elverno Posted December 23, 2005 Report Share Posted December 23, 2005 What sort of precautions should I take besides moving the process outdoors and away from sparks? Should I wear gloves? If so what sort? Ok, it wasn't one question... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tiffibunny Posted December 23, 2005 Report Share Posted December 23, 2005 I only tried it once and I used the latex type gloves. They turned a funny color, but none got on my hands. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elverno Posted December 23, 2005 Author Report Share Posted December 23, 2005 Is it toxic? Can you just handle it and then just wash it off without problems? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tiffibunny Posted December 23, 2005 Report Share Posted December 23, 2005 Potential Health Effects ---------------------------------- Inhalation: Inhalation of vapors irritates the respiratory tract. May cause coughing, dizziness, dullness, and headache. Higher concentrations can produce central nervous system depression, narcosis, and unconsciousness. Ingestion: Swallowing small amounts is not likely to produce harmful effects. Ingestion of larger amounts may produce abdominal pain, nausea and vomiting. Aspiration into lungs can produce severe lung damage and is a medical emergency. Other symptoms are expected to parallel inhalation. Skin Contact: Irritating due to defatting action on skin. Causes redness, pain, drying and cracking of the skin. Eye Contact: Vapors are irritating to the eyes. Splashes may cause severe irritation, with stinging, tearing, redness and pain. Chronic Exposure: Prolonged or repeated skin contact may produce severe irritation or dermatitis. Aggravation of Pre-existing Conditions: Use of alcoholic beverages enhances toxic effects. Exposure may increase the toxic potential of chlorinated hydrocarbons, such as chloroform, trichloroethane. I'd use gloves. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blackhawk Posted December 23, 2005 Report Share Posted December 23, 2005 It's fingernail polish remover without the added moisturizers. Use it in a well ventilated area and don't soak your hand in it. If any gets on you, it evaporates before you can wipe it off. In the realm of hazardous chemicals, I don't think it's anything to get too worried about. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sir Sisu Posted December 23, 2005 Report Share Posted December 23, 2005 What sort of precautions should I take besides moving the process outdoors and away from sparks? Should I wear gloves? If so what sort? Ok, it wasn't one question... I always have a small bottle at home -I constantly get coins from friends here that are in need of a bath. So I almost always have some coins in a soak. To be honest, I work with it indoors; outside is too cold this time of year and the bathroom where I have it is fairly well ventilated. I have had my skin in occasional contact with the acetone. It sucks the oils straight from your skin leaving it white and dry. (I never thought about the latex gloves. I have just used a homemade version of padded tweezers that do not always work.) I open and close the containers as quick as possible; not just to avoid the fumes, but acetone evaporates quickly, so you will lose a lot of it if it is not sealed tightly. I do not do anything out of the ordinary that I do not already do with any flammible toxic substance. My precaution would be that if you are one to spike your holiday glogg, check the label twice. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elverno Posted December 23, 2005 Author Report Share Posted December 23, 2005 Thanks for the info folks. I had already dipped my fingers into the acetone before I thought "hey this may be a bad idea!" If a coin is really green should you leave it for a while or... ? And how long is a while anyway? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brett Posted December 23, 2005 Report Share Posted December 23, 2005 You should use nitrile gloves instead of latex. The nitrile gloves are made to withstand chemicals more so than latex. But they cost more. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sir Sisu Posted December 23, 2005 Report Share Posted December 23, 2005 ...If a coin is really green should you leave it for a while or... ? And how long is a while anyway? If the green is from PVC, my experience is that it should happen fairly quickly. In such cases, I have left them for no longer than an overnight stay. If it is a very light greening, a few hours may suffice. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rotten Rodney Posted December 24, 2005 Report Share Posted December 24, 2005 Is it toxic? Can you just handle it and then just wash it off without problems? No problem at all My Family runs a boot repair and we use it to remove glue and I have soaked my hands in it and everything else. . . I've even lite some in my hand to see if I could throw fire. . . . Don't try that. . . My brother and me use to spray it on a concrete floor and light it to see who would get the longest burn. . . It was usually the seat of out pants that burned the longest. . . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rotten Rodney Posted December 24, 2005 Report Share Posted December 24, 2005 oh if you put it in a pewter cup and light it the cup will melt. . . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2coins Posted December 24, 2005 Report Share Posted December 24, 2005 Ive worked with Acetone everyday for 15 years!, I wont hurt you by bare hand, It will just pull the heat away from your skin makeing it feel cold,go for it, It wont hurt you. just wash your hands right after. of course use in a ventelated area.I use it only on silver type coins, sometimes on copper, but dont like too.I also use mineral spirits on copper coins or silver if they have dirt or tar like stuff. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elverno Posted December 24, 2005 Author Report Share Posted December 24, 2005 Thanks for the advice folks. It's amazing how little detail about its use there is on the web, including info about toxicity and handling. That's despite the number of articles I found about "how to..." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
