Washing Silver Generic Rounds

Plastic wrap? The vapors would dissolve that in a matter of seconds.

After you soak your coin, be sure to rinse it with pure but clean.acetone again to remove any film from the dissolved crud that may redeposit on the coin. Then just let it air dry as the acetone will completely evaporate off the coin in about 10 seconds

Op, post pics of the coin you want to soak and we can give you a more specific plan of attack. Do you have a rose bush or citrus tree?

 

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I'll get pics up later in the week. Out of town right now.

 

Not necessarily. Most plastic wrap is polyethylene or polypropylene which would not be soluble. I got some food wrap at a Japanese store recently which was REAL saran (polyvinylidene chloride), real tough stuff that is almost immune to vapor transmission.

 

So I did some research and found that a product called E Zest is supposed to work well. It is sold on bullion websites. Someone mentioned it in this thread too. Anybody have any experience with this?

 

Yeah, you dip a coin in it for only 2-3 seconds tops. Then rinse the coin off immediately under warm running water. Then you can either finish it with a rinse from distilled water or better yet sit it in acetone for a minute. Then blot dry with a soft towel if you rinsed with the distilled water or just let it air dry if you dunked it in acetone. Do all this while wearing latex gloves though as the surface metal will be fresh and even the slightest fingerprint will become a brown.spot on the coin/round. It's a dangerous thing to do as too long of a dip in the ezest will ruin the surfaces forever. There's a fine line. Practice on the bullion but it's not that complicated

 

Good, but I wouldn't use latex gloves with acetone. Wash your hands before messing with coins (and after going through a box of junk coins!!).

 

I do. And it doesn't hurt them. Maybe after a few uses the latex will degrade but I would never touch a freshly stripped (ezest dipped) coin without them. Even if I scrubbed my hands with lava soap. One print and it'd dip again and you know a coin can only handle 2-3 dips

 

THANK YOU CASCADE AND KENTUCKY! If they are on the coin when you get it; acetone will do NOTHING to visible fingerprints. Now, all you other long-time CT experts PLEASE write this down 100 times until it finally sinks in!!

 

No mention of dilution? Bullion or not, this is going to be a new experience for the gentleman, so perhaps he should start slow and work his way up. There are near countless examples out there of why this is a good idea.

 

True. I've been using it straight now too long. But yes op, dump half of the ezest out and replace with distilled water. It will dilute the acid so you have more time in case you mess up and the results will be the same.

 

If you wash the oils off your hands (don't have to use Lava, but I wouldn't use Dove either) you will not fingerprint a coin. Observe proper etiquette anyway and handle the coins by the edge.

 

What about ammonia right after the e zest to neutralize the acid? I saw a bullion dealer on YouTube use it.

 

Ammonia (a weak base iirc) may have its uses, but I personally don't think this one of the better ones (and never bothered trying, to be honest) although someone like @Kentucky could certainly explain the technicals. Even with a 50/50 dip as was earlier suggested (don't be afraid to go further if you're going to or ever want to experiment) you don't want to screw around, especially being new and with a coin you care anything about. Just rinse under water and acetone to try to avoid spots.

 

As a chemist, one of the things I realize is how much in chemistry I don't understand (or perhaps am familiar with).

 

Just looked at a Canadian Maple that I bought in a flip a couple of months ago. I was examining it and what would you know, a finger print and a milk spot on it. It was in a flip and I could not see the finger print and milk spot when I bought it. Acetone or E Zest for this might work. What do the rest of you think?

 

You're probably stuck with the milk spot. Even NCS and PCGS can't remove or prevent them from forming without harming the coin. The print will come off; follow the same directions as for removing it from the generic round.

BTW, acetone is super safe as long as you're not guzzling it or using it in an enclosed, non-ventilated area or near open flames. Obviously, don't try to get it on your skin, but don't worry if you get a little on you.

 

Do you mean acetone bath or E Zest for the Maple?

 

Both, but only use the dip on the fingerprint. I wouldn't even try to work on the milk spot.

 

Ok, my e Z est came in the mail this week and I have 13 problem items: 12 Generic Silver Rounds and 1 2014 Canadian Maple. I am off to the store to get some acetone and a glass container to hold the acetone. I will try the acetone bath for all of them first. Then I will use the e Zest for the rounds and maybe the maple if the acetone doesn't work. I was told to avoid brown spots on the silver after dipping in E Z Est to dip in a base like baking soda, amonnia, or hot soapy water. Any thoughts on the use of a base? The E zest does not have the chemicals in it listed so I can't do much research on the acid that's in it.

 

Also, how do I put coins back in a tube without scratching them up by clanking on each other? Every time I put coins in a tube the rim on one hits the flat surface of another. Anyways, hopefully someone can help.