Yes, but it's really just food/pharmaceutical grade mineral oil with extra mark up. I bought it a long time ago so I might as well use it. I've lost count of how many chips I've oiled by hand, but it's got to be somewhere north of 20-25 thousand.
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Oiling Chips Done Right (6 Viewers)
- Thread starter Stibnite
- Start date
Yes, but it's really just food/pharmaceutical grade mineral oil with extra mark up. I bought it a long time ago so I might as well use it. I've lost count of how many chips I've oiled by hand, but it's got to be somewhere north of 20-25 thousand.
BleedingChips
Sitting Out
Thank you for this great instruction! I can’t wait to try it on my incoming order of pharaohs.
If I am understanding correctly, I condensed your method so I can easily reference when I get started. Please let me know if I am missing something.
Preparation:
- Clean chips with warm water and Dawn dish soap to remove factory dust.
- Supplies needed: microfiber cloth, pure mineral oil, paper towels, and a flat surface for laying chips out.
Stibnites’s Compression Oiling
Process:Saturate a microfiber cloth with capful of mineral oil….
- Compress and oil chip: Hold a chip between fingers and apply light pressure while rubbing with the oiled cloth.This seals the oil into the chip.
- Air dry: Place oiled chips on paper towels and let them air dry for 24-48 hours without touching.
- Oil chip edges: After air drying, lightly oil the edges of chip stacks to add a second coat.
- Final air dry: Let chips air dry for another 12-24 hours.
Additional tips for better results:
- Oil plastic chip trays to prevent oil absorption from chips.
- Avoid wiping chips dry with the microfiber cloth after air drying.
- Allow any excess oil on chip edges to absorb naturally.
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Use light pressure when applying oil to chips with a cloth - face outside of inlay and edges done am the same time.
No second coat
Don't oil chip trays
No second coat
Don't oil chip trays
Poker Zombie
Royal Flush
- As allforcharity said, light pressure. You aren't forcing oil anywhere.
- 1 coat is plenty. you aren't staining wood here, you are "speeding up" the process naturally attained by the handling of chips
- Unless your chip trays are more absorbent than the chip, they aren't stealing oil
- I use any old, lint-free rag
- you need very little oil
Oil and water method. So much less labor. Same results.
Poker Zombie
Royal Flush
I don't even "let them dry" anymore. If there's so much oil on the chip that it needs to dry, you used too much.
*does not apply to the oil & water method which requires dry-time
i agree with your first statement. And I can’t believe we’ve got 30 pages on oiling, based on some wacky method proposed by a guy who hasn’t been around for a couple of years.
As for oil and water method, I’m suspicious, but I’ve never tried it. I’d want to wipe them afterward anyway. And if I’m going to wipe them anyway, why not just do it like that from the beginning?
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I agree. After reading the OP again, there's so much with which I disagree.
There's WAY too much oil being used, and since mineral oil doesn't evaporate, there is no need to let them "dry". Oiling the racks because they're microscopically porous?
If they were very dry clays, I could see them soaking up more oil, but a simple wipe with a slightly oily cloth is enough, even for CPC's...and even then, just oiling the edges is often enough.
And don't get me started again on the whole "compression" thing.
Makes a lot of sense to be suspicious of a method that multiple members have used successfully, since you haven’t tried it yourself.
Similarly, I don’t really believe the moon landings were real, because I’ve never gone to the moon myself.
But seriously: In addition to the huge amount of time saved submerging whole racks at a time rather than individually oiling them one by one, the amount of “wiping” necessary is minimal as long as you are sparing with the oil.
All I do after dunking chips several times is to lay them out on towels, giving them a slight twist as they are set down. This is more than enough to get any excess oil off.
Repeat when flipping them over after they’ve aired out a bit.
If you’ve overdone it, another simple fix to speed things up is to lay towels on top of the chips as well, and just run your hands over them.
(Note: I find that wet Paulsons dry much quicker than most assume. I used to air cleaned chips out over an entire evening with fans on them, when I was a newbie. This is totally unnecessary.)
I also used to hand-oil Paulsons while watching TV. It took several sessions and many hours to do a set that way. With the oil-and-water method I can do 500-700 in no time.
Multiple members have over-oiled their chips too, but I don’t need to try that, to be suspicious of it.
But sure, go ahead and attack me for not trying a method that tons of people don’t use.
I assumed it just kind of turned into the oiling chips thread, not necessarily that we are only oiling chips using exactly this method.
I use something similar to OP but with a lot less oil. It’s also chip-dependent. I’ve had some chips just drink up the oil where others look shiny with just a quick swipe of my oily fingers. Trial and error.
Having a lot of information with photos to support isn’t harmful, it’s a great starting point for others who want to try it themselves.
I also don’t let my chips dry, but am careful to wipe off any excess oil that I can.
I use something similar to OP but with a lot less oil. It’s also chip-dependent. I’ve had some chips just drink up the oil where others look shiny with just a quick swipe of my oily fingers. Trial and error.
Having a lot of information with photos to support isn’t harmful, it’s a great starting point for others who want to try it themselves.
