dirtlooter
Gold Member
- Jun 5, 2014
- 8,889
- 13,497
- 🏆 Honorable Mentions:
- 3
- Detector(s) used
- XP Deus with 9"LF and 9" HF Coils and 600 Equinox with stock and 6" coils
- Primary Interest:
- Relic Hunting
1st off, I am not an expert at this, having only done this for a month or so. Some of the guys and gals use the heavy duty set ups that you really have to be careful with and are for heavy duty jobs. This set up is mainly for me to clean up my silver finds, it is light duty and relatively safe to use. basically it is a glass container that has about a spoonful or less of salt dissolved in warm water. the power is from an old phone charger (in this case 5 V output and 550 mA), the alligator clips were from radio shack, bought 6 for about $4. I cut off the plug end(for phone), stripped back about 3/4 inch and attached the two clips. which ever clip bubbles is the one that the coin or silver is to be clipped to. the other clip is attached to stainless steel (in this case a broken butter knife handle) and it is plugged in. it begins to bubble and slowly the dirt and stains begin to dissolve and drift off in clouds, most of it floats up to the top. it is amazing how much filth and oil comes off just one ring or coin. I did not have the greatest examples of before and after on the silver ring and coin but the ring came out much sharper and the details of the writing much clearer. The Canadian 25 cent piece was originally stained very badly with brown which I could not get off until I used the electrolysis and finished with the baking soda rub. in the pic with both the ring and the coin, you can still see some of the brown stain on the coin after the 1st cleaning but in the pic with the soda rub, it is pretty much gone after the 2nd cleansing. Note, this is only for the silver that is not valued for its patina and age, you don't want to detract from something's collector value by doing this. IMPORTANT! DO NOT LET THE 2 CLIPS TOUCH DURING USE, THEY WILL SHORT OUT! this set up is very inexpensive and easy to use, if you use it on clad, it will clean it but will also turn it pink or reddish in color. it is not as fast as the heavier more powerful set ups but has its place for casual user like me. in this case, my red clip was actually the one attached to the stainless (I have a 2nd set up that is reversed.. which ever clip bubbles is the one to be on the silver) I posted this for those who are curious about the process and want to see how it works for themselves. I was amazed at how shiny and easy it cleans the silver(with the soda rub) and the cost is minimal if any. thanks for looking
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