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100% Acetone Coin Bath

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Author Previous TopicReplies: 26 / Views: 2,923Next Topic Page 2 of 2
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Rest in Peace
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18456 Posts
 Posted 10/31/2021  8:29 pm  Show Profile   Bookmark this reply Add T-BOP to your friends list
How many times must we say this ; Do not use nail polish remover for your coin soaks !
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 Posted 10/31/2021  9:30 pm  Show Profile   Bookmark this reply Add Lunch Money to your friends list
A can of acetone from the hardware store also ends up much cheaper per ounce than whatever you might buy for removing nail polish.
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 Posted 10/31/2021  10:03 pm  Show Profile   Bookmark this reply Add tdziemia to your friends list
I find it interesting that the front of the label can claim the product to be 100% acetone when the back says it isn't.

My guess is that the second ingredient is present only at ppm levels (i.e. within round-off accuracy)



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 Posted 10/31/2021  10:31 pm  Show Profile   Bookmark this reply Add Sap to your friends list
Denatonium benzoate is one of the bitterest-tasting substances known. You only need a minute amount of it (far less than the 0.5% you'd need for the "100%" claim to be false) to provide the deterrent effect. The tiny amount of it that will be left behind on the coin will make your coins taste terrible, but have no other effect.

As others have said, acetone cannot create lustre. However, it can reveal lustre that is hidden underneath grime.

It can also wash off certain types of artificial toning.

Try taking some before-and-after pics to show us what you're seeing.
Don't say "infinitely" when you mean "very"; otherwise, you'll have no word left when you want to talk about something really infinite. - C. S. Lewis
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 Posted 10/31/2021  11:23 pm  Show Profile   Bookmark this reply Add NumismaticsFTW to your friends list
Well now that I'm being told I will be tarred and feathered in front of the entire village I won't be able to do before and after pics.
You realize when you know how to think, it empowers you far beyond those who know only what to think.

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 Posted 11/01/2021  08:01 am  Show Profile   Bookmark this reply Add just carl to your friends list
As so many keep saying DO NOT USE NAIL POLISH REMOVER.
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 Posted 11/01/2021  08:47 am  Show Profile   Bookmark this reply Add Ty2020b to your friends list

Quote:
Well now that I'm being told I will be tarred and feathered in front of the entire village I won't be able to do before and after pics.


By all means, please do post the pics!

Without pics, in attempts to answer your question; it's not that acetone is adding luster or creating a "shinier" coin as some products will, like MS70 (an industrial cleaner). If the natural luster of your coin is being subdued by dirt or another organic substance, such as the haze created from pvc, then it's removing this and you are now seeing the coins natural surfaces.

There have been many coins I've used acetone and xylene on that look full and lifeless due to this, and look mid AU, but after a round in either of the mentioned, look much better and reveal MS surfaces.

If someone says their coin looks worse after coming out of an acetone bath it's one of 3 possible scenarios:
1: it's not pure acetone
2: the method of assisting the acetone with a qtip or a toothpick was done too harshly and altered the surface.
3: (the big one) acetone has removed the organic matter and revealed problems that were already on the coin and have just been masked by years of buildup. Most common on copper.
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 Posted 11/01/2021  08:50 am  Show Profile   Bookmark this reply Add ijn1944 to your friends list
Acetone is (almost) always your friend.
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 Posted 11/01/2021  08:58 am  Show Profile   Bookmark this reply Add tdziemia to your friends list
I agree with @Sap that you were probably fine to use this product.

...and that the acetone probably did its job and removed some grime and/or surface particulates to reveal the underlying luster of a coin that was in mint state or nearly so.

So I am withholding my bag of feathers (darn!)
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 Posted 11/01/2021  10:59 am  Show Profile   Bookmark this reply Add Wrekkdd to your friends list
I ga e noticed especially with copper coins that have gunk and grime, most of the time it's hiding corrosive green and outs. Some time one looks alright and then after a long acetone soak looks much worse due to everything being revealed.
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 Posted 11/01/2021  12:11 pm  Show Profile   Bookmark this reply Add jbuck to your friends list

Quote:
Denatonium benzoate is one of the bitterest-tasting substances known.
It is also in the 100% pure acetone you buy at the hardware store.
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 Posted 11/03/2021  09:18 am  Show Profile   Bookmark this reply Add psuman08 to your friends list
@NumismaticsFTW, I understand what you are saying. I have gone back and given most of my collection an acetone bath. In nearly every case the coins come out looking much better. I think as others have said, the acetone is removing organics revealing luster that was there.

Don't be intimated by posters here, they are a generally friendly group - and everyone here wants to learn. Go ahead and post those pics!
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 Posted 12/03/2021  12:10 pm  Show Profile   Bookmark this reply Add kaddyshack to your friends list
Can rubbing alcohol be used to get some of the grime off of junk Silver coins ?
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 Posted 12/03/2021  4:13 pm  Show Profile   Bookmark this reply Add Ty2020b to your friends list
@Kaddyshack, Isopropyl alcohol is safe (I've used 90% in the past), but depending on the foreign substance on the coin, it may or may not remove it.

I use denatured alcohol frequently in my line of work, but have never used it on coins due to the additives and occasionally dies added. Isopropyl is the safe bet.
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