Paulson: Full label replacement tutorial thread (30 Viewers)

Very cool method @bernielomax! For the ones where the vinyl didn't come off, did you resort to NPR?

@ballefrans so you were able to just peel the vinyl off with pliers? And it came off completely cleanly, with no residual residue?

I've only really murdered RHCs, and I know from experience that they can very extremely wildly between 1 minute per chip and 30 minutes per chip. Some come off with isopropyl, some require NPR, and some I just snap in half and scream at.

I mean, I think that @HaRDHouSeiNC is one of the Masters at inlay removal. He just looks at them and they fly off. I think he posted a picture of his thumb just pushing the inlay off like he was squeezing a grape or something.
 
Ran across this earlier today. Thought it was pretty funny and appropriate for this thread...

Redrum.jpg
 
BearMetal said:
Very cool method @bernielomax! For the ones where the vinyl didn't come off, did you resort to NPR?

@ballefrans so you were able to just peel the vinyl off with pliers? And it came off completely cleanly, with no residual residue?

I've only really murdered RHCs, and I know from experience that they can very extremely wildly between 1 minute per chip and 30 minutes per chip. Some come off with isopropyl, some require NPR, and some I just snap in half and scream at.

I mean, I think that @HaRDHouSeiNC is one of the Masters at inlay removal. He just looks at them and they fly off. I think he posted a picture of his thumb just pushing the inlay off like he was squeezing a grape or something.
Click to expand...
Have not even used pliers. Just my fingers and the knife to peel the label up when needed.
 
bernielomax said:
Adding my experience I shared earlier this week for reference.

I took a small pair pliers and slowly peeled the inlay away. On these particular older chips 102 out of 160 the inlays and vinyl label came off at the same time. It took about 5 hours.......
Click to expand...
So by my math 160 inlays = 80 chips in 5 hrs

5hr * 3600sec/hr = 18,000 sec/80chips = 225 sec/chip = 3min 45 sec/chip. Sounds about right for a first try.

At that rate you'll get 16 ish/hr.

As others have said, the more of these you do the more you realize they do vary quite a lot in how difficult they are to do. Some of them come off cleanly quite easily and others are just a straight up bitch to get off.

Trust me, there are plenty RHC's that are not easy at all. Old THC's with paper inlays are easily 3x more time than the easier RHC's
 
BearMetal said:
Very cool method @bernielomax! For the ones where the vinyl didn't come off, did you resort to NPR?

@ballefrans so you were able to just peel the vinyl off with pliers? And it came off completely cleanly, with no residual residue?

I've only really murdered RHCs, and I know from experience that they can very extremely wildly between 1 minute per chip and 30 minutes per chip. Some come off with isopropyl, some require NPR, and some I just snap in half and scream at.

I mean, I think that @HaRDHouSeiNC is one of the Masters at inlay removal. He just looks at them and they fly off. I think he posted a picture of his thumb just pushing the inlay off like he was squeezing a grape or something.
Click to expand...

Thanks so much! I stumbled on to this method by accident. I have three exacto knives all of which had dull blades. The stores were closed that night so I looked through my tool box and tried a few different things.

I have not gone down the NPR route yet. I soaked them in hot water with dawn which worked okay, but it looks like the consensus here is non acetone NPR.
 
BearMetal said:
Very cool method @bernielomax! For the ones where the vinyl didn't come off, did you resort to NPR?

@ballefrans so you were able to just peel the vinyl off with pliers? And it came off completely cleanly, with no residual residue?

I've only really murdered RHCs, and I know from experience that they can very extremely wildly between 1 minute per chip and 30 minutes per chip. Some come off with isopropyl, some require NPR, and some I just snap in half and scream at.

