Is it too late?

[elijahhenry10]

Well, today I made my best find to date; an Infantry Civil War button. The only problem is, I got a little excited and took a toothbrush with water to it, to get the dirt off. I didn't pick hard on the brush, but I didn't get the results I wanted. That's when I decided to come in here and see what others are doing, and that's when I realized I probably didn't do the right thing. So, my question is, is there any way I can continue cleaning it to bring out the maximum amount of detail, or is it to late?

Thanks!

 

[RobRieman]

Do you have any pics?

 

[christo000]

Id say bfor u got the advice ur looking for id agree on mayb getting a Picture or 2 up, on the other note great find

 

[treasurehound]

This is a great site that was posted a while back that I use a lot. http://www.treasurenet.com/forums/cleaning-preservation/89045-how-clean-buttons.html

I usually use a soft brush to get the dirt off and a toothpick if it is really bad. You don't want to use a brush very hard as you can do more damage. If the button has some gilt to it you can put it in some lemon juice. On flat buttons all I use is a toothpick.

 

[elijahhenry10]

Here is the button right after I dug it, if you need a picture of the current state of the button, I can upload that too.

 

[treasurehound]

If it does not have any gilt you have cleaned about the best you can do. I would leave the green patina. It is hard to tell if there is any gilt from the picture posted. Nice Eagle "I" button by the way.

 

[elijahhenry10]

Thanks, it was only the second signal I dug from my new F-75. It was down about 7 inches. What is 'gilt'? Is it the gold stuff that's on a button? Thanks

 

[cudamark]

Yes, a thin gold coating. Very easy to come off something that's been buried for a while.

 

[The Governor]

Regardless of an item, it's condition, or it's age; I'd highly recommend against any cleaning of anything beyond just soap and water. Sometimes you can get away with soaking it for a little bit, but that can also damage it's value. If someone is looking to buy a historic item and wants to feel the story behind it, they will prefer it to be dusty so to speak. If you're looking to keep all items you find, it's really up to you. If you destroy an item, you'll learn quickly, lol.

 

[Treasure_Hunter]

Governor, please stop making all posts in bold...

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk 2

 

[The Governor]

Governor, please stop making all posts in bold...

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk 2

No problem, I think you can prevent users from using the bold in the vBulletin config.

 

[Treasure_Hunter]

No problem, I think you can prevent users from using the bold in the vBulletin config.

It is reserved for special emphasis and occasional use like colors, so don't want to totally disallow, just not for standard every post.

Thank you for understanding.

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk 2

 

[cudamark]

Really? I find it easier to read myself........That's why I like big and red! Don't need my glasses that way.

 

[elijahhenry10]

I don't plan on ever selling the button, as it is the only true relic I have ever found, one with any value at least. I just wish there was a way to get all possible detail out of it.