Silver Cleaning Dip

What silver dip are you guys using?, I just hauled out my silver for a look and there's a "scorch" toning mark on my Elemetal Anubis round and toning round the edges of a silver Krugerrand.  In the past I used HG silver dip and it used to work great, it sorted out toning on an entire tube of Somalian Elephants and an entire tray of Chinese Pandas no problem but when it ran out I bought it again and now it won't sort out toning on anything so I'm not sure if they have changed the ingredients any because it's useless now.



Can anyone recommend anything that actually works?  That E-Zest-Dip from the US gets good reviews but it's not easy to ship to the UK.

I use Goddards

I have never cleaned a coin. But I use this product a lot for my poured silver. And I know some use the stove and vinegar method.

I had always believed that dipping to remove toning could damage the coin. Is this something I've missed out on?

The Cat's Mother wrote:I had always believed that dipping to remove toning could damage the coin. Is this something I've missed out on?

If you can find a dip that actually works all you do is dunk it for a few seconds then take it out and rinse it in water then pat it dry with a soft cloth and i's back to brand new.  That HG silver dip used to work great which is why I bought the same again but this new one does absolutely nothing so I'm guessing something in the formula was changed due to hazardous material legislation or just cheapening.

Well, well, well ..... Who'da thowt it.

I say Never dip or try to clean coins unless you expect some damage. That said it can take away some toning, but not milk spots. Thats why we all hate milk spots. 

And never use it on a piece of silver that is mixed with matt and high gloss. It fails

Just ordered some E-Z-est from the US. £40 including postage and tax, I must be mad.

Admin wrote:I say Never dip or try to clean coins unless you expect some damage. That said it can take away some toning, but not milk spots. Thats why we all hate milk spots. 

And never use it on a piece of silver that is mixed with matt and high gloss. It fails

I can live with some nice even rainbow toning but stuff like that big black scorch mark on my Egyptian Gods round I can't live with.

Rod Panhard wrote:

Admin wrote:I say Never dip or try to clean coins unless you expect some damage. That said it can take away some toning, but not milk spots. Thats why we all hate milk spots. 

And never use it on a piece of silver that is mixed with matt and high gloss. It fails

I can live with some nice even rainbow toning but stuff like that big black scorch mark on my Egyptian Gods  round I can't live with.

I know what you mean. 

I suggest before trying dip try this method. 
Seriously it works and just be careful and let it dry naturally. 

Just an update on this, after waiting months for the proper silver dip from the US it turns out it was halted as dangerous goods so I decided to try the baking soda method and bought a kilo of baking soda from Amazon for £4, the silver dip would have been over £40, I put some tinfoin in a bowl, boiled a kettle and added some hot water and a spoonfull of baking soda, took the coins out with plastic tweezers and rinsed them under the tap and gave them a careful pat dry with a bit of kitchen roll and they came out great.

Wow, that has really made a difference. Well done.

What a fantastic result and you saved 36 GBP at the same time, thanks for sharing this with us all in the forum. I am going to try it today!

Rod, what is the significance of using tinfoil in the bowl? What size of spoon did you use for the baking soda, how much water did you use, etc? How long did you leave the 2 coins in the mix? Could you watch the coins cleaning in front of your eyes? We use baking soda at home for badly stained cooking pots and pans, drains etc, with added vinegar, which makes the drain fizz clean. Sorry it looks as though I am asking you for a recipe here.

denby wrote:Rod,  what is the significance of using tinfoil in the bowl?  What size of spoon did you use for the baking soda, how much water did you use, etc?  How long did you leave the 2 coins in the mix? Could you watch the coins cleaning in front of your eyes? We use baking soda at home for badly stained cooking pots and pans, drains etc, with added vinegar, which makes the drain fizz clean.  Sorry it looks as though I am asking you for a recipe here.  

I think the tinfoil helps with the reaction, I just guessed at the amount of baking soda used and put in a heaped spoonful to a teacup size cupful of freshly boiled water which probably overdid it as a lot never dissolved it just sat there. They were only in there for 30 seconds or so and I just pulled them out with plastic tweezers for a look as I could not actually see the coins as the undissolved baking soda sat on top of them and decided they were all good and never needed any longer. I never had to bother rubbing at them so just ran them under the tap and gave them a pat dry with kitchen roll but i would normally have used a clean microfibre cloth if i had one handy.

It looks comfortingly like a process that doesn't rely on an exact recipe, but I still think I would do a trial run first before letting myself loose on any treasures like the Egyptian Gods.

I am glad it has worked, that video was a good one and I know there are others but it is easy and basic. 

The Tin foil causes a reaction with the baking soda. 

Anyway there it is a good tip, Just try it out first on a junk coin before you ever try it out on anything valuable. 

Also note. If you ever resell it Please say it has been cleaned. Some people are fussy.