I mean, I think that @HaRDHouSeiNC is one of the Masters at inlay removal. He just looks at them and they fly off. I think he posted a picture of his thumb just pushing the inlay off like he was squeezing a grape or something.
Click to expand...
LOL some are easier than others but I did get a good process down and the easy ones are the best
I got some boat chip Tourney chips and they suck. Really fused On. I’d guess the alcohol gets it off fast though

The guy who thought to use Ethyl alcohol was genius that makes it so easy compared to NPR and you have to be super watchful since if that touches certain colors even a few seconds it stains them
 
HaRDHouSeiNC said:
The guy who thought to use Ethyl alcohol was genius that makes it so easy compared to NPR and you have to be super watchful since if that touches certain colors even a few seconds it stains them
Click to expand...
It certainly is a great solvent, and it's my first go-to chemical. On some RHCs, it works like a dream. On others (JACK Cincy $25s, I'm looking at you), I could literally soak them overnight in alcohol and it did nothing.
 
Nanook said:
So by my math 160 inlays = 80 chips in 5 hrs

5hr * 3600sec/hr = 18,000 sec/80chips = 225 sec/chip = 3min 45 sec/chip. Sounds about right for a first try.

At that rate you'll get 16 ish/hr.

As others have said, the more of these you do the more you realize they do vary quite a lot in how difficult they are to do. Some of them come off cleanly quite easily and others are just a straight up bitch to get off.

Trust me, there are plenty RHC's that are not easy at all. Old THC's with paper inlays are easily 3x more time than the easier RHC's
Click to expand...

Remember those movies that have the old guy building a ship in a small glass bottle??

I think the best way to describe inlay removal. Patience, frustration, satisfaction.
 
Has anyone ever tried using a dremel tool with an ultra fine sand paper or brush feature to remove excess glue/residue? I think I am explore this idea more.

1664677625487.png
 
Himewad said:
The screwdriver method - no matter how small the screwdriver - makes me think that every chip will look like the one in your picture. Yikes.

View attachment 997532
Click to expand...
I think what you're seeing there is a tiny bit of the vinyl left attached to the clay (easily removed) and a small groove cut into the clay itself (which the new label should hide and doesn't seem worse than using an exacto). I've seen some people's slices on here that were 5x as deep - that you will notice.
 
BearMetal said:
Very cool method @bernielomax! For the ones where the vinyl didn't come off, did you resort to NPR?

@ballefrans so you were able to just peel the vinyl off with pliers? And it came off completely cleanly, with no residual residue?

I've only really murdered RHCs, and I know from experience that they can very extremely wildly between 1 minute per chip and 30 minutes per chip. Some come off with isopropyl, some require NPR, and some I just snap in half and scream at.

I mean, I think that @HaRDHouSeiNC is one of the Masters at inlay removal. He just looks at them and they fly off. I think he posted a picture of his thumb just pushing the inlay off like he was squeezing a grape or something.
Click to expand...
These come highly recommended if you can get your hands on them
20-30 mins for a barrel
image.jpg
 
Himewad said:
The screwdriver method - no matter how small the screwdriver - makes me think that every chip will look like the one in your picture. Yikes.

View attachment 997532
Click to expand...

BearMetal said:
I think what you're seeing there is a tiny bit of the vinyl left attached to the clay (easily removed) and a small groove cut into the clay itself (which the new label should hide and doesn't seem worse than using an exacto). I've seen some people's slices on here that were 5x as deep - that you will notice.
Click to expand...

@Himewad - Fair point on the screwdriver method. I took a look at the chips I did this way. On several I started too close to the edge and may be an issue with the inlay.

I tried a few this morning with the slicing down the middle and using the small screwdriver as a pick to loosen. Then the pliers to remove the rest. I feel like this is a much better and safer process for the chips. Thanks!
 
My experience with doing the inlay removals myself on my latest project has been a mixed bag. I started with 200 Paris $1's and 300 NAGB chips that needed their inlays removed.

I prefer the "criss cross" X cut myself shown below. I'm right handed, started at the 10 o'clock position on the inlay at the edge and made my first cut a little more than halfway to the 4'clock position. Then made a second cut at the 2 o'clock position starting at about 1/4 into the inlay, but stopping about halfway to 8 o'clock until the two incisions intersected. I then took a flat blade and lifted from the center towards the edge of the chip along the scored initial incision.

