Nero As - before and after

[singig]

I would like to share with you my last cleaned coin.
I used: lemon juice , water , bamboo sticks and small plastic brush.
Even after the lemon juice treatment the coin still preserve a hard brown patina. I will wait for some weeks before to apply the wax layer.

[Sam]

I have never heard of lemon juice on Bronze !
The result is really nice , one can doubt they are the same coin !

Do you have to use the wax layer ?
What about just long soak in Dis Water , and dry well only ?

[v-drome]

I like the before picture.  Lemon juice is much too harsh to use, except in certain extreme cases of a particular type of corrosion.  Mechanical cleaning with a microscope and the proper tools would be preferable, or just to leave it as-is.  Over the years I have come to appreciate the natural color of each patina, along with the flaws in a coin, especially when the coin is identifiable in its "as-found" state.  I would not have attempted to chemically clean this coin without professional help.

[singig]

I have never heard of lemon juice on Bronze !
The result is really nice , one can doubt they are the same coin !

Do you have to use the wax layer ?
What about just long soak in Dis Water , and dry well only ?

I use lemon juice only on cheap coins with broken patina and very hard to clean..... lemons have particularly high concentrations of the citric acid , this acid will help to remove the hard dirt and the rests of patina

The coin will look much better with some wax on it , I will post some pictures after...
I never used distilated water , not sure that it will help to remove the hard dirt.

[Sam]

I personally like the result.
Let us hope it stays like this  

**Dis Water is only to remove the remaining of lemon juice  , dusts , and maybe give a nice color with the Sun shine
Waiting for the new photos 

[Sam]

I like the before picture.  Lemon juice is much too harsh to use, except in certain extreme cases of a particular type of corrosion.  Mechanical cleaning with a microscope and the proper tools would be preferable, or just to leave it as-is.  Over the years I have come to appreciate the natural color of each patina, along with the flaws in a coin, especially when the coin is identifiable in its "as-found" state.  I would not have attempted to chemically clean this coin without professional help.

Hi V-drome How are you ?
I love original patina too, and mechanical work as much as possible but if the coin is low grade (regardless if there is BD or other things), why not try ... the hairlines are visible again. Beauty is important too.
The only question here is would this result last for long time.
The next generation of collectors would have the answer.

[singig]

I love the nice details to , why to hide this under the dirt ?,  the coin still preserve a hard brown patina is not bare metal
the cleaning progres :

[Sam]

 

[Jay GT4]

Nice job...brave!

[Rich Beale]

You got lucky that the metal under the patina was in good condition. The result is not displeasing. However a skilled mechanical cleaner could have produced a much better result, preserving more original detail, without stripping the patina. Ultimately it's your coin so you do what you want, but bear in mind that in 99% of cases acid will ruin a bronze, not improve it.

[Meepzorp]

Hi sing,

Dealers have often told me that they use lemon juice on silver coins. But I've never heard of someone using it on bronze coins.

I also like the "before" coin better. You shouldn't have stripped the patina.

I agree with the above posters that a skilled mechanical cleaning would have yielded better results, without stripping the patina.

Stripping the patina also makes your coin more susceptible to bronze disease. Sealing it with Renaissance wax should prevent that.

Since you stripped the original (dark green-ish) patina, maybe you can try applying an artificial patina (of the original color) before sealing it with wax.

Meepzorp

[singig]

...............................................

Since you stripped the original (dark green-ish) patina, ......................................

Meepzorp

Just to clarify , maybe my first photo with the original state is not so clear. 
The first layer removed with lemon juice was just hard encrusted dirt. Under this layer i found the nice brown patina(almost intact) that you see in the last photo.
There was no other patina(dark green-ish) removed.

Citric acid can be removed easily if you keep the coin in water for a couple of days, well dried after, with a wax layer applied and zero humidity close to your binder there is no danger to have bronze disease


 ,

[Meepzorp]

Hi sing,

Dealers usually use olive oil on bronze coins. Lemon juice should only be used on silver coins.

Why do your first photos look so different?

Meepzorp

[singig]

Why not, you can use lemon juice on cheap coins  with broken patina or very hard to clean mechanically
I will never use it to remove the dirt on coins with green patina or fragile metal surface.
As an example, this is one of my coins that will be cleaned mechanically.

[SC]

From the photo it looks like the patina on this coin was the black-green.  The brown that is left is not really a patina but is what a copper-alloy looks like after contact with acid - in this case tricarboxylic acid.  Coins treated with a strong alkali like lye have a similar but more pinkish surface.

SC

[Meepzorp]

Hi sing,

The reverse of your Roman Republic AE As looks scratched. Did this happen during mechanical cleaning? Or was the surface like that before cleaning?

Meepzorp

[singig]

i didn't touch it, maybe the ex-owner
mechanical cleaning should be done with small circular movements

[stevex6]

Hmmm, well I'm always a fan of keeping the original "grunge" patina (it keeps the coin lookin' honest) ... but in your defense, the coin still looks pretty cool after the lemonade-treatment (and you're correct => if it's a junker then go for it)

[stevex6]

Oh, and while I'm still on the mike => here is my sweet example of this baby ... yummy, yummy (one of my favourites)

[stevex6]

Gawd, maybe I'm merely coin-cleaning-naive, but mechanical-cleaning sounds a bit like electro-shock therapy?!

I have a few sweet similar coins and hope the poor devils never underwent that type of abuse!!



 

[singig]

Oh, and while I'm still on the mike => here is my sweet example of this baby ... yummy, yummy (one of my favourites)

very nice example

[stevex6]

Thanks, singig

=> I hope that you have a great Canadian Thanksgiving long weekend (yessssssss)

 

[SC]

Mechanical cleaning can be brilliant or totally destructive, it depends largely on the skill, tools and patience of the cleaner.  It is what is done to many museums items.

SC

[peterpil19]

Oh, and while I'm still on the mike => here is my sweet example of this baby ... yummy, yummy (one of my favourites)

Nice!

Here is mine.
I like this type also!
Fortunately I bought it cleaned. I would be too scared to clean a coin like this.

Peter

[singig]

as I promised , here are the photos after I applied a thin layer of wax

the coin has 29 mm / 11.2 grams

[Sam]

[Bill W4]

[singig]

[paps]