Acetone wash

[newprepper]

OK, I got an eagle, a round and some late 50's -64 dimes off ebay. Some of the dimes look horrible. Some ok. Started rinsing in acetone, a couple look better, some have black in the crevices and around the lettering that seems stubborn. Soak longer? Swirl more? Laser Beam? Any ideas? What can you really expect from acetone? And how well will old pennies respond to it? Thanks

[Raisethis2]

There are excellent posts about proper cleaning (if there is such a thing) using Acetone. The first thing you need to know is that it evaporates very quickly. Further, soak ONLY, no swirl, rub, etc. Soak in 30 minute segments (or less).

 

Remove coin from soak and rinse under warm water, (preferably distilled) within seconds (or coin will dry with a haze).

 

The objective is to clean foreign substances without leaving anything behind or affecting the luster.

 

Good luck with that. It rarely works on BU coins as planned.

[L1ncolnF4n]

Acetone isn't mint magic, it simply helps to remove surface scum. If somethings deep in the surfaces, the coin will not improve with a simple bath most times. Those dimes are worth melt anyway and it doesn't matter much what melt coins look like.

[e1cnr]

Acetone isn't mint magic, it simply helps to remove surface scum. If somethings deep in the surfaces, the coin will not improve with a simple bath most times. Those dimes are worth melt anyway and it doesn't matter much what melt coins look like.

 

acetone removes organic material and PVC- it does not remove natural toning

 

you need something like jewelluster for that

and make sure coin is uncirculated or you will make it look worse

[newprepper]

Thanks, appreciate the advice

[BadThad]

I wouldn't go past acetone. Unless your experienced at coin conservation, don't attempt it. One mistake and the coins will be worth exactly melt value.