On about 25% to 40% of the Paris $1's, I got the inlay and label all off in one piece and didn't need to apply any NPR whatsoever. Nice and clean. 200 of the NAGB chips were like this. All 200 of them, no problem. I even did a whole rack of them in just over two hours. The other 100 NAGB and the remainder of the Paris $1's I had a lot of trouble with and had to remove the plastic inlay piece first and apply NPR to get the rest of the label.

Really odd that one rack of the NAGB chips gave me such a hard time, but not the other 200.

Here's a photo of the general idea of my cutting technique:
20221006_200827.jpg
 
@JMC9389 & others trying to diy murder:

To me, this ^^^^^ is not acceptable. The reason is that, in my experience, once you place a label over that gash the cut will still be both visible and you will be able to feel it.

When I murder chips I almost never cut into the base of the chip. At most I nick it just a bit. I have now murdered literally tens of thousands of chips and almost never damage the chips at all.. There is just no need to put a gash in a nice chip like that.

Here are a few pro tips: 1st, there is no need to make multiple cuts. 1 cut starting about half way between the center of the chip and and the edge of where the inlay is and extending out to the edge of the inlay is all that is needed. 2nd thing is you should have the knife as horizontal (as close as possible to parallel to the face of the chip) as possible. This will ensure that if you do cut into the face of the chip, it won't be very deep. Here is a recent pic of me cutting into a chip that shows what I am talking about.


The Ambassador Plaza San Juan chips happen to be Paper Inlays which are a major pita to do, but when done right they do come out looking really nice. Here is a pic of one of them once everything is off. Notice how there is NO DAMAGE to the chip under where the inlay once was.
 
I use a similar technique, but slice away from myself and toward the edge of the chip. Keeping the blade as horizontal as possible is the real trick and requires a blade that's sharp enough to move through the laminate with ease toward the edge, but dull enough not to accidentally go into the chip material too much.
 
Nanook said:
@JMC9389 & others trying to diy murder:

To me, this ^^^^^ is not acceptable. The reason is that, in my experience, once you place a label over that gash the cut will still be both visible and you will be able to feel it.

When I murder chips I almost never cut into the base of the chip. At most I nick it just a bit. I have now murdered literally tens of thousands of chips and almost never damage the chips at all.. There is just no need to put a gash in a nice chip like that.

Here are a few pro tips: 1st, there is no need to make multiple cuts. 1 cut starting about half way between the center of the chip and and the edge of where the inlay is and extending out to the edge of the inlay is all that is needed. 2nd thing is you should have the knife as horizontal (as close as possible to parallel to the face of the chip) as possible. This will ensure that if you do cut into the face of the chip, it won't be very deep. Here is a recent pic of me cutting into a chip that shows what I am talking about.


The Ambassador Plaza San Juan chips happen to be Paper Inlays which are a major pita to do, but when done right they do come out looking really nice. Here is a pic of one of them once everything is off. Notice how there is NO DAMAGE to the chip under where the inlay once was.
Click to expand...
I have three barrels left until I finish this project, but if I go the route of inlay replacement again, I already decided that I'm hiring someone else for the job. If the inlays don't come off like butter like that rack of RPC $5'ers did, it's just too time consuming and dangerous a process for me. I'm not as sure handed as some of the vets including yourself in this thread. Doing a 600 chip set by myself has literally taken me months, and at that not getting ideal results. The photo I posted was perhaps a bad example of my work as the cuts definitely didn't go as deep on most of them. Either way, applying a thick, laminated textured label as I plan to do should not result in being able to feel any deep gashes in the inlay. I did a couple of barrels previously on my CDI set and haven't had any issues with the labels laying flush or being able to feel any scratches or gouges under the label. But yes, I would definitely have this concern in applying a thinner or glossy label that may not be as thick as a laminated and textured label.
 
