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Message:: [QUOTE="-jeffB, post: 4024753, member: 27832"]OK, I'm curious about this, and here's one of the first links my search turned up: <a href="https://forums.collectors.com/discussion/937321/new-safeclean-coin-cleaner-aarrrggg" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="https://forums.collectors.com/discussion/937321/new-safeclean-coin-cleaner-aarrrggg" rel="nofollow">New Safeclean coin cleaner AARRRGGG! — Collectors Universe</a> There's a fair amount of panic in the thread about the cleaner being acid-based -- but I think that's just a misinterpretation of the MSDS (Material Safety Data Sheet) for plain emu oil, found on the company's website. Emu oil is an animal oil, and all animal oils (fats) consist of triglycerides -- a compound of glycerin and organic acids. To describe an animal (or vegetable) oil chemically, you specify which organic acids go into the compound, and in what proportion. But they aren't acids any more when they're in the compound. Part of the acid combines with part of the glycerin, and the product is an oil that isn't acid at all. On the other hand, oils can break down in ways that free up those acids, or they can be produced in a way that brings along some unreacted acid. This is a particular problem in some vegetable oils, like olive oil; that's why an olive-oil soak can damage some coin surface if done for too long. The problem is that Safeclean's manufacturer apparently has NOT posted the actual product's MSDS anywhere, so we don't know whether what it contains is harmful to coins or not. Given that, I certainly wouldn't jump to try it on a valuable coin. Even if I tried it on some low-value coins with no apparent problems, I'd be reluctant to keep using it without knowing what's in it -- or without someone I trust telling me that its components are harmless.[/QUOTE]

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