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Cleaning clad with a tumbler, need answers

T

thompy_2000

New member
Hi, I was wondering, I have a single barrel tumbler when tumbling clad coin what cleaning grit should I be using? How long do I tumble? How many coins can I do at a time? Thanks for any help.
 
Use aquarium rocks-spoon of dishsoap- tumble long as you want, some I do for couple days if dirty and stained , if not bad mebb 1/2 day:detecting:
 
Make sure you don,t put pennies in with dimes and quarters, they will sometime come out pink. Just do pennies by them self. Dean
 
Thanks for the input. How many coins should I do at one time?
 
As many as the machine can hold. I don't strive to get the coins spotless, just recognizable. I usually only put them in there for about 4 hrs.
 
I go with the aquarium gravel, a little dish soap and usually around 24 hours for pretty dirty, less other wise. And YES, be sure to do pennies separately.
BB
 
Hi Thompy; All the advice you got is good except one thing. If you use TIDE "powdered" laundry soap and only fill it about half the way then your coins will be cleaned in about 3 hours instead of 12 - 24 hours.becuase the coins and rocks have a chance to Circulate and get scrubbed faster.I don't know why Tide Powder works so well but it definitely does. Also don't "EVER" mix pennies with anything else.Everything will become copper colored due to a plating effect. How that happens I don't know. Just don't do it. ok. Until later; PEACE:RONB :thumbup:
 
BARKER said:
Hi Thompy; All the advice you got is good except one thing. If you use TIDE "powdered" laundry soap and only fill it about half the way then your coins will be cleaned in about 3 hours instead of 12 - 24 hours.becuase the coins and rocks have a chance to Circulate and get scrubbed faster.I don't know why Tide Powder works so well but it definitely does. Also don't "EVER" mix pennies with anything else.Everything will become copper colored due to a plating effect. How that happens I don't know. Just don't do it. ok. Until later; PEACE:RONB :thumbup:
Click to expand...



This one really gets my interest. Do you add water? If so does it foam? How much tide per load also. Do you not add any other medium at all? Beale.
 
HI Thompy; Just fill the barrel about 1/2 full of the rocks then put in 1/4 - 1/2 of rest of barrel with coins.Leave enough room for them to be able to tumble.If you don't it will take a lot longer ok. Add about 1 small spoonfull of powder.Close the lid and let it tumble for a few hours.When done just dry the copins with a cloth and wash out the barrell with regular water.A little scrubbing with a sponge to get rid of any copper residue won't hurt either. Rinse the stones in a small strainer "thoroughly". You can get a strainer at any dollar store for about $1.50 OK It is not as hard as it sounds.Do it once or twice and your a pro. I hope this helps. I don't know why TIDE powdered detergent works and the liquid does not nor does any of the others I tried although I'm sure there are some out there.A small box of TIDE will last yuo "months and do thousands of coins as well. REMEMBER: Do not ever mix copper with anything else ok.Good Luck. Keep us Posted on the results. PEACE:RONB :thumbup:
 
no longer necessary to tumble coins using DISTILLED water? Tap water will turn nickels, and other silver blue won't it, or is that only when you use tumbling powder ? Been awhile since I tumbled anything and to be honest I forget stuff after awhile. I do remember trying tap water once just to see for myself and wound up with a bunch of BLUE NICKLES. Oh well HH y'all!
 
I always just use tap water, but do all coins by them self dimes, pennies, nickle, just water and a little dish soap. Are you useing blue fish gravel? Good Luck
 
of many colors, and I never mix the coins when tumbling. I could not find all my paperwork that came with the powder and gravel sent with the tumbler. but in doing a "google" to see what I could find I did come up with several mentions that cleaning coins, (especially silver) that distilled water was reccomended for best results. Some sites recomended first tap water and then distilled. I think that in some cases either one or both the gravel or the powder has a bad reaction to all the "citified"(my words) addition of chemicals to tap water in order to purify it for us to drink.The chemicals/powder/gravel "mix" can then in turn discolor the coins pretty much in the same way that mixing the silver and copper etc. together when tumbling. It is mostly to do I am sure with selling gravel and powder since we all know about the success of plain ole water and whatever else we can put into a tumbler to clean a bunch of cruddy coins we know to be of no real value.I was just a little surprized that the use of distilled water for coin cleaning/tumbling was not more widely mentioned. Thanks for your reply Flintstone. Now I will have to drag out the tumbler and see if I can find something to tumble. HH , Charlie
 
Hi Folks; I just like to keep it simple. When cleaning clad coins it does not matter what kind of water you use.Your only geting it identifiable for the bank; that's all.When cleaning silver coins I have "never" had any problems using tap vs distilled.I guess some want to be finnicky.If you want to clean each denomination separately be my guest.After 39 years of hard digging in the field yes I like the "best" results but after literaly thousands of coins and relics dug and cleaned I've had no problems using tap water yet.I think that now a days in "modern" times we as a society have gotten overly picky and sensitive.We want to or need to use or try the latest fad, gizmo, or technique.I don't know but call me old fashioned.Only advice I can give is to keep it simple. Cleaning this stuff is not rocket science.Only rule I do subscribe to is "NEVER" mix copper with anything else. I guess the bottom line is:

(1). Do "NOT" mox copper with anything else.
(2). If you want to use either tap or distilled; go for it.
(3). If you want to clean each denomination separately. Feel free.
(4). On "SCRAP" silver coins. Clean them separately from "all" Clad.
(5). On "GOOD" Silver coins. DO NOT TUMBLE THEM. Let them soak in water with "NO" chemicals added. Every few days "lightly" brush the coin with a "soft" toothbrush.Do Not "SCRUB" the coin.That will leave scratch marks.Also DO NOT use a cloth of any type as they will leave lint in all the crevises.
(6). DO NOT tumble any copper coin dated 1939 or older. Soak copper in "EXTRA" Virgin Olive oil and use the same process as for Good Sliver coins in #5, OK
(7). It "MUST" be "Extra' Virgin Olive Oil. Regular Olive Oil does not work.Why I don't know.I think it gets diluted due to the processing it goes through.
(:geek:. DO NOT RUSH the cleaning of any good coin or relic. Remember it has been in the ground for "decades". It takes a little time to clean it properly.If you were in the ground for 100 years you'd be a bit dirty too.!!!! hahaha.
(9). When done cleaning the good coins to your satisfaction rub a "litle" Vaseline on them to preserve them.Use barely enough vaseline to coat the surface lightly.Do not let it "cake" on ok.
Anyway I hope this has helped in clarifying this subject fully. I am glad to offer any advice I can any time I can but remember the hobby is meant to be fun; not rocket science ok. RELAX and have FUN. Until later; PEACE:RONB :thumbup: :biggrin: :detecting:
 
Hi Geo; Thanks. Just wanted to keep it simple and easy. These things can take on a life of their own for no reason. My rule of thumb for me is that if I ever get to a point where digging is not fun anymore then I'll hang it up. After 39 years I'm still having fun. God I'm hooked. This is better than morphine.What a rush.!!!!! :rofl: :crazy: :detecting: PEACE:RONB
 
First, let me state: This 'recipe" is for modern clad only. Do NOT clean any potentially valuable coins using my recipe.

1) Fill tumbler approximately 1/3 full of aquarium gravel. Color doesn't matter, but I'd use white if I had a choice.
2) Add a couple small handfulls of dirty coins. You can mix nickels, dimes, quarters, halves, dollars - but DON'T put copper coins (or Zinc pennies, either) in with the others.
3) Add two shot glasses of white vinegar.
4) Add one squirt of hand soap.
5) Add about eight or ten squirts from a WINDEX glass cleaner bottle.
6) Add enough water to cover coins. Your tumbler container should be less than 3/4 full.

Tumble. Depending on how dirty your coins are, it can take up to five or six hours to clean them 'till they look like new. The soap, water, and vinegar do the cleaning. The Windex adds just enough ammonia to the mix to prevent hydrogen gas build up from the cleaning process. If you leave out the Windex, the lid just might blow off your tumbler.

There are dozens of different recipes to clean coins - and I think I've tried most of them. This one will get your coins clean enough for the bank without spending a bundle cleaning them. I use a double jar cleaner and would use a bigger one if I had it. I have found that if you put too many coins in at one time they just won't get clean and you'll wind up having to repeat the cleaning process. I clean $200 - $400 worth of clad this way every month. It works. Gil
 
I use aquarium gravel and comet cleanser 1 large spoon of cleanser half full of coins and gravel then I add water till it just tops over the coins and gravel . Never mix with pennies as they will turn color and also watch out when you empty the tumbler because you don't want to get the slur from tumbling to get into your drains as this will set block the drain and then you will have to remove the elbow to clean it out . Pour your coins and gravel into a strainer and bucket then rinse them off . Once you do this empty the water and slur outside into the alley were it will not harm anything . I hope this helps you and I hope that you have good luck while you are detecting .


chicago mike
 
I prefer using pneumonia and baking soda to do my coins. I tumble them for about 20 minutes and 60% of them are already clean.
Some real bad ones take a little longer. I use plastic diamond peices that I purchased, cover the pennies (about 100 Of them ) with pneumonia then add a spoonful of baking soda.
Been doing this for 50 years and they come out like new after a little buffing.Like everyone said ,do not mix copper with your 1c-5c10c25c..I do those in a second tumbler the same way..
Good luck and good hunting.....John.........................
 
I use a rifle case vibratory case tumbler. I add a half-spoon of baking soda, a big drop of Palmolive, and water. Throw in some gravel and let the coins tumble for an afternoon. Works great.
 
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