I also don’t let my chips dry, but am careful to wipe off any excess oil that I can.
In my experience, with several tries, not nearly. Not even close.
I’ve done it both ways. With mint chips, with old chips, with recently-TSP’d chips. Mostly on THCs and RHCs, but also older ASMs.
If you want a deeper saturation, you can always oil/water them again and *still* be way ahead on time.
I find once is more than adequate both to combat that dusty (mint) or dry (TSP’d) look, bringing out the color while giving the chip some protection.
And if the set is in play regularly, then of course they are getting lightly “oiled” again each time they are played, over the initial protective treatment.
When I was hand-oiling, the total amount of mineral oil getting on the chip was way too high, even when I was being sparing.
With the oil-and-water method, I use less than a teaspoon of oil for a whole 1,000-chip set, most of which is being thrown out with the water. It’s really surprising how this works, and counterintuitive until you try it.
I’ll never go back to hand-oiling. It was total overkill.
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drdr
Straight
Have avoided oil and water method as how it works doesn't seem to make sense. If chips absorb oil they would also be able to absorb water. With so little oil involved I'd expect chips are mostly just absorbing water, that would be expected to evaporate out. Which intuitively would mean retreating would be needed earlier. As oil and water don't evenly mix, I'm worried about even application. I'm also wary of wetting inlays; dry brush chalky chips rather than wash.
And that is all clashing oddly in my brain with the many claims it works. I look forward to someone somehow sciencing-out this method some day.
And that is all clashing oddly in my brain with the many claims it works. I look forward to someone somehow sciencing-out this method some day.
Nope, you have it figured out correctly -- it simply doesn't work very well in practice. Very blotchy oil coverage, as chips only get oil un-uniformly applied when entering and leaving the oil/water mixture.
I would think if the water was agitated somewhat, there would be tiny droplets of oil scattered within the water, but it’s hard to know how much and if there’s an even distribution of oil.
I’m not saying it doesn’t work for those that use this method, there are enough folks that swear by it.
I’m not saying it doesn’t work for those that use this method, there are enough folks that swear by it.
I suggest trying it. What you learned in third grade about oil and water isn’t dispositive here.
As the chips are dunked in and out of the water (I use a salad spinner) oil on the surface adheres to them.
It is kind of amazing how many people keep insisting that this cannot work without having tried it.
As for water, it evaporates pretty quickly from the surface of “clay” (which after all we know contains plenty of resins and other materials). Especially if laid on towels and patted down/flipped.
Unless you were to soak chips for a very long time, water isn’t going to penetrate chips in the way you fear.
As for inlays, I have never had cleaning with water, oil, faux-TSP solutions, etc., lift up or degrade factory or applied vinyl inlays, including Gear labels. Of course, if someone improperly left gaps when applying an inlay, and form of oil or liquid could get underneath. But I assume you don’t have sloppily applied inlays. (Think about the lengths people have to go to to murder chips—getting NANPR under a label requires real work.)
I again suggest trying it with a few chips to get over these irrational fears.
P.S. Re.: Hand oiling: Again, I’ve done that too. If you are trying to simulate that hypersaturated Photoshopped pr0n look, then maybe you want to load a rag up with mineral oil and hand-apply it.
Personally I want my chips to look naturally colorful, not oily. Oil/water treatment brings out clay color, cures dryness, removes dustiness, and adds protection—without making chips look like potato sticks fresh out of the fryolater.
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Poker Zombie
Royal Flush
I'm also skeptical of the oil & water method. We all know basic science, hence the reluctance to try the method. However, following the scientific principal, I would like to try the oil & water method to prove/disprove the theory.
...but I don't have a salad spinner. I'm not going to buy a space-gobbling kitchen gadget to try it out either. I would watch a video, but we would need a time-lapse because chips wet from water look great and we would need to see what they looked like dry.
In the meantime, I will disagree on the amount of time it takes to hand oil vs oil and water. I can hand oil a rack 15 minutes before game time and put the chips on the felt. Oil and water needs time to dry, or you are hand drying.
A also disagree that they look "hypersaturated", have a "Photoshopped pr0n look", or appear to "Look like potato sticks fresh out of the fryolater". That sounds more like troll-talk than science, making your entire viewpoint sound disingenuous.
...but I don't have a salad spinner. I'm not going to buy a space-gobbling kitchen gadget to try it out either. I would watch a video, but we would need a time-lapse because chips wet from water look great and we would need to see what they looked like dry.
In the meantime, I will disagree on the amount of time it takes to hand oil vs oil and water. I can hand oil a rack 15 minutes before game time and put the chips on the felt. Oil and water needs time to dry, or you are hand drying.
A also disagree that they look "hypersaturated", have a "Photoshopped pr0n look", or appear to "Look like potato sticks fresh out of the fryolater". That sounds more like troll-talk than science, making your entire viewpoint sound disingenuous.
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All of the chips I have seen oiled using the water/oil method ended up splotchy,, unless an extra step was included to ensure the chips were uniformly coated. And if one needs to add that step to get acceptable results, you may as well skip the first step and just go straight to hand oiling.
