tchimes said:
I started my cleaning of clad by accident. I was washing clothes and would notice pocket change laying in bottom of tub after clothes were washed. It all ways was clean and bright. So I said what the hey and got a small mess bag, dummped some in it and through it in with a load of jeans and when finished they looked great.
Try it sometimes
KAS Tchimes
I have noticed the same thing. I woud guess that it is working like a big rock tumbler. I don't know if the detergent (Liquid Tide in my case) makes a difference.
Incidentally, on this subject, I guess I posted my thoughts in another similar thread the other night. I had been going through all my change that I have laying around the house. Not the metal detecting stuff but just my pocket change that I throw into my banks and jars and coffee cans and such. I was separating out some of the good stuff. Going through my Halves that I had brought back from playing Blackjack in Vegas, I found a 1964 and a couple 1969 Kennedy's. In a coffee can full of dimes, I found one silver, 1960, I think. Then, I have found an assortment, about 9 or 10 wheaties and 11 Canadian. Among all this, I have about a dozen or so pennies that were so crusted or corroded with green stuff that I thought I would clean them up and put them back with all the pocket stuff. I have been playing with different methods as this is stuff that is so bad, I don't know what it is and is stuff that I just want to put back into circulation.
I started with dawn and letting it all soak for a couple days. Nothing. So, not knowing what else, I thought of when I clean our pots and pans, (Stainless Emeril Wear) and how the copper band (copper plate) in the bottom always seems to clean super bright, almost on contact, with Barkeepers Friend, I sprinkeled some of that in a container with some water and let the coins soak for about 10 minutes. Most of them shined right up perfectly but there was still some crud that wouldn't come off that easilly. Reading to see if anyone else had experience with Barkeepers, I came accross some sites about science projects and using acid (lemon juice or vinegar) and salt. I tried that hoping that it would take more of the crud off. It seems that it might have but then all the coins, the next morning, were black, accept where they were in contact with other coins. From what I had read, this wasn't supposed to happen. Maybe there was some other impurity in the water or something.
So, back to Barkeepers but the black isn't coming off as easy.
I might take a hint, or should I say reminder, from your post and take the 2 or 3 pairs of jeans that I have laying around. The ones that are so torn and tattered that I was going to pitch them. Cut them into strips and chunks and put them into one of those sacks that you describe (mesh). Then, throw it all in the laundry. It might not be a bad idea to throw other clothes in also so that the drum doesn't go off balance. Use some older work clothes or something so that, good clothes don't get messed up by anything on the coins.
Denim does have a texture and can be a little abrasive. Thus why it might be good. I remember when I was taking jewelry classes, I discovered that when making wax models I could get a nice effect by rubbing the models on my jeans to buff them. Some others would clean up their models with needle files or fine sandpaper etc. The professor saw me rubbing my molds on my pants leg and asked what I was doing. I told her that I found that it gave the surface a nice soft looking appearance.
I am thinking here that I might cut up some of the jeans into patches, about 2x2" and then some into strips. Take the strips and tie them into knots. That way you get a variation in hardness from the knots and the softness of the patches. Might work pretty good.
