Will anything remove scratches from NGC holders?

[Count_Erfit]

I tried Happich Simichrome that works on the "other" slabs but it made the NGC worse.

 

Any suggestions?

 

I just emailed NGC about reholdering. I....think... the fee is $18. 10+8 but not sure.

 

How about any plastic polish?

[RWB]

Soft plastic requires very fine abrasive. A simple way to test an abrasive is:

 

Take a fresh piece of common aluminum foil and place it shiny side up on a piece of ordinary glass. Gently rub the abrasive mixture (according to mfg instructions) on a small spot for a few minutes. If the spot shows no change, or is brighter than the surrounding area, the abrasive should work well on plastic such as NGC, ANACS and PCGS holders. If there is any loss of brilliance at the spot, it will probably not work to restore the clarity of the holder's surface.

[messydesk]

It depends on the generation of the NGC plastic. Unless the holder is special, the best thing you can do with most of the pre-prong holders is reholder, as that plastic was awful compared to the new stuff. Plastic polish like PlastX will eventually get the scratches out, but you're using a lot of elbow grease and you might see hairlines after polishing, especially if the coin is dark, depending on the plastic. I haven't tried the Novus polishes, but Novus 1 might able to polish them out.

 

Different holders take polish differently. GSA holders (including Brown Ike holders) hairline more easily, so I won't polish those with PlastX.

[Count_Erfit]

I'm thinking talcum possibly. The Simicrhome is for metal actually. But it works on other slabs quite well.

 

These are not deep at all. They're actually POLISH scratches. or...hairline scratches.

The coin is dark so it shows up. Not in daylight or some hi intensity lights but others make it look like a streaky windshield.

 

 

And that doesn't show the scratches at all.

 

Dunno if I can light it right to get them to show.

 

 

[Hard Times]

I have tried everything that everyone has recommended on these boards. All of these plastic polishes impart hairlines to NGC slabs including the newest NGC slabs. The ATS slabs can be polished up well without leaving hairlines with all of the recommended polishing fluids. I even crossed three coins recently to ATS simply because I am getting tired of not being able to clean up an NGC slab. And the problem is, almost every NGC-slabbed coin I buy has damage to it by the time it comes to me that cannot be repaired without imparting hairlines. That means getting them reholdered if you value the presentation of the coin/token within the slab itself and I do. And then, if they are beaned, it means sending them back to CAC for a new sticker. So I have had to get about 100 NGC slabs reholdered. I try to wait for meetings where it is easy to get it done on sight without shipping costs both ways. For my tokens, since there is no CAC service, I don't have to cross them which is good so most of my 150 tokens remain in NGC slabs thank goodness. Love NGC, don't like their slab for the reasons stated here.

 

I simply don't get why NGC has not made an effort to get a plastic that can be polished up without imparting hairlines, or have not provided those of us who care about having a pristine surfaced slab a way to get the surfaces back without imparting hairlines.

 

So NGC - care to help your dedicated customers on this issue? Like I said, coins that need a CAC sticker in my collection are slowly moving over to ATS simply because their slabs can be cleaned up without imparting hairlines. This should be an important issue to you.... I hope?

 

Rant over and look forward to a public response from our hosts and what they will do about this issue.

 

Best, HT

[RWB]

Did you try Bon Ami cleaner - or feldspar?

 

[Count_Erfit]

Well, I got my answer.

I called Steve Feltner, one of the owners of Americana Rare Coins in Sacramento (and a former PCGS grader) and asked him and told him I'd bring the slab over for him to look at and render an opinion.

 

I never thought about it, but when I was a pipe smoker many decades ago (only lightly today) I knew it was traditional knowledge that a fine briar pipe can be polished and kept snazzy looking by rubbing it on your nose to pick up skin oil.

 

Steve said from my phone description he expected a wire brushed plowshare scrabbly mess.

When he saw the coin (even as it was after my Simichrome experiment) he said that even as it was, it wouldn't bother him.

 

But he showed me what smoe NOSE GREASE does to microscopic whorls of polishing.

 

They DISAPPEAR. Presto! GONE!

 

If you happen to use a bit too much oil, a light wipe with an absorbent cloth removes any excess oil but leaves the microscopic polish hairlines still filled and invisible.

