn't evaporate immediately and/or feels slightly oily, then it has additives for sure.
     
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  10. -jeffB

    -jeffB Greshams LEO Supporter

    I have relatively few coins that are worth more than one of those bottles. You probably submit one coin to NGC with NCS for the cost of one bottle (currently about $80, looks like). Of course, you can conserve a lot of coins with a liter of acetone.

    I went with the $10 quart of Jasco acetone from Lowes. It'll do until I get my own spectrophotometer. (Come to think of it, I might have a student model somewhere in the garage... but that would only be for transmission anyway, not reflection.)
     
  11. Publius2

    Publius2 Well-Known Member

    I'm curious as to the cost of the lab-grade acetone. Is the difference like that between Smirnoff and Absolut? or more like the difference between a Toyota Corolla and a Bentley?
     
  12. -jeffB

    -jeffB Greshams LEO Supporter

  13. Southernman189

    Southernman189 Well-Known Member

    I'll add one more thing, NEVER use a metal container (even though no one asked yet) always glass. Even Walmart has Acetone in the paint Dept.
     
    love old coins likes this.
  14. -jeffB

    -jeffB Greshams LEO Supporter

    How come? I mean, acetone ships in metal containers. Glass is nice to see what's going on, and it's nice to have a round-bottomed container to help prevent bumps or scrapes to the coin's surface, but I don't see a problem with a decent metal container...?
     
  15. Southernman189

    Southernman189 Well-Known Member

    well for example using a "dogfood" can might have a different unknown coating in it that might coat your coin. I'd play it safe by sticking to a covered glass container. Newbees might see ANY metal container as safe.
     
    -jeffB likes this.
  16. -jeffB

    -jeffB Greshams LEO Supporter

    Yeah, that makes good sense. It's easier to see when a glass container is clean. I'd also hate to scratch a coin on a sharp edge left by a can opener.
     
    Southernman189 likes this.
  17. Mountain Man

    Mountain Man Supporter! Supporter

    It maybe 100% acetone, BUT additives have been added and those can cause damage and residue that will remain.
    Never use nail polish remover on coins. Period.
     
    GH#75 likes this.
  18. usmc 6123

    usmc 6123 Active Member

    Remember don't put it in a drinking glass or even a dog food can with a label because someone might drink it or feed it to your dog by accident.
     
    Southernman189 likes this.
  19. Mr.Q

    Mr.Q Well-Known Member

    Unless it's an ancient, you don't. Just my way of doing things, good luck.
     
  20. Tamaracian

    Tamaracian 12+ Yr Member--Supporter

    @GH#75 There used to be a product called Koinsolv (mfd by E & T Kointainer Co.) and distributed by Amos Advantage, Wizard Coin Supply and others that was made specifically for removing PVC; Oil; Tape Residue and Grease from coin surfaces without leaving any residue; alas, it was discontinued by the manufacturer but may still be available in certain areas.

    I generally agree with @Publius2 about how to handle and identify "true" Acetone; as stated by he and others, Acetone is very volatile (Flashpoint -4 degrees F/ Boiling Point + 94 degrees F) and is regulated as a toxic chemical in groundwater pollution, but is not under EPA or FCAA as an environmental air pollutant, so allowing the dirty, spent solvent to evaporate outside in an open container or on a hard cement surface where it is not possible for it to seep into the soil is OK.

    Aside from the Reagent Grade Acetone that @Oldhoopster alluded to--which is quite expensive, and costly to ship--the commercially available quarts or gallons from Home Depot (Kleen Strip) or Lowe's (JASCO) will suffice for the gross cleaning of most residues, but because they are not without contamination (see below), you will need to follow up that Acetone gross cleaning with either another quick-drying solvent that is pure (see below for my preferred agent), or a clean water rinse, followed by a non-abrasive drying (see below for my preferred method). The Kleen Strip or JASCO Acetone (I've used both) are not totally free of contaminants (ex: rust from the steel container, solids from various sources during manufacturing and filling operations, and chemicals from the formulation phase); pure Acetone is colorless, so if it has contamination you will see an amber coloration to it, and/or particulate in the pour (concentrated at the bottom of the container).

    The commercial Acetone can be used for multiple cleanings and will still be effective as-long-as you follow up with a "clean rinse". You can store the used Acetone in an a Polypropylene container such as an empty, thoroughly dry, Isopropyl Alcohol container (yes, it is non-reactive to acetone), or when you finally use up a quart metal Acetone container.

    Now for the "final cleaning" and drying that I use and recommend: (1) although I do, on occasion, use tap water with some Dawn followed by a DI or Distilled water rinse to remove some types of soils that Acetone doesn't completely remove, I mostly use a product called Brakleen (tetrachloroethylene) (https://www.crcindustries.com/produ...ake-parts-cleaner-non-flammable-29-wt-oz.html) which can be purchased from auto parts stores. Brakleen is a pure solvent that rapidly dries without leaving a residue, and is relatively inexpensive ($8.99 for 20 oz. @ O'Reilly). (2) after the final rinse, when the coin is still moist, I used canned air to blow off any remaining solvent or water.
     
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  21. love old coins

    love old coins Well-Known Member

    That's what I'm talking about! I cannot afford to pay $80 for acetone so I'll stick with Walmart for now.
     
  22. -jeffB

    -jeffB Greshams LEO Supporter

    Thanks @Tamaracian for this post; I'm always interested in hearing from people with extensive experience at this. I've got questions about a couple of your statements, but please keep in mind that they're questions, and not intended as a challenge or attack.
    Since rust is completely insoluble in acetone, I've figured that as long as I don't shake the container before pouring, it (and all the other solids) will stay in the bottom of the container. Have you actually had trouble with it getting into your coin bath? Do you notice discoloration in the acetone when you pour it out?

    I guess the most important question is whether it leaves a residue. You recommend rinsing with distilled water, but from what I've seen, just draining the acetone is fine -- it has such low surface tension that very little remains on the coin after you shake it. Have you actually had acetone leave perceptible residue behind on coins?
    What gives you confidence that Brakleen is more pure/less contaminated than hardware-store acetone? It contains stabilizers, and while I don't have any reason to suspect those might damage coins, I'm not sure. I am sure it's free of things that would harm auto brakes, but coins obviously aren't the same.

    I'm happier about the environmental impact of acetone than I would be about PCE, although at least PCE isn't an ozone depleter like carbon tet and its other relatives. Acetone is a good bit less toxic, too, as I understand it.
     
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