Washing your tokens.

Madaracs

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Here's an old article I wrote on Cleaning Tokens on a blog site of mine, updated for KLOV:

I've been experimenting with cleaning my newly formed token collection. It's really not so much of a collection as it is a recently acquired cache of 2000+ coins that my Rowe BC1 Change Machine dispenses. Outside of actual Brass Cleaner, which is pretty expensive when you need to clean 2000 coins, I've found a couple of home cleaning agents that work best. There are several varieties of home remedies on the internetwebbiethingo. For example, I tried a cleaning method that is touted across several forums and blogs first: Louisiana Hot Sauce. It cleaned the brass but it left pink stains on the coins. Plus after that method--you're out of hot sauce. So I looked around and tested a few other methods. The two below I found to be quite useful:

The Works bathroom cleaner.
It's about $3 a bottle and I just poured the whole thing in a clean bucket and stirred with a paint stick until the coins brightened. It didn't clean the very tarnished (almost rusted) coins but for the most part it did a good job. Link to their product here.

The SludgeTM
This one is a little more expensive than the works as it requires more ingredients. However, it does a great job cleaning. Not any one of these agents seemed to work very good on it's own but combined they make a pretty tedious job go a lot quicker and the results are surprising. For about 300 coins you'll need:

  • A 1 & 1/2 Gallon bucket (A typical mop bucket with a handle is nice.)
  • 1 Quart of White Vinegar (That's 4 Cups kids)
  • 1/4 Cup Baking Soda
  • 1/2 Cup Oxy-Clean, Clorox Oxy-Stain Remover or other dry detergent.
  • 1/4 Cup Lemon Juice
  • An old beach towel.
  • A Paint Stick or other indestructible stirring mechanism.
  • Note: Keep in mind this is a cleaning agent and will not polish your coins. It will only remove [most] tarnishing and give them a bright, clean satin finish. This method will not return them to factory new.

First sort out the problem child coins. In other words, make sure you don't have ANY copper coins or coins that are so tarnished they will require something like Brasso or a real Brass polish to recover their luster. Copper coins in your brass mix may oxidize and cause some of your brass to come out discolored.

Layout your old beach towel on a tiled surface or other hard surface. You may not want to do this on your carpet or hardwood floors.

Now, put the remainder of your coins in the bottom of the bucket. Add all dry ingredients. Then add the lemon and vinegar. The mixture will foam. Fear not! It doesn't last long. Mix the coins for about 3 minutes with the paint stick. If your bucket has a handle swivel it back and forth with the handle as a washing machine might with clothing. The water will turn blue. And eventually you may even see it turn rather brown. Use the paint stick to strain the dirty solution into your laundry tub–or outside if possible. The coins will now appear brighter. Rinse with warm/hot water and strain again. Repeat this a couple of times to be sure and get the agent off the brass. Now pour the contents of your bucket onto the towel. Spread the coins out evenly so they're not resting on top of each other. An old t-shirt comes in handy to wipe down coins that may have a little residue from the solution you created.

Enjoy your clean coins!

---

If anyone else would like to share their token cleaning methods I would gladly try 'em out.

I wish there was a machine that did this.
 
I'm stunned. It never occurred to me to clean them at all.

Perhaps it's the coin collector in me, but I want to see the patina - the evidence of them passing through the hands of gamers beyond counting. Unless they are rusty or caked with junk, I'd never want to clean them.
 
The Works bathroom cleaner.
It's about $3 a bottle and I just poured the whole thing in a clean bucket and stirred with a paint stick until the coins brightened. It didn't clean the very tarnished (almost rusted) coins but for the most part it did a good job. Link to their product here.

Are you talking about "The Works" toilet bowl cleaner? They sell that in the dollar stores here. Be careful with that stuff... it's just hydrochloric acid (20%) with some blue coloring.
Maybe you're talking about their Tub & Shower cleaner... I don't know what's in that.
 
Brass polish (or Flitz) and a tumbler.


This is the way I do it, just takes time. (doing 12K tokens lol!) I use a vibration machine thats meant to polish brass shells for ammo loaders. Works great, can do about 500 tokens at a time.

For the real dirty tokens it sometimes take 8 hours with good walnut media.
 
If "The Works" is indeed just diluted HCL then buying pool acid by the gallon is way cheaper.
 
If "The Works" is indeed just diluted HCL then buying pool acid by the gallon is way cheaper.

I don't know about that... muriatic acid at the pool store is not cheap (>$6 per gallon). The Works is only $1 per quart. I believe the pool stuff usually comes a bit stronger though (~30% vs 20%).
Anyway, both are pretty scary... I wouldn't use either on tokens!
 