The Cat's Mother wrote:I had always believed that dipping to remove toning could damage the coin. Is this something I've missed out on?

Yes it can quite easily damage the coin if overdone. The grading companies can be awful on this, because they basically use the same processes (using different chemicals, especially for gold ofc) but cheekily call it 'conservation'.

I would NEVER recommend it (and wouldn't dare myself) but I have a friend who buys coins that either need 'conservation' or are graded 69s and cleans them himself (mainly gold). He usually gets e.g. a 69 up to a 70 without having to pay for conservation. But he learnt by trial and error to some extent.

Is there a difference between baking soda and bicarbonate of soda in the US? There is a very slight difference in the UK but not sure what. If in doubt I'd use the latter. Also rinse with distilled water, not tap water or even mineral (which can contain other reactive chemicals and inorganic minerals).

Admin wrote:
...
Also note. If you ever resell it Please say it has been cleaned. Some people are fussy.

A great point, it's very important to be honest here. Karma.

On a similar note, I believe he has changed his practice now, but @Numistacker used to charge for NGC Conservation even when none was carried out (NGC won't perform or charge for it if they don't think it will help the coin at all). When buying graded coins I need/want to know if they have been 'conserved' (i.e. got the best possible grade, although it is still possible to crack the coins out the slab and try again, it's entirely feasible to get a different result a second time) or not. With the way he used to do things not only was he charging for a service that wasn't necessarily provided by NGC, people who have those coins in their possession now don't know if they were conserved or not (even though they paid for it).

There is no criticism of @Numistacker 's service implied here, I believe I have merely stated the facts, but I have tagged him twice if he'd like to comment to clarify the situation there

I forgot to add, if you clean with distilled water you can let coins air dry on some non-abrasive kitchen paper etc rather than patting them dry

kimchi wrote:Is there a difference between baking soda and bicarbonate of soda in the US? There is a very slight difference in the UK but not sure what. If in doubt I'd use the latter. Also rinse with distilled water, not tap water or even mineral (which can contain other reactive chemicals and inorganic minerals).

Admin wrote:
...
Also note. If you ever resell it Please say it has been cleaned. Some people are fussy.

A great point, it's very important to be honest here. Karma.

On a similar note, I believe he has changed his practice now, but  @Numistacker used to charge for NGC Conservation even when none was carried out (NGC won't perform or charge for it if they don't think it will help the coin at all). When buying graded coins I need/want to know if they have been 'conserved' (i.e. got the best possible grade, although it is still possible to crack the coins out the slab and try again, it's entirely feasible to get a different result a second time) or not. With the way he used to do things not only was he charging for a service that wasn't necessarily provided by NGC, people who have those coins in their possession now don't know if they were conserved or not (even though they paid for it).

There is no criticism of  @Numistacker 's service implied here, I believe I have merely stated the facts, but I have tagged him twice if he'd like to comment to clarify the situation there

Sorry but had to mention this. 

Baking soda is pure sodium bicarbonate, a fine white powder that has many uses. You may wonder about bicarbonate of soda vs. baking soda, but they are simply alternate terms for the same ingredient. If your recipe calls for bicarbonate of soda, it is simply referring to baking soda.


Google to the rescue. 
I am sure it is a brand name more than anything. But there you go. 

Admin wrote:
Baking soda is pure sodium bicarbonate, a fine white powder that has many uses. You may wonder about bicarbonate of soda vs. baking soda, but they are simply alternate terms for the same ingredient. If your recipe calls for bicarbonate of soda, it is simply referring to baking soda.


Google to the rescue. 
I am sure it is a brand name more than anything. But there you go. 

Many thanks for the correction Jon! Just had a search and I think I may have got confused with Baking Powder!

As long as it is pure Sodium Bicarbonate it's all good afaik

"Many thanks for the correction Jon! Just had a search and I thing I may have got confused with Baking Powder!"
Remind me never to eat anything you've baked.

The Cat's Mother wrote:"Many thanks for the correction Jon! Just had a search and I thing I may have got confused with Baking Powder!"
Remind me never to eat anything you've baked.  

Baking powder is used in cakes and baking, Baking soda is something completely different. LOL 

But hey this is why I do not share how to refine gold and silver on here or even on my Facebook group. It is simple things like this that can lead to a major incident. Some of the chemicals are very very similar in names with often one letter that can be mistaken. And people do not realise the difference. Scary.

Practical Darwinism.

The Cat's Mother wrote:Practical Darwinism.

Oh My Gosh you don't know the half of it!!!

I could name a few but I do not want to list chemicals here as mentioned. But Yep... The reactions could be the difference of refining gold and precious metals to well a rather explosive situation. YEP that serious. Hence why I am not putting any liability on here.  Especially with my spelling.