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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;PecuniaNonOlet, post: 1597111, member: 42827&quot;]<b>Substitutes for acetone</b></p><p><br /></p><p>I am not much of a coin cleaner, but I know a little about chemistry. <img src="styles/default/xenforo/clear.png" class="mceSmilieSprite mceSmilie5" alt=":confused:" unselectable="on" unselectable="on" /></p><p><br /></p><p>Is there a particular reason why other chemicals are rarely mentioned as cleaning agents besides acetone? I have recently noticed that denatured alcohol is generally a superior (and a bit safer) than some of the more &quot;energetic&quot; cleaners out there. And MEK, methyl ethyl ketone, is a close relative of acetone.</p><p><br /></p><p>The other issue is the use of water-based surfactants. Not necessarily the ones found in detergents, but there are a lot of surfactants that can chemically dissolve some of the tougher, dirtier contaminants on a coin. So here are a few ideas I have as alternatives to pure acetone...</p><p><br /></p><ul> <li>Avoid acids, bases, oxidizers, and salts. Do not use trisodium phosphate or similar chemicals, bleach, peroxides, vinegar, abrasives, soda, powders, gritty liquids, soap, pastes, or household cleaners.</li> <li>This leaves you with hydrocarbons, water, alcohols, ketones, and the like... industrial and commercial raw chemicals that are not reactive with the metals of a coin.</li> <li>Try things readily available and pure chemicals. Do not, for example, choose a household oil formulation or a motor oil. Both of these have numerous additives.</li> <li>Denatured alcohol is ethanol that has a little methanol in it to make it poisonous. It is a powerful polar solvent. You can get this and most of these things at a local hardware store like Ace or True Value.</li> <li>Isopropyl alcohol is that stuff you put on your minor cuts and scrapes. It dries fast and it is a polar solvent. It is cheap and available up to 90% next to the Band-Aids at the pharmacy.</li> <li>MEK or methyl ethyl ketone is just like acetone. It is an alternative with very similar properties.</li> <li>Toluene is a non-polar solvent. It would be able to remove chemicals that acetone and ethanol cannot. Dries quick. It is technically an aromatic.</li> <li>Xylene is very much like toluene but dries slower. They can substitute for one another.</li> <li>Mineral oil is a non-polar solvent. It will essentially never dry, however, so to remove the residue after cleaning, you must clean it with something like a detergent or toluene, xylene, etc. You could use mineral oil to submerge a pretty coin indefinitely, and it will never oxidize or tarnish because there won&#039;t be any air inside. This might work for a safe deposit box or a hidden cache.</li> <li>Water is a good solvent, too. Use only distilled water for cleaning. It dries slowly and it can react with dirt and corrosion to produce more corrosion. Use sparingly.</li> <li>When added to water, some detergents will have a high pH like a base and are unsuitable. But some detergents may be mild, and especially when enhanced by a surfactant. It is my guess that a so-called <b>Coin Dip</b> fits into this classification. One of the advantages of this type of cleaning is the use of bubbles, which uses air to do some of the attack. Alternating solvents with entrained air results in cleaner surfaces.</li> <li>Speaking of air, I don&#039;t hear too many people discussing canned or compressed air. There are gaseous solvents available for industrial cleaning, and although expensive, this type of cleaning should be considered. This is like the industrial equivalent of canned air.</li> <li>High or low temperatures are good ways to enhance cleaning of a coin. All coins are temperature stable over a much wider range than most contaminants (except of course corrosion). Heating a coin can be attempted to help the solvent process. Just remember that acetone and other chemicals are flammable. It should go without saying that it is possible to overheat a coin and damage it. But if you read up to this point, you should know this. You can&#039;t, for example, pop a dirty coin into your oven and have it come out clean. Copper and silver will both tarnish and oxidize easier at high temperature, so you may need to use a heat process where oxygen is not able to attack the coin by using nitrogen atmosphere or do it submerged in a solvent. The idea about low temperature is to freeze the dirt and let the coin remain.</li> <li>Ultrasonic. WHY HAS NO ONE mentioned this? Isn&#039;t this the method that jewelers use to clean precious metals? Is this a BIG SECRET?:yes: Ideally, sounds will break down dirt and cause it to fall off.</li> </ul><p>Note: I am using the word &quot;detergent&quot; in the chemical sense. I don&#039;t mean to imply that Tide with Bleach is a great coin cleaner. <img src="styles/default/xenforo/clear.png" class="mceSmilieSprite mceSmilie11" alt=":rolleyes:" unselectable="on" unselectable="on" />[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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