Acetone vs. Lacquer Thinner?

I've seen discussions on the relative safety of soaking a coin in acetone to dislodge the dirt, crud, and DNA that adheres to a coin over the decades.

What's the school of thought on using lacquer thinner? I have a gallon of that in the garage, but no acetone.

I would like to use it on a "low value" silver coin to see if it will strip the dark spots off of it. Your thoughts?

Here's the coin. Not a lot of risk in this methinks.

Z

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It depends on what other ingredients are in the "lacquer thinner."

Often, lacquer thinner will be primarily xylene or acetone (both of which are safe for silver coins). It may have other chemicals in it, however - and I'd be concerned about how those might interact with the coin.

Check the back and tell us what the ingredients are, and we may be able to help you better.

 

Will do, thanks.

Z

 

Here's the list.

Z

 

Here's the list.

Z

 

I would sacrifice the $20 or so to buy a gallon of Acetone. Our body can even produce small amounts of acetone but ethyl acetate and methanol should be avoided unless you have excellent protection . IMO, Jim

 

Yeah, I agree. Although there is some acetone in there, I honestly have no idea how those other things would affect a coin, and I'd probably rather avoid it.

I have no problem using acetone with bare hands, but you'd probably better use the right kind of gloves, ventilation, and eye shields when handling that stuff.

 

I would only use acetone but I don't think it will change the coin much. Acetone will not remove toning.

 

I have used acetone very safely it wont hurt most coins. I myself would avoid the lacquer thinner unless its an unusual situation. I have the coin below and it was lacquered when I bought it (it was fully disclosed) I tried acetone soaks long ones and it would not dissolve. I used some naptha thinner as a bath and then several distilled water rinses and then acetone and rinse, knowing it was a risk and the result was good. The coin has been stable for many years now.

 

Nothing I see in the "thinner" list of ingredients would harm a coin, but they might harm you. Use with proper ventilation and away from flames. Actually a mix of solvents might remove more than any one alone. Check to see if the stuff is "water clear" and colorless.

 

Yeah, it looks water clear. I'm less concerned about the nasty effects on me than the coin. It's in a sealed glass jar with the Mexican Cinco Peso already. I noticed that a few of the black spots had loosened and were floating around in the liquid.

Not sure how long to leave it in this stuff, but I saw other thread about acetone mention leaving them in for weeks.

I think this stuff is a bit more aggressive than acetone.

Z

 

Go at it day by day. A week won't hurt, but it just might not be necessary.

 

It can make you punchy, Z. Keep the window open while you're using it, get some O2 going on in there.

 

It's down in the garage in an old salsa jar that was reclaimed from the recycling bin, sealed tight.

No worries. I do more damage to myself on a Saturday night hitting the Amaretto bottle . . . . which reminds me . . . .

This stuff is like drinking bourbon . . .

Z

 

Show the results when you done...

 

40 years ago a friend and I stole his mother's bottle of Amaretto. To this day, just the word Amaretto makes me sick.

 

So a follow-up question: How do you know when it's done?

I also threw the following Peace Dollar into the jar. They've been in there a few days. I take a look at them once a day, but haven't seen much change.

Are the dark spots supposed to "lift off" or it light patting with a q-tip needed? I saw one or two tiny black specks in the solution the first evening, but nothing since then.

Z

 

I also threw in this fuzzy Missouri Tax token. No idea what the base metal is. The white stuff on the black coin. I have a few Missouri and Kansas tax tokens with this crap growing on it . . . .

Remember, I'm from Georgia. Here, hold my beer . . . .

Z

 

I believe it is zinc.