syzygy Posted December 24, 2005 Report Share Posted December 24, 2005 Thanks for the advice folks. It's amazing how little detail about its use there is on the web, including info about toxicity and handling. That's despite the number of articles I found about "how to..." You can always look for the Material Safety Data Sheet (MSDS) for many chemical products. Here is an MSDS for acetone They may take some time to go through as they have a great deal of detail. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
28Plain Posted December 25, 2005 Report Share Posted December 25, 2005 If a coin is really green should you leave it for a while or... ? And how long is a while anyway? Yes, it's good to leave the coin in a sealed container of acetone until whatever you want to take off is dissolved. Overnight is usually what amounts to "awhile" for me. Short term washes in acetone can result in handling the coin more than you need to since you may have to repeat a soak if the coin is left for too short a time. I've taken goo off of proofs numerous times with acetone and always leave the proof in overnight, or all day if I start in the morning. With proofs, the less handling, the better since mirrored fields will show scratches if you even have harsh thoughts while handling the coins. ;-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recehan Posted December 25, 2005 Report Share Posted December 25, 2005 sorry if the following questions sound too newbie for you guys can I get this acetone in walmart or walgreens? in what sections? Do I need to buy another container to submerge my coin in it? or just drop it in whatever container the acetone was sold. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sir Sisu Posted December 25, 2005 Report Share Posted December 25, 2005 sorry if the following questions sound too newbie for you guys can I get this acetone in walmart or walgreens? in what sections? Do I need to buy another container to submerge my coin in it? or just drop it in whatever container the acetone was sold. Not sure where you can get it there in the States. (Probably a number of sources, but depending on where you get it, it may have a more specialized purpose and thus have different additives that may or may not marm your coin.) Here (Finland) we can get clean acetone from the pharmacy. Most likely you will need a differnt container for your coin to soak in. I have a simple food jar that I have cleaned out and it works great: it seals tightly, it is shallow with a large openning so that I have an easier time with placing and retrieving the coin. Btw: All questions are welcomed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SlavicScott Posted December 25, 2005 Report Share Posted December 25, 2005 sorry if the following questions sound too newbie for you guys can I get this acetone in walmart or walgreens? in what sections? Do I need to buy another container to submerge my coin in it? or just drop it in whatever container the acetone was sold. Don't know about Walgreens, but WalMart carries it, as does K-Mart, Lowe's, Home Depot and Ace Hardware. Look in the paint section, by the paint thinners and turpentine. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Burks Posted December 25, 2005 Report Share Posted December 25, 2005 Unless you have VERY sensitive hands, don't worry about it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ageka Posted December 25, 2005 Report Share Posted December 25, 2005 As a container I use old licquor glassrd with open mouth sloping down to the bottom that is smaller Anything in glass will do ; avoid plastics because they may be soluble As a stopper I use an old ashtray on top of the glass it does not have to be a really tight seal unless it is a very hot day With my glass that gets smaller towards the bottom the coins sit halfway or three quarters down to the bottom of the glass The rims only touching the side of the glass ( so there is no touching of the polished surfaces on the bottom of the glass possible ) After 24 if in doubt renew the acetone so that if too much plasticizer or whatever is dissolved it does not get deposited on the coin whilst drying I normally use my bare fingers and if they get to dry I put after sun moisterising on them ( that is of course after I finished with the coin because I don't want the oil on the coin ) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ray Posted December 25, 2005 Report Share Posted December 25, 2005 You should use nitrile gloves instead of latex. The nitrile gloves are made to withstand chemicals more so than latex. But they cost more. You can get a box of 100 nitrile gloves from your local Harbor Freight pretty cheap. I always have a box around for wood working finishing purposes. Has anybody ever tried using an ultrsonic cleaner on coins? Seems that this would be gentle enough to not disturb the metal. My wife has a small unit she uses for jewelery, but I have never thrown a coin in. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ageka Posted December 25, 2005 Report Share Posted December 25, 2005 Jewellers use utrasonics with chemicals and polishing methods I never tried ultrasonics ( outside the lab ) but in clean water most reports I read are very mixed for coins On the other hand I read some encouraging reports on electrochemical cleaning but since I do not have the basic equipment I did not try that either and the positive reports are mostly about new finds were you cannot even see the coin For the moment I stricktly limit myself to solvents Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2coins Posted December 25, 2005 Report Share Posted December 25, 2005 Electrolisis works!! on real dirty encrusted coins and artifacts.It takes a long time though.The jewlery cleaner mentioned vibrates to much, and the coin if set on the bottom of the metal tray will scratch the coin, I tried it at work one time, I guess you could place a plastic container in it though?? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ageka Posted December 25, 2005 Report Share Posted December 25, 2005 My friend as done a lot of electrolyses on encrusted coins you have to put in salt and bicarbonate and renew the mixture every few hours and in 24 hours the coin is clean It only takes too long if you do not augment conductivity Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
28Plain Posted December 27, 2005 Report Share Posted December 27, 2005 Electrolysis is effective but takes some basic knowledge of the process to avoid damaging the coins. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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