BearMetal said:
I use a similar technique, but slice away from myself and toward the edge of the chip. Keeping the blade as horizontal as possible is the real trick and requires a blade that's sharp enough to move through the laminate with ease toward the edge, but dull enough not to accidentally go into the chip material too much.
Click to expand...
I know you are not supposed to cut toward your fingers, but this is just easier for me. I cut relatively slowly and after like 20k+ chips I have not cut myself even once with the utility knife. I find that a really sharp knife works best and don't have a problem with cutting into the chip once I hit the edge of the laminate. Once you hit the edge of the laminate you are going to notice less resistance for just an instant and that is where you stop putting pressure on the knife. You have to do a few to get used to it, but once you have done a bunch you will immediately notice where that edge is and you won't cut into the chip beyond the laminate
 
JMC9389 said:
I have three barrels left until I finish this project, but if I go the route of inlay replacement again, I already decided that I'm hiring someone else for the job. If the inlays don't come off like butter like that rack of RPC $5'ers did, it's just too time consuming and dangerous a process for me. I'm not as sure handed as some of the vets including yourself in this thread. Doing a 600 chip set by myself has literally taken me months, and at that not getting ideal results. The photo I posted was perhaps a bad example of my work as the cuts definitely didn't go as deep on most of them. Either way, applying a thick, laminated textured label as I plan to do should not result in being able to feel any deep gashes in the inlay. I did a couple of barrels previously on my CDI set and haven't had any issues with the labels laying flush or being able to feel any scratches or gouges under the label. But yes, I would definitely have this concern in applying a thinner or glossy label that may not be as thick as a laminated and textured label.
Click to expand...
You will feel the deeper cuts under the laminated label; you can minimize this by trying to do a quick sanding down of the area with the slice. It's not 100% fix, but it does help a lot. I also remember reading some people try to fill in the larger slices before sanding down smooth, but I can't find that post.

Nanook said:
I know you are not supposed to cut toward your fingers, but this is just easier for me. I cut relatively slowly and after like 20k+ chips I have not cut myself even once with the utility knife. I find that a really sharp knife works best and don't have a problem with cutting into the chip once I hit the edge of the laminate. Once you hit the edge of the laminate you are going to notice less resistance for just an instant and that is where you stop putting pressure on the knife. You have to do a few to get used to it, but once you have done a bunch you will immediately notice where that edge is and you won't cut into the chip beyond the laminate
Click to expand...
Hah, yeah, just don't want to see people with bloody fingers (as have been posted here before). I've done about 1000 and haven't cut myself either. I find that when I hit the edge, I need to pivot the edge of the blade up to get a small piece of the laminate to rise so I can grab it with the pliers. At this point, sometimes a small bit of clay comes off the edge with it.

How do you get the laminate up to be able to grab and pull?
 
JMC9389 said:
I have three barrels left until I finish this project, but if I go the route of inlay replacement again, I already decided that I'm hiring someone else for the job.
Click to expand...
I am here for you....lol

JMC9389 said:
If the inlays don't come off like butter like that rack of RPC $5'ers did, it's just too time consuming and dangerous a process for me. I'm not as sure handed as some of the vets including yourself in this thread.
Click to expand...
You are right. It has been said often that all chips do not murder the same way and there is a lot of truth to this. Sometimes even chips from the same set are quite different. I don't know why this is other than maybe the different ingredients used in different colors might cause the adhesive to act differently or maybe over time they use different Laminate or different adhesive or different Vinyl on a re-buy, idk.

Thanks for the compliment.

JMC9389 said:
Doing a 600 chip set by myself has literally taken me months, and at that not getting ideal results.
Click to expand...
It is certainly a tedious process

JMC9389 said:
The photo I posted was perhaps a bad example of my work as the cuts definitely didn't go as deep on most of them. Either way, applying a thick, laminated textured label as I plan to do should not result in being able to feel any deep gashes in the inlay. I did a couple of barrels previously on my CDI set and haven't had any issues with the labels laying flush or being able to feel any scratches or gouges under the label. But yes, I would definitely have this concern in applying a thinner or glossy label that may not be as thick as a laminated and textured label.
Click to expand...
I am glad that you are getting what you perceive to be acceptable results and that most were not as bad as what was shown in the above pic.
 

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