 

So....gonna do nothing.

 

The slab is now crystal clear.

 

Thanks, Steve.

[Count_Erfit]

Did you try Bon Ami cleaner - or feldspar?

 

Thought of a wood planer, but found an answer before trying.

[coinman_23885]

I have tried everything that everyone has recommended on these boards. All of these plastic polishes impart hairlines to NGC slabs including the newest NGC slabs. The ATS slabs can be polished up well without leaving hairlines with all of the recommended polishing fluids. I even crossed three coins recently to ATS simply because I am getting tired of not being able to clean up an NGC slab.... Love NGC, don't like their slab for the reasons stated here.

 

I simply don't get why NGC has not made an effort to get a plastic that can be polished up without imparting hairlines, or have not provided those of us who care about having a pristine surfaced slab a way to get the surfaces back without imparting hairlines.

 

 

Best, HT

 

I admit that scratching and slab optics have made me consider crossing coins ATS too.

[physics-fan3.14]

Well, I got my answer.

I called Steve Feltner, one of the owners of Americana Rare Coins in Sacramento (and a former PCGS grader) and asked him and told him I'd bring the slab over for him to look at and render an opinion.

 

I never thought about it, but when I was a pipe smoker many decades ago (only lightly today) I knew it was traditional knowledge that a fine briar pipe can be polished and kept snazzy looking by rubbing it on your nose to pick up skin oil.

 

Steve said from my phone description he expected a wire brushed plowshare scrabbly mess.

When he saw the coin (even as it was after my Simichrome experiment) he said that even as it was, it wouldn't bother him.

 

But he showed me what smoe NOSE GREASE does to microscopic whorls of polishing.

 

They DISAPPEAR. Presto! GONE!

 

If you happen to use a bit too much oil, a light wipe with an absorbent cloth removes any excess oil but leaves the microscopic polish hairlines still filled and invisible.

 

So....gonna do nothing.

 

The slab is now crystal clear.

 

Thanks, Steve.

 

Interesting. I've heard this tactic used to make certain coins appear better as well.

[RWB]

Long ago and far away, photographers used a dab of nose oil to fill scratches in B&W negatives.

[orifdoc]

I did a thread about removing deep gouges. It's possible, but not easy at all with NGC plastic. It's easy to remove the big stuff but the last bit of hairlines required some work with a buffing wheel and Novus.

 

Linky

[jom]

I have tried everything that everyone has recommended on these boards. All of these plastic polishes impart hairlines to NGC slabs including the newest NGC slabs. The ATS slabs can be polished up well without leaving hairlines with all of the recommended polishing fluids. I even crossed three coins recently to ATS simply because I am getting tired of not being able to clean up an NGC slab. And the problem is, almost every NGC-slabbed coin I buy has damage to it by the time it comes to me that cannot be repaired without imparting hairlines. That means getting them reholdered if you value the presentation of the coin/token within the slab itself and I do. And then, if they are beaned, it means sending them back to CAC for a new sticker. So I have had to get about 100 NGC slabs reholdered. I try to wait for meetings where it is easy to get it done on sight without shipping costs both ways. For my tokens, since there is no CAC service, I don't have to cross them which is good so most of my 150 tokens remain in NGC slabs thank goodness. Love NGC, don't like their slab for the reasons stated here.

 

I simply don't get why NGC has not made an effort to get a plastic that can be polished up without imparting hairlines, or have not provided those of us who care about having a pristine surfaced slab a way to get the surfaces back without imparting hairlines.

 

So NGC - care to help your dedicated customers on this issue? Like I said, coins that need a CAC sticker in my collection are slowly moving over to ATS simply because their slabs can be cleaned up without imparting hairlines. This should be an important issue to you.... I hope?

 

Rant over and look forward to a public response from our hosts and what they will do about this issue.

 

Best, HT

 

In years past and in my experience NGC holders were far more difficult to scratch than PCGS holders. If this holds true still then couldn't it be possible THAT is the reason NGC slabs are harder to buff-out? It seems to me that if a slab is harder to scratch to begin with it would be harder to fix once damaged. Maybe....?

 

jom