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 Replies: 10 / Views: 1,377 |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
1691 Posts |
what do you think of using ultrasonic dips
for restoring and cleaning coins?
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Pillar of the Community
 United States
2448 Posts |
Just marking this, I've never used one.
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Pillar of the Community
United States
565 Posts |
It is made for jewelry.I put coins in it to see what would happen used water only.I have not had much luck with it yet.
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Moderator
 Australia
16810 Posts |
Do a forum search for "ultrasonic" and you'll find several pages of threads discussing them in the archive. Example. The main problem is that, while sonication should be harmless in theory, in practice there's no way of suspending a coin in the bath without the risk of causing the coin to vibrate and rub against whatever you're using to hold the coin in place. I'd recommend using it only on dug-up or other "junk" coins. Quote:
...used water only... Well, there's your problem - that won't do much good. Ordinary water has too high a surface tension, you usually need to add something to reduce it, like a detergent or wetting agent. Or, you can use a liquid other than water, such as methylated spirits or acetone. 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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Bedrock of the Community
United States
20753 Posts |
Quote:
Well, there's your problem - that won't do much good. Ordinary water has too high a surface tension, you usually need to add something to reduce it, like a detergent or wetting agent. Or, you can use a liquid other than water, such as methylated spirits or acetone. Due to the flash or ignition point of Acetone, I would not suggest anyone placing some in any device that is electrical. A loose wire, short in a switch, etc. and POOF, there goes the eyelashes.  And maybe the eyes too. As noted you could do a search on the tab at the top that says SEARCH and find all sorts of information on those things. My suggestion is to just not waste time with those on coins unless you want to try with real junk ones. |
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Rest in Peace
United States
9104 Posts |
Ditto on the acetone or other flammables.
Results depend on the power of the machine and the liquid. Something like olive oil might work great on old copper, if the ultrasonic speeds up what usually takes months.
Dad told me of a commercial unit about the size of a kitchen sink they used to clean parts at work. A few seconds in it, and it would clean dirt under your fingernails and out of the cracks in your fingerprints.
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Valued Member
India
265 Posts |
i never clean coins, so I dont have any experience with ultrasonic cleaners. But I always keep my mind open for new forms of restoration.
warm wishes.
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Bedrock of the Community
United States
20753 Posts |
Way, way back in time when Engineering organizations make drawings with pencil and/or ink, the inked ones were done with all sorts of pens. Most of the more modern ones had removable tips and they would naturally jam if left unnatended. There were always those Ultrasonic cleaners around to loosen the tips. Normally they were filled with either a strong soapy substance or an Alcohol misture. Would take only a few minutes to free those tips. Naturally the computer age with CAD made all that obsolete.
Everyone would place coins, rings and/or anything of metal in them for fun. One thing we all found out was many items of Silver would tarnish fast when done in those things. Most coins did very little but if contained Silver, they too would stain or tarnish fast.
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Valued Member
United States
307 Posts |
I used a cleaner to clean jewelry and watches with a prepares solution for this type of cleaning. I also cleaned some coins in those solutions and they look pretty good. If you decide to try it only clean one at a time as they will rub and scratch each other. Maybe there is a solution for coins. LOL
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Pillar of the Community
United States
6383 Posts |
I tried it once on a worn copper-nickel Indian cent and it brightened up the coin in an unnatural way. The original dirty-looking circulated coin was much more appealing before I messed with it.  |
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Rest in Peace
United States
9104 Posts |
Quote:
One thing we all found out was many items of Silver would tarnish fast when done in those things. Most coins did very little but if contained Silver, they too would stain or tarnish fast. Makes sense. Tarnish, like patina on ancients, is the result of chemical reaction. Once the reaction is done, the tarnish acts as a protective coating until exposed to some chemical even more reactive than what caused the original tarnish. (This is why many sterling chains are rhodium plated, since it is highly tarnish resistant.) Remove that tarnish, and you expose the highly reactive silver underneath. I'd guess copper would also react faster once cleaned, just to different chemicals. |
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Replies: 10 / Views: 1,377 |
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Posted 02/21/2011 10:30 pm
