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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;LaCointessa, post: 2843407, member: 87186&quot;]Hi [USER=77673]@Alok Verma[/USER]! If you click on the below link, you&#039;ll see what steel wool is. How can they not have it everywhere in India?&nbsp; They must!</p><p><br /></p><p><a href="http://lmgtfy.com/?q=steel+wool" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="http://lmgtfy.com/?q=steel+wool" rel="nofollow">http://lmgtfy.com/?q=steel wool</a></p><p><br /></p><p>But, after you find out what it is and whether you can find it where you are, I want to say that I do not use it on every coin I am working to clean. As I am gaining experience cleaning coins I am learning two main things:</p><p><br /></p><p>1. Every coin must&nbsp; be looked at closely to know whether it needs cleaning (many actually do not - but a good brushing and electric tooth brushing will do just fine); and if it needs to be cleaned, each coin may require different handling.&nbsp; One method definitely does not fit all coins that need cleaning.</p><p><br /></p><p>Some coins are crusty with caked on muddy stuff.</p><p>Some crust is like cement and other is easier to remove</p><p>Some coins have a sticky grimy tar substance.</p><p>Some coins have both of the above</p><p>Some are simply dusty</p><p><br /></p><p>2.&nbsp; I prefer a natural approach to coin cleaning the more of it I do. A good brushing and the avoidance of chemicals is my preference. I pulled out my dad&#039;s old surgical instruments and found two I adore. I am practicing with those instruments on some coins I have already cleaned passed.&nbsp; My use of fine steel wool has reached the point where I use the tiniest amount wound onto the slimmest stick like a metal ear swab.</p><p><br /></p><p>I am definitely becoming a minimalist when it comes to ancient coin cleaning.</p><p><br /></p><p>And I prefer, now, to avoid wetting the coin. I like working the crusty coins dry first until I get to the patina. Then I find I like to stop working on that coin for a while and just think and look at it and look at my options. Come back to it in a day or two and see what approach or technique it needs (if anything).</p><p><br /></p><p>Oh! Thanks for reminding me. I had an idea to pull out my steam machine and see if using it as a first step might be beneficial. I doubt I will get around to that today; but, when I do, I&#039;ll write back and let you know how it went.[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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