Cleaning clad coins

[perry2]

Anybody know of a method to clean clad back to silverish ?? perry

 

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[CincinnatiKid]

None I know of.
I've soaked clad, scrubbed clad, put clad in a washing machine, even bought a tumbler and tumbled clad. Once cladding is gone it's gone.
75% of my clean clad is rejected by "CoinStar" machines.
Roll it and take to a bank. Banks don't want it either?
GL
Peace ✌

 

[bigfoot1]

just put it in a tumbler with aquarium gravel.....then be patient....bam you have clad that looks good....just worked 45 lbs of clad....it helps to add a shake of comet.
good luck....but its easy

 

[Jason in Enid]

I highly recommend tumbling.

 

[Jeremy S]

I usually toss it in the tumbler on a weekend morning first thing (mixed with aquarium gravel, dish soap, and water) and let it run until midday when I get back home. Everything always cleans up real nice.

I usually tumble pennies separate from other clad. Not really sure why, just a habit I think.

 

[Jason in Enid]

I usually toss it in the tumbler on a weekend morning first thing (mixed with aquarium gravel, dish soap, and water) and let it run until midday when I get back home. Everything always cleans up real nice.

I usually tumble pennies separate from other clad. Not really sure why, just a habit I think.

If you dont seperate pennies from clad the copper will stain the clad pink.

 

[Jeremy S]

If you dont seperate pennies from clad the copper will stain the clad pink.

I thought that was only if you clean them using vinegar?

 

[wainzoid]

Next time I tumble clad im gonna try iron filings. You know, the by product from drilling holes in iron/steel. At first im gonna try them dry. Actually I expect them to have oil on them when I get them from my friends machine shop. But i will just try them like that first. I think that will be a very aggresive media.

 

[Papalittle]

I tumble mine with vinegar and salt...tumble 2 hours..done. Separate pennies from the rest first.

 

[nomad 11]

anybody know what actually turns the nickels,dimes and quarters brown though ?

 

[nomad 11]

uh!.....................it just hit me i know what it is jefferson,franklin, and roosevelt are suffocating from no oxygen

 

[Jarl]

I don't burn my utilities to clean coins. As I get them, I steel wire or brass wire brush them using detergent....tedious and laborious I know. Better to clean them as you get them than to have to force yourself to clean a giant pile of coins at the end of the season...that's a bummer. I only do this to the quarters, nickels and dimes. The pennies, I soak in vinegar for awhile then hand agitate them in a slurry of salt, baking soda, dish soap and a little water in a sealed plastic container. Don't soak zinc pennies in vinegar too long...I ruined a dollar or so worth doing that...they just got eaten. I know it seems like a lot of work, however, I have come to realize that I only need mine clean 'enough' not brilliant looking. This year's clad...the quarters, nickels and dimes still were mostly blackened or very dark toned yet they were clean, but the machine only rejected one dime and a few pennies.

Sorry, i diverted from the OP. No, lol, i don't know really. Wish i did. I'm thinking other than defacing the coins using abrasives...the solution must have to be chemical. So, whatever happens to copper/nickel in the ground to develop that blackish/reddish impossible to remove tone or crud...whatever chemical with actually dissolved that without killing a person or melting the coin.

 

[Diggin-N-Dumps]

Anybody know of a method to clean clad back to silverish ?? perry

What would be the Point?

This topic gets brought up weekly

Unless you are planning on displaying your Clad finds.. Just throw them in a tumbler with water and let it do the work..Its pointless mixing solvents and soaps...and even gravel

Usally there is enough dirt on the coins to act as a "media"

I used to waste time with soaps and gravel and all that...then one day I did it without either..just plain water..and it worked fine

I dont care if my clad comes out neon green...as long as its clean and passes thru the machine...thats all that I care about

 

[Diggin-N-Dumps]

anybody know what actually turns the nickels,dimes and quarters brown though ?

Usally the pennies

 

[Diggin-N-Dumps]

None I know of.
I've soaked clad, scrubbed clad, put clad in a washing machine, even bought a tumbler and tumbled clad. Once cladding is gone it's gone.
75% of my clean clad is rejected by "CoinStar" machines.
Roll it and take to a bank. Banks don't want it either?
GL
Peace ✌

How well do you clean them? The only rejects I get are either bent coins ive missed or the Zincs. I just dumped 270 dollars at the coins star a month ago ( took me 1 1/2 hours) But all the clad made it and went thru..Plus I got to talk to ALL the workers there that morning since I needed a cart to bring in my coins..lol

 

[frostdigger]

I just throw all my clad in coffee cans all summer then tumble batches when I'm bored in the winter. Let them run for six hours or so and they look great. Still never cashed any in, just stackem in the closet, thinkin Vegas in a couple years, then all that was found will be lost again.

 

[Msbeepbeep]

CLR worked great on my corroded zincs, I just may see what it does on the clad while I'm snowed in this winter. I usually tumble my clad. You can't leave them in the CLR too long tho, have to keep checking them.

 

[Professor of Engineering]

Hello,

I use fine beach sand (or aquarium salt water sand), dishwashing soap and a bit of water in a small tumbler. Run for 3 – 4 hours or longer to achieve your desired result, dry and wrap.

Regards,