Message:

<p>[QUOTE=&quot;Maxfli, post: 3695846, member: 69089&quot;]• I use a small glass food storage container with a snap-on plastic lid to slow evaporation.</p><p><br /></p><p>• I buy acetone in a quart can sold in the painting supplies section of my local Home Depot or Lowe&#039;s.</p><p><br /></p><p>• You shouldn&#039;t need to soak for days. Hours, and in many cases minutes, are usually enough time for the acetone to remove or loosen anything it&#039;s capable of removing or loosening.</p><p><br /></p><p>• A relatively clean coin may need only one soaking.&nbsp; A dirtier coin might need two, three or more, each time in clean acetone. The rule I follow is, keep doing additional soakings until I don&#039;t see any more particles of dislodged gunk in the bottom of the bowl, and then a final quick swish in more clean acetone to make sure no residual particles stick to the coin.</p><p><br /></p><p>• Just remove the coin with your fingers, holding by the rim. The acetone will fully evaporate off the surface of the coin in seconds. Acetone won&#039;t harm your skin.</p><p><br /></p><p>• Some people do a wash in distilled water after the acetone treatment is completed. I do not. Why reintroduce moisture to the surface of the coin after the evaporation of the acetone has left it bone dry?</p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p>Acetone only interacts with stuff on the coin, not the coin itself, so you don&#039;t need to worry about screwing up a coin . . . for the most part.</p><p><br /></p><p>A few exceptions to this rule based on personal experience:</p><p><br /></p><p>• An aluminum coin I soaked in acetone came out severely pitted. It was one of the French territorial coins; Madagascar, I think.</p><p><br /></p><p>• A brass plated (or some kind of plated) coin came out with discoloration. It was a cheap modern world coin, so no great loss.</p><p><br /></p><p>• A bronze 1945 quarter anna from India came out of the acetone with a slight pinkish hue.&nbsp; That&#039;s the only time that happened, but when I soak a bronze coin now, I keep a close eye on it.&nbsp; Or sometimes I&#039;ll substitute xylene for acetone.</p><p><br /></p><p>One of our resident chemists may come along to claim that these exceptions aren&#039;t possible. I haven&#039;t studied chemistry since college so I can&#039;t address the issue in scientific terms, but I know what I did and I know what I saw.[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

Your name or email address:

Do you already have an account?

• No, create an account now.
• Yes, my password is:
• Forgot your password?

Stay logged in