cool trick for cleaning bars http://scifun.chem.wisc.edu/homeExpts/tarnish.html IDK about yall, but I hate dirty bullion. Makes it look crappy. Probably comes from years cleaning my mothers punch bowl before every party.
I seen "Cool tricks for cleaning...and thought, OH NO. Thankfully it was bullion bars:thumb: Regards, Stan
It's an interesting concept. What we need are opinions of some of the collector-chemists at CoinTalk to verify that this actually reverses toning without removing any of the silver luster.
Baking soda and coins.....does that sound like a good idea to you? Baking soda is Sodium Bicarbonate. Last time I checked, there is a chemical called Silver carbonate, meaning that the silver might react with the carbonate from the baking soda. Baking soda is Na HCo3 In water the Na and HCO3 separate forming an ionic solution. 2 HCO3 and 2AG gives Ag2 CO3 + H2O + CO2 So, baking soda and Silver makes silver carbonate, water and carbon dioxide. Ag2 CO3 is silver carbonate.
As long as the aluminum is in electrical contact with the silver, the aluminum is what will be reacted with. I can only guess what it does to luster. Do bars even have luster?
Funny you should say that because there's a thread here somewhere way back during his tenure where he asked about how to clean bars, and I believe he did figure something out then exhibited his bar(s) and such on YouTube soon thereafter. Not sure which thread or if that video is still posted.
