On 9/27/14, 5:33 PM, dadiOH wrote:
"J Burns" wrote in message

On 9/27/14, 7:58 AM, dadiOH wrote:
"J Burns" wrote in message


Marv Klotz described it. He has a machine shop. He has tried HCl
but
says he won't have it in his shop now. He says if you keep the item
submerged, the vinegar/salt solution won't attack the base metal.

That's a matter of degree. Try vinegar/salt with some old copper
pennies first, then steel. The steel will wind up copper plated
because
of the copper that was dissolved.

How long should I soak the penny? I guess the bath would be opaque with
dissolved copper.

Long enough for them to get shiny. The dissolved copper will be in
ionic form, can't see it.

Aren't copper ions blue?

This afternoon, I shined up 2 pennies, 2 dimes, and a quarter, all in an
ounce or so of salty vinegar. The appearance of the vinegar stayed the
same. I didn't see any copper from the edges of the dimes and quarter,
deposited on the faces.