How to Clean Buttons

elijahhenry10 said:
So there is no more cleaning that can be done to it? I didn't start looking for cleaning methods until after I took the water to it. Oh well. How do you tell a difference between a button like this and a civil war era button?

Thanks!
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The one you have is a one-piece button, right? Civil War eagles are two-piece buttons. Not a problem on the water, just remember that it is a cleaning method. That's a great find. Any military button is a great find!

Cheers,

Buck
 

BuckleBoy said:
The one you have is a one-piece button, right? Civil War eagles are two-piece buttons. Not a problem on the water, just remember that it is a cleaning method. That's a great find. Any military button is a great find!

Cheers,

Buck
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I never knew that Civil War buttons were two piece. I guess you learn something new everyday.

Thanks and happy hunting!
Elijah
 

I need some help with this bad boy. I am 90% sure there is a solid cast CSA under all that junk. Any ideas???
 

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ynpto804 said:
I need some help with this bad boy. I am 90% sure there is a solid cast CSA under all that junk. Any ideas???
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I can't really tell with the blurry photos... Some super tough patina for sure. Have you tried hot peroxide and careful toothpicking to loosen the crud?
 

That was the first thing I tried. Be prepared to cringe I tried little blast of electrolysis. Did move the stuff. I did at least get to see a nice one piece shank. I will post a few new photos later.
 

So. I tried to use your method using Naval Jelly. Sadly I think I left the jelly on too long, because it oxidized the edge of my button. Very foolish of me to use this method without clarifying things first. Alas. I will say, some of the gold looks great, but it killed part of the maker's mark on the back of the button.
 

falldown said:
So. I tried to use your method using Naval Jelly. Sadly I think I left the jelly on too long, because it oxidized the edge of my button. Very foolish of me to use this method without clarifying things first. Alas. I will say, some of the gold looks great, but it killed part of the maker's mark on the back of the button.
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As a general rule, I leave ALL the dirt on the back of the button, then try to only get the front wet, then once the cleaning is finished and the whole button is totally dry I toothpick the back to reveal the backmark. Naval Jelly is in general stronger than Aluminum Jelly. Do you have a before/after photo of your button to post?

Best Wishes,

Buck
 

I'd like give buckleboy a special thanks on sharing his cleaning techniques. I became a believer after making a few mistakes on coins and buttons. Luckily I'm fairly new at the relic hunting and found his how to instructionals quickly. It helped me on a recent WMI cadet button find and more recently a super crusty v nickel. I didn't take a before pic but you can see it in the video before and after. It came out absolutely amazing compared to the last two which I didn't use his tooth picking and skin oil technique on. Here's a link so you can see the nickel before and after.

Thanks again buckleboy



signals diggem all... LaGold
 

LaGold said:
I'd like give buckleboy a special thanks on sharing his cleaning techniques. I became a believer after making a few mistakes on coins and buttons. Luckily I'm fairly new at the relic hunting and found his how to instructionals quickly. It helped me on a recent WMI cadet button find and more recently a super crusty v nickel. I didn't take a before pic but you can see it in the video before and after. It came out absolutely amazing compared to the last two which I didn't use his tooth picking and skin oil technique on. Here's a link so you can see the nickel before and after.

Thanks again buckleboy



signals diggem all... LaGold
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Great results, LaGold! Glad the tips are working for you in that great, Red dirt up there!

Cheers,

Buck
 

I dug this Waltham Pocket Watch (http://www.treasurenet.com/forums/today-s-finds/444974-gold-pocket-watch-silver-more.html) about a week ago and just got around to cleaning it.

I decided to use Naval Jelly on it, but this was my first time so I picked out a few practice pieces to clean first. I followed BuckleBoy's procedure for cleaning gilt buttons.

Before:
1.jpg

After:
2.jpg3.jpg

Specifically I wanted to get the patent dates off this piece of watch guts. I could just tell that there was something written before cleaning.
4.jpg

Then I got down to the pocket watch.

Before:
5.jpg6.jpg7.jpg

After:
8.jpg9.jpg10.jpg

I spent about 4 hours, over two days, trying to get the back off. I used some techniques I read about in watch forums... its on there for good. I did find a similar model and I believe its late 1890's to early 1900's. I will never know for sure since the back is stuck, but the gold is thicker than plate in most places, except where it has heavy wear and the base metal is showing. Based on my research I conclude its gold filled and well used before being lost\discarded.

Its surrounded by watch guts in one of my cases now!
IMG_20150107_172312967.jpg
 

That pocket watch cleaned up GREAT!! Congrats, and thanks for posting your results here!

Best Wishes,

Buck
 

This thread is incredibly helpful thank you! I just dug a huge eagle button at my grandparent's house in southern Ohio and am going to have my wife stop and pick up some aluminum jelly while she is out. I'll definitely post some before and after pics. All I did was dip it in water and very lightly wipe it with my fingers. Barely took off any dirt before putting it into the sun to try it out before toothpicking it.
 

mr helton said:
This thread is incredibly helpful thank you! I just dug a huge eagle button at my grandparent's house in southern Ohio and am going to have my wife stop and pick up some aluminum jelly while she is out. I'll definitely post some before and after pics. All I did was dip it in water and very lightly wipe it with my fingers. Barely took off any dirt before putting it into the sun to try it out before toothpicking it.
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Hi Mr. Helton! If there is gilding left on the button, then aluminum jelly or lemon juice should work. Would love to see how it turns out with before/after photos! Congrats on a great find!

-Buck
 

Here ya go buck, as requested. I used naval jelly on this civil war infantry button, I lightly rolled it on with a qtip and immediately washed it off with warm soapy watter, I did this 3x til I was happy with the shine


Before:
buttonfront.jpg

after
20150423_154545.jpg
 

I just wanted to share the results of this pre civil war navy button that I cleaned using Bucks method. Was shocked at the results. Thanks Buck
image.jpg
image.jpg
 

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