I thought the dollar store containers of the works had way less than a quart in them, which is why I suggested the $6 33 percent muriatic acid.

You know I was a certified pool operator and operated a commercial pool for 3 years before I found out that muriatic acid WOULDN'T just eat right into my flesh. I had always just assumed it would, it certainly ate into stone fast enough. Then one day a contractor came in to give a bid on repairing some deck problems, and he poured some on the deck and started swishing it around with his finger.


I don't know about that... muriatic acid at the pool store is not cheap (>$6 per gallon). The Works is only $1 per quart. I believe the pool stuff usually comes a bit stronger though (~30% vs 20%).
Anyway, both are pretty scary... I wouldn't use either on tokens!
 
From a chemistry point of view, based on the vinegar and lemon juice (both acids), you're probably wasting the baking soda (a base) and vinegar/lemon juice by mixing them in your Sludge recipe. The foaming is the acid and base reacting...and whatever is leftover to clean is whatever was in greater quantity to begin with. I'd suggest leaving out the baking soda and seeing what happens. Based on the resultant chemicals after they react the only thing I could see the baking soda helping with is as a very fine polishing media.

One thing we used to do in the restaurant world is use lemon juice, ice, and salt to polish/clean the film off coffee and tea containers. That could be another option to try - substituting salt for the baking soda in your Sludge recipe.

As a side note, looking at the MSDS for Brasso, the main things in there that help polish things are Ammonia, Oxalic Acid, and a fine abrasive for polishing. Some of the Ammonia (a base) will react with Oxalic Acid to form a compound that in really simplistic terms can be considered a "soap for metal" - it will help wash away a bit of the surface of the coin to help get it shiny again. The remaining Ammonia will work on any grime left over on the coin - dirt, grease, etc. So one other thing to try is just household ammonia you can buy at the grocery (but don't mix this with vinegar or lemon juice).

Also, make sure you wear those heavy yellow kitchen gloves and wear eye protection when working with any of these chemicals, and be careful not to breath any vapors. Some nasty stuff can form when mixing common household chemicals (e.g. bleach and ammonia - very bad). And as a general rule add anything powdered to your liquids, and not liquids to the pile of powder - if you accidentally pour a liquid onto a powder that is a strong acid or base you could get spattering and a lot of heat generated.
 
I kind of thought that the baking soda was acting as a counter agent to the lemon and vinegar so thanks for the suggestion. I do think it acted as a mild polishing agent as well... Either way it is very gentle on the coins.

Thanks for all of the valuable safety suggestions too!

From a chemistry point of view, based on the vinegar and lemon juice (both acids), you're probably wasting the baking soda (a base) and vinegar/lemon juice by mixing them in your Sludge recipe. The foaming is the acid and base reacting...and whatever is leftover to clean is whatever was in greater quantity to begin with. I'd suggest leaving out the baking soda and seeing what happens. Based on the resultant chemicals after they react the only thing I could see the baking soda helping with is as a very fine polishing media.

One thing we used to do in the restaurant world is use lemon juice, ice, and salt to polish/clean the film off coffee and tea containers. That could be another option to try - substituting salt for the baking soda in your Sludge recipe.

As a side note, looking at the MSDS for Brasso, the main things in there that help polish things are Ammonia, Oxalic Acid, and a fine abrasive for polishing. Some of the Ammonia (a base) will react with Oxalic Acid to form a compound that in really simplistic terms can be considered a "soap for metal" - it will help wash away a bit of the surface of the coin to help get it shiny again. The remaining Ammonia will work on any grime left over on the coin - dirt, grease, etc. So one other thing to try is just household ammonia you can buy at the grocery (but don't mix this with vinegar or lemon juice).

Also, make sure you wear those heavy yellow kitchen gloves and wear eye protection when working with any of these chemicals, and be careful not to breath any vapors. Some nasty stuff can form when mixing common household chemicals (e.g. bleach and ammonia - very bad). And as a general rule add anything powdered to your liquids, and not liquids to the pile of powder - if you accidentally pour a liquid onto a powder that is a strong acid or base you could get spattering and a lot of heat generated.
 
I'm stunned. It never occurred to me to clean them at all.

Perhaps it's the coin collector in me, but I want to see the patina - the evidence of them passing through the hands of gamers beyond counting. Unless they are rusty or caked with junk, I'd never want to clean them.

+1

The first lesson in coin collecting.

Even though its just a token, it should be treated as an artifact.
 
Just be advised, that if I sell tokens... They are as is. Patina and all.

It was just something I was interested in trying. I have a cache of 2000 or so that received this treatment and They turned out well. I have sinced ordered custom tokens so I could have brand new custom tokens but I think there are some that would like to clean their tokens from time to time.
 
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