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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;SuperDave, post: 2781764, member: 1892&quot;]In the real world, where we exercise a certain level of caution when working with an enormously flammable substance, acetone is completely inert to <b>any</b> metals we will be handling. There is always misinformation about as to its&#039; effective use - what it works against and when/how to use it properly - but a forum search will turn up a large number of previous discussions on the subject and a discerning reader can easily separate the wheat from the chaff regarding effective implementation of the stuff.</p><p><br /></p><p>The salient points, in a nutshell: Acetone is an organic solvent, and will work only against organic deposits. This includes the #1 &quot;contaminant&quot; offender, PVC plasticizer outgassing reactions. You won&#039;t always know when the stuff is present; it doesn&#039;t identify itself clearly in the initial stages. This is why many experienced collectors (myself included) give every single raw coin we purchase an acetone bath.</p><p><br /></p><p>Part of the decision-making process with acetone, though, is &quot;Should I use it?&quot; The surface of a coin under a crud buildup will not age at the same rate as the rest of the coin, and acetone will likely do nothing about the patina on the exposed places. Therefore, and this is relevant to any form of conservation, do you really want to expose &quot;fresher&quot; surfaces adjacent to more aged ones? That will end in a coin which has plainly been cleaned to the eye of an informed collector. Sometimes &quot;don&#039;t touch it at all&quot; is the smarter choice.</p><p><br /></p><p>If your only interest is in arresting &quot;contaminants&quot; before they adversely affect the coin, acetone is probably the solution. The only real long-term threat acetone won&#039;t neutralize is Bronze Disease, and even that it will dehydrate and delay.[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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