Oiling Chips Done Right (17 Viewers)

[YhYh02]

Hmmm I used mineral oil to hand oil my milanos just like what the OP described. Light to medium pressure, the works. However, after 24 hours, it seems the chips went back to their unoiled original form. Am I doing anything wrong?

Did the oil evaporate?

 

[drdr]

Hmmm I used mineral oil to hand oil my milanos just like what the OP described. Light to medium pressure, the works. However, after 24 hours, it seems the chips went back to their unoiled original form. Am I doing anything wrong?

Did the oil evaporate?

Can post some pics of your Milanos?
Is a long thread, but I recall was later mostly agreed that pressure isn't needed.

 

[YhYh02]

Can post some pics of your Milanos?
Is a long thread, but I recall was later mostly agreed that pressure isn't needed.

First column: Newly oiled
Second Column: Oiled 24 hours ago
Third Column: Unoiled

There is very little difference between the ones oiled 24 hours ago and unoiled ones, except along the edges.

Where did all that oil go if it wasn’t absorbed by the chip? And if it was, why does it look almost similar?

 

[Phoe9x]

You don’t really need to oil plastic chips. They don’t hold oil at all, you can just wipe them down with a damp rag to make the colors pop

 

[YhYh02]

You don’t really need to oil plastic chips. They don’t hold oil at all, you can just wipe them down with a damp rag to make the colors pop

I have heard 2 different school of thoughts. First one is that china clays benefit from oiling. Second is that they are plastic chips, so don’t bother oiling them. I’m not 100% sure yet which one is correct, or whether or not i have indeed bought fake milanos.

Either way, the benefits on the faces don’t seem to be noticeable on my chips, but oiling does seem to make the edges abit better and does get rid of at least 50% of the factory dust chalk stuck on the chips.

I’ll continue oiling them for these marginal benefits since i’ve already started (and since they don’t take up extra time given that i do it whilst watching netflix). but in the future, I might stay away from china clays in general for future sets.

 

[Phoe9x]

whether or not i have indeed bought fake milanos

There’s probably “fake” milanos, but in the end they’re all plastic.

Either way, the benefits on the faces don’t seem to be noticeable on my chips, but oiling does seem to make the edges abit better and does get rid of at least 50% of the factory dust chalk stuck on the chips.

One thing I’ve noticed is that chips in general don’t need to be oiled on the face. I think one thing to be careful with especially with CCs is making sure you don’t over oil the faces and ruin the inlay. Theres not much difference between oiling the entire chip vs oiling only the edges and just shuffling the chips during play.

 

[allforcharity]

Did the oil evaporate?

Yes.

 

[Colquhoun]

Actually, mineral oil doesn’t evaporate. At least not in an amount that’s measurable.

 

[drdr]

There’s probably “fake” milanos, but in the end they’re all plastic.

One thing I’ve noticed is that chips in general don’t need to be oiled on the face. I think one thing to be careful with especially with CCs is making sure you don’t over oil the faces and ruin the inlay. Theres not much difference between oiling the entire chip vs oiling only the edges and just shuffling the chips during play.

Good info provided.
I asked for photos in case that revealed whether the chips were fakes but I can't tell. Maybe some variation in manufacturer exists that causes some variation in absorbance. But yes, compare to clay there will be much less benefit to oiling.

 

[allforcharity]

Actually, mineral oil doesn’t evaporate. At least not in an amount that’s measurable.

Actually, yes, it does, and in amounts that are measurable if you have the right equipment. Just because it is slow at room temperature and pressure doesn't mean it doesn't happen, Basic chemical principles do apply to mineral oil.

 

[YhYh02]

Good info provided.
I asked for photos in case that revealed whether the chips were fakes but I can't tell. Maybe some variation in manufacturer exists that causes some variation in absorbance. But yes, compare to clay there will be much less benefit to oiling.

Hello, I started a thread with many photos. Maybe you could help take a look if you want to!

https://www.pokerchipforum.com/thre...-cleaning-oiling-process.127576/#post-2616990

Also, here are some photos of the chips.

 

[YhYh02]

Actually, yes, it does, and in amounts that are measurable if you have the right equipment. Just because it is slow at room temperature and pressure doesn't mean it doesn't happen, Basic chemical principles do apply to mineral oil.

Hmmm the oil on my chips disappeared after 24 hours. Seems abit too fast, so perhaps there was some absorption afterall?

 

[Quimbo96]

This definitely helped brighten my chips. Along with hours of table time

 

[allforcharity]

Hmmm the oil on my chips disappeared after 24 hours. Seems abit too fast, so perhaps there was some absorption afterall?

Did you rack them or leave them on your towels?

 

[YhYh02]

Did you rack them or leave them on your towels?

i left them on the towels for 24 hours to soak up excess oil on the chips

 

[allforcharity]

i left them on the towels for 24 hours to soak up excess oil on the chips

Then there's your answer. Capillary action from the towels reabsorbed the majority of the oil.

Because these are mostly plastic, do a very quick wipe with a bare minimum of oil on a j-cloth, and then rack them up on an open rack.

 

[GreatWhiteDope]

I am waiting on a set of CPC chips and wanted to find out if they needed to be oiled and if so, how to do so. After reading about five pages of this thread, I have no idea if I should oil them or be afraid of oiling them and no idea the correct method of doing so. I have an old set of Modern Clays and InPlays that I just opened and used. After 20 years, I recently bought and ultrasonic cleaner and cleaned some of them. They do look a little washed out after that. But I assume that they will return to a more vivid color after more play. We will play with the CPC's every week. So I am thinking I will take them out and play with them and let nature take its course. Am I lazy, stupid, scared, illiterate, all of the above?

 

[demonnic]

The most common advice I've seen is "light rinse to knock the factory dust off and dry, tiny bit of oil just on the edges" but there's definitely a vocal contingent who'll tell you just to play with and shuffle them and skin oils will handle it for you.

I think they're probably both right, in so much as they look dusty in all the 'fresh out of the box' pictures and so a light rinse to remove that is likely in order and if you play with/handle them enough they'll not need oiling... but also it doesn't take that long to oil just the edges (can do them a barrel at a time) and I'd have a hard time waiting. Plus, I doubt I'll be able to use mine weekly.

 

[Tonysquander]

I am waiting on a set of CPC chips and wanted to find out if they needed to be oiled and if so, how to do so. After reading about five pages of this thread, I have no idea if I should oil them or be afraid of oiling them and no idea the correct method of doing so. I have an old set of Modern Clays and InPlays that I just opened and used. After 20 years, I recently bought and ultrasonic cleaner and cleaned some of them. They do look a little washed out after that. But I assume that they will return to a more vivid color after more play. We will play with the CPC's every week. So I am thinking I will take them out and play with them and let nature take its course. Am I lazy, stupid, scared, illiterate, all of the above?

CPC’s are going to arrive dusty from the lathing process, they will need to be cleaned/washed off at a minimum. Some folks do nothing, some do a full oiling (edges of faces and sides) and some just do the sides of the barrels and call it good. I prefer the full oiling, especially with new chips. It is labor intensive but I deem the effort to be worth it. YMMV.

Steps

Clean them.
Allow them to Dry
Oil with mineral oil and set on towels/paper towels to dry (If you just do the edges in barrels you can put then in a rack)
If you did the face, wipe off the inlay area with towel/paper towels
Flip and repeat inlay wipe
Flip chips over once or twice a day for a few days until they are dry to your satisfaction

 

[AlbinoDragon]

Rinse off the factory dust.

Very lightly oil the edges.

Put them in play.



Honestly, less is more. This thread has so many differing opinions, techniques and amount of oil used, I'm not surprised you're confused.

If you really do play once a week, just put them in play. Nature will take it's course.

 

[drdr]

I went through similar a year ago when joining. I found the vast majority was yes do oil them. After that it was a mass of methods.
I decided since CPCs absorb oil they are likely absorbing water too. I didn't want them absorbing water just before oiling (reducing the amount of oil absorbed). So I dry dusted all the chips with a toothbrush then applied oil. Took longer but I'm happy.

 

[Phoe9x]

Imo, mint CPCs just need light oiling on the edges. Rinsing seems like a waste of time since the dust will come off when you wipe it down with an oiled cloth.

 

[drdr]

Imo, mint CPCs just need light oiling on the edges. Rinsing seems like a waste of time since the dust will come off when you wipe it down with an oiled cloth.

This. But I found quite a bit of dust can be jammed in the mold. Hence the toothbrush.

 

[Phoe9x]

This. But I found quite a bit of dust can be jammed in the mold. Hence the toothbrