It's not a kitchen anymore, it's a dirt fisher's labratory!:rofl:

[marcomo]

Sorry honey, it's not just "your kitchen" anymore.

I've had good luck cleaning coppers using the boiling hydrogen peroxide method.

It usually cleans them up nice but takes away lustre or shine. To get that back I give them a good soaking in boiled linseed oil and then pat them dry with paper towels or an old rag I don't care about and can throw away afterwards. Boiled linseed oil has a distinctive smell that isn't bad but you don't want it on your clothes. I found out the hard way if you throw the old linseed oil rags in the washer, the smell will stick around (and on your clothes) for more than one washing cycle. The one who must be obeyed was not happy!

I made a homemade electrolysis machine with an AC adapter and alligator clips using the common instructions you can find on the internet.

Electrolysis seems to work best for me with iron and silver, although silver is the most likely to come out of the ground just needing a little dishwashing detergent and water and maybe a soft toothbrush.

Common date wheats hit the tumbler followed by a boiled linseed oil soak.

If you get an ultrasonic cleaner, get one that has enough power. I bought a $20 Harbor Freight cheapie and it takes a lot of cycles to do any cleaning, and even then it's not much.

The boiled linseed oil soak was my own idea, but everything else I've learned from the good people who have shared on this and other forums.

As Dahut says, this hobby brings out the mad scientist in me and it is kind of fun...

 

[nwdetectorist]

Hi marcomo,

MuHaHaaaHa: Nice Laboratory Work, but...

...be very, very careful about Stinkin' Zincoln leavings that might build up in the sink trap down below.
I had a very sobering experience with some drain cleaner and the leavings.

My usual drill is to use the very strong and caustic NAOH (sodium hydroxide) granule type drain cleaners.
I make sure all the doors and windows are open for ventilation and stand clear of the sink just in case of splash back or surge because of the chemical reaction.

WELL, what a surprise I got a few years back when the surge was very explosive and burning acid water splashed all over the counter top, backsplash, and wall.
It seems that the buildup in my sink drain of crud from cleaning those nasty 1982 and newer pennies had mostly zinc grains and flakes caught in the trap.

Guess what? Sodium hydroxide reacts very violently with leather, aluminum, and of course, zinc.
You would not want to get this on your skin either. It can burn you badly. This is why it is becoming exceeding difficult to find the old style drain cleaners on the grocery store shelves.
And, yes, I am exceedingly fast when threatened with burning acid solutions. I only got a few small droplets on my wrists and lower arm, and I rinsed my skin quickly with the outside garden hose.

Oh, and since I was single and a renter, I did not have to answer to a higher power.
But I did have to repair this for my landlord



nwdetectorist

TOO MUCH DIRT, NOT ENUFF TIME!

 

[Elton]

Please !!!!!!!!