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I tried to say something similar earlier and I think I was told that I didn't believe in the moon?
Oil:water method alone, theoretically, has a lot of flaws:
1) How much oil to water?
So, we are passing the chip through the oil layer through to the water layer, then back up through the oil layer again. How thick should the oil layer be? And how to replenish the oil after repeated dunking and coating of chips? There should be something that you can calculate, but the of course the big variable is the surface area of the oil layer, which will depend on the size/shape of the container. Technically, the amount of water should not matter at all, you just need enough depth to make a comfortable pass in each direction.
2) How do you make the dunk?
A salad spinner has too much surface area contact with the chip. A wire basket would minimize this to get a more even oil coating. I would suggest making the dunk slowly, a very quick shake while still immersed in the water, then a slow rise out. This would be to try and avoid disrupting the oil layer and prevent uneven coating.
3) Should you immerse inlaid chips?
We don't think water + detergent has negative effects since we clean chips this way. But what about oil? There's a lot of talk and not a few proven examples of oil infiltration under inlays, with permanent changes, and possibly affecting shaped inlay chips more (but might be heresay). Is there a real risk? Should you take the chance to save an hour or two?
I much prefer the hand oiling method because the variables are easier to control. Yes, it takes longer. I suppose it's like the argument of overlabelling vs. full inlay replacement. One method unquestionably takes much longer and requires more resources, but it also results in a superior end product.
1) How much oil to water?
So, we are passing the chip through the oil layer through to the water layer, then back up through the oil layer again. How thick should the oil layer be? And how to replenish the oil after repeated dunking and coating of chips? There should be something that you can calculate, but the of course the big variable is the surface area of the oil layer, which will depend on the size/shape of the container. Technically, the amount of water should not matter at all, you just need enough depth to make a comfortable pass in each direction.
2) How do you make the dunk?
A salad spinner has too much surface area contact with the chip. A wire basket would minimize this to get a more even oil coating. I would suggest making the dunk slowly, a very quick shake while still immersed in the water, then a slow rise out. This would be to try and avoid disrupting the oil layer and prevent uneven coating.
3) Should you immerse inlaid chips?
We don't think water + detergent has negative effects since we clean chips this way. But what about oil? There's a lot of talk and not a few proven examples of oil infiltration under inlays, with permanent changes, and possibly affecting shaped inlay chips more (but might be heresay). Is there a real risk? Should you take the chance to save an hour or two?
I much prefer the hand oiling method because the variables are easier to control. Yes, it takes longer. I suppose it's like the argument of overlabelling vs. full inlay replacement. One method unquestionably takes much longer and requires more resources, but it also results in a superior end product.
extreme517
Pair
Cleaned in the Ultrasonic and now oiling. I've done as prescribed in the OP previously, but trying a different approach on these. We'll see how they look as time goes by.
The red/orange/yellows are chips I oiled by hand earlier in the year.
The red/orange/yellows are chips I oiled by hand earlier in the year.
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Mr Winberg
Full House
I will not debate which method is better scientifically etc, but my very limited experience is that I did the compression oil method with my milanos (I wish the "compression" part had been debunked before I did this, because compression oiling ~1800 chips hurts). When I oiled my china clay cash set (1600 chips) I did the "oil in water" method. It was a lot faster, and I do mean a lot, and the end result was the same. But I'm comparing to compression oiling now. When comparing to simpler oiling the difference might be less, but I can't imagine that it can come close to the speed of oil/water.
So for cheap china clays I say just dunk them in water with oil. For more exclusive chips I see why you might want to oil them individually.
My 2 cents.
So for cheap china clays I say just dunk them in water with oil. For more exclusive chips I see why you might want to oil them individually.
My 2 cents.
BigSlick4523
4 of a Kind
looks like I need to read this thread
I have been oiling chips and my way takes forever LOL
I have been cleaning them with a arm and hammer laundry detergent with Oxi soak then scrub and dry them
once dried I take 10 chips put oil on a qtip and on the edges of the chips and do all the edges this does not take long
its this part that sucks then I take each chip and do around the inlay of the chip both sides
takes forever then I let them airdry for like 12 hours and wipe the excess with a wash cloth man that hurts the hands after a while
I need to read this thread and find a better way asap
I have been oiling chips and my way takes forever LOL
I have been cleaning them with a arm and hammer laundry detergent with Oxi soak then scrub and dry them
once dried I take 10 chips put oil on a qtip and on the edges of the chips and do all the edges this does not take long
its this part that sucks then I take each chip and do around the inlay of the chip both sides
takes forever then I let them airdry for like 12 hours and wipe the excess with a wash cloth man that hurts the hands after a while
I need to read this thread and find a better way asap
techno3bet
Sitting Out
Thank so much for this guide - New to the community and was wondering how this worked.
@mattross1313 can't wait for @2Tight2Fight to ask us about oiling chips!
I love the smell of mineral oil in the morning...it smells like...victory
Captn
Pair
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