Acetone Made Silver Ike worse

Not that I know of. I did give a Brown Ike a bath in the same container but not at the same time.

 

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To consolidate some of the previous posts and past info on Acetone.

• Acetone will remove/loosen most organic material stuck to the coin
• Acetone will not affect toning (original metal from the coin that has reacted with sulfur or other environmental components). In very rare instances, acetone may react with (darken?) copper surfaces.
• In many cases, the organic material on coins can inhibit toning on the covered areas, while the rest of the coin tones naturally. Removing the organic residue can expose the untoned regions and make it appear that the acetone caused a reaction. This is not true, the acetone only reacted with the organic residue.
• The same is true for PVC residue (technically, it is the plasticizer added to the PVC to make it soft and pliable that causes the problem). The residue is acidic and can cause pitting or other damage. The residue on the coin may hide this damage and it is not visible until the residue is removed.
• After soaking in acetone, coins should be quickly rinsed with distilled or deionized water. Acetone evaporates quickly and any residue that is pulled into the solvent will redeposit on the coin when it dries.
• Only use small amounts when soaking and change frequently. The organics will concentrate in the acetone and could be a problem on subsequent coins especially if not rinsed quickly and completely.
• MY PERSONAL THOUGHTS: You don't need to soak for long periods of time for most coins. I don't think I've ever soaked for more than 30 minutes. If the residue does not come off after rinsing, try again, if there doesn't appear to be any progress, then the residue is probably inert to acetone.

Overall I feel that acetone is a good solvent for removing certain types of crud without affecting the surfaces of the coin. Remember, it is highly flammable and should be used safely (there are a number of threads that outline how to do this)

 

@Bman33 Put some MS-70 on it. Don't get any on the copper edge as it will get unnaturally bright.

Let us know how it turns out.

 

The acetone did NOT affect the coin...it removed organics which affected the coin's surface..... acetone CANNOT harm metal.

 

I thought the blue toning on Ikes was desirable.

 

Two things I did wrong: 1) I did not rinse out the container when I had acetoned the Brown Ike. 2) I did not use distilled water because I did not think the acetone would need it because it would just evaporate. I am assuming I should acetone, distilled water, pat dry.

The Blue I had was hazy and looked really bad from certain angles.

 

Re acetone use: I've tried various containers to immerse coins in acetone (trying to use smaller amounts without getting so much on my fingers). I have trouble getting the coins out. Besides a shot glass, what works well for you folks, and exactly how do you handle the coins?
Steve

 

I used a small glass caserol tray.

 

Wow. How much acetone did you have to use?

 

Acetone should always be the very last liquid touching the coin if you're using it. If you've properly used the acetone as a solvent, meaning the coin's surfaces have nothing left on them which the acetone can remove, then the last rinse of acetone will evaporate completely without leaving a trace of its' presence. It's sufficiently volatile that it all goes away. Which, in consequence, means no "drying" - the coin will dry completely while you're holding it, in a matter of less than 5 seconds.

Anything beyond that final acetone rinse is redundant and introduces more chances of error.

 

I bought 8 candles in glass jars with glass lids from the DollarTree store for $1 apiece. Set them in hot water until the wax melted an poured out into other containers. I ended up with 8 small glass jars that work great for cleaning coins, and don't allow the Acetone to evaporate. They have a plastic seal that I thought might be troublesome, however the acetone has been in the jars for a month without problem. I put the Ike there for size reference.

 

Maybe you should spend more time selecting better candidates? Understand that not all Ikes are good ones, and that a good coin will look like a good coin even under the haze, toning, and gunk.

 

It was a really small tray, not a whole lot. I bought a large one that I am going to soak several circulated Walkers with dirt on them. That is for my girlfriend who insists I make her collection look better by giving them an acetone bath.

 

I guess I should have asked how big the casserole is then lol.

I wouldn't recommend soaking dirty old walkers with gunk on them. As has been mentioned, if the gunk has been on there a while the metal underneath ages at a different rate so once you remove the gunk you'll have a spotted coin.

 

Makes sense. I'll talk her out of it, or just do one and show her that it didn't do much. They are common dates so bullion value.

 

Since you aren't happy with the coin, this is a perfect time to try eZest. If you don't have any, order some. Give it a couple of one second "dips" and rinse thoroughly with hot running water followed by a distilled water rinse. What you got to lose?

 

I can get it from a coin shop right down the street. My last eZest experiment was a disaster if you recall. I was cleaning rounds and got the eZest all over my kitchen sink. It ate away at the cheap metal. That was an apartment that I moved out of and they didn't charge me anything. I will give the eZest a shot on both my hazy Brown Ike and the Blue Ike showed in this thread.

 

I disagree strongly.

1) Acetone has very low surface tension, so very little will stick to the coin long enough to redeposit anything.

2) When water mixes with acetone, it can force the stuff dissolved in the acetone back out of solution -- and it will then stick to whatever's handy, including your coin. (But because of point (1), you can often get away with it.)

I think the best approach, and one I've seen recommended here, is to use three acetone containers. Dip and/or soak in the first, then dip in the second to rinse, then dip in the third to rinse.

The first one will dissolve everything off the coin. Some of that stuff will remain dissolved in the few drops of acetone that cling to the coin as you pull it out. The second will dilute that dissolved stuff by somewhere between a hundred and a thousand times. The third will dilute the tiny remaining amount by another hundred to thousand times, so that when you pull the coin out the last time, you'll have no detectable contaminants left on the coin.

 

Notice the number on the glass container I posted above.