Coke can etch?

[chimehk]

I just read in one of the tips that coke can also etch the beads. How long do you have to soak it before it start to etch? I use the coke to soak the beads so they could be easily taken off the mandrel. Sometimes I soak it overnite and sometimes even for two day so it will be easier to clean the holes. I'm I soaking my beads too long? I don't want to etch my beads so just like to know how long it is best to soak it in the coke.
Also if I do want to etch them, how long to soak it then it will start to etch? :?:

[catman]

if Coke COULD etch, I don't think we would be able to drink it...
etching takes some powerful acidity.
Coke is acid enough to disintegrate certain minerals,
but glass...
lets put it this way:
If there was a glass that Coke can etch,
I wouldn't use it.
It might be harmed by mere sweat.

[JCHerrellGlass]

Coke hasn't etched in my experiments, but it will remove the luster that happens with Copper Greens, turquoises or other glass that get a sort of metallic film. Or... if your raku has a luster, coke will remove that too. As little as 6-8 hours will take the luster out without dulling the gloss. I stopped drinking soda when I figured out what it can do to the beads! It IS highly toxic and acidic!!! In fact, the only place you'll find cans of Coke in my house is in my studio... it's a glass tool, not a beverage. :-&

[beadsbylaura]

Yep me too JC. I stopped drinking Coke when I realised what it can do to glass. I'm not a health freak - it just scared me.

So even my beadies don't drink Coke now. I soak beads made from copper green, turquoise etc, in toilet cleaner overnight to remove the lustre.

And no - I don't drink toilet cleaner either! :biggrin:

[suzanne]

If it where true that coke could etch glass... would'nt every glass of coke we have poored be etched?:D

[MikeAurelius]

My dentist has a poster in each of his "work studios". Gives the acid level of all the major soda drinks available. While it isn't battery acid, most soda has a very high level of acidity. As I remember the chart, Mountain Dew is almost the highest level of acid.

Acid is what gives the soda it's "bite" and dries your mouth out, leaving you thirsty for more.

I'm looking at a Mountain Dew can right now, and Citric Acid is the 4th ingrediant listed, just ahead of preservative and Caffiene. This means there's more acid in Mt. Dew than Caffiene, and that's just plain scary.

[JCHerrellGlass]

It would eventually happen if the drinking glass was made from 104 COE glass. But it isn't. Most likely COE 90-96. Tougher to etch. The lower the COE, the more impervious to chemical action the glass is (that is a BAD sentence). This is why Boro has to be sandblasted insted of etched.

Try it... Leave a full glass of coke for a couple of weeks... you'll be surprised! :shock:

[SassyCassie]

We did the "dissolve a tooth" experiment with one of my son's teeth.

Gone...just gone. Don't remember how long it took..but it totally dissolved it with just a few "floaties" left.

Cass

[JCHerrellGlass]

We did the "dissolve a tooth" experiment with one of my son's teeth.

Gone...just gone. Don't remember how long it took..but it totally dissolved it with just a few "floaties" left.

Cass


Dear god!!! That's horrifying! :shock:

[suzanne]

Oh my goodness!!! I will reconsider drinkin coke:(

[beadfreak]

A good idea really is to check here first Snopes (http://www.snopes.com)

with regard to coke just a few links into Snopes...

Dissolve teeth (http://www.snopes.com/cokelore/tooth.asp)

Acids in Coke (http://www.snopes.com/cokelore/acid.asp)

A lot of fun to read on that side btw

[MikeAurelius]

Heat is also a factor. Increasing the temperature of the acid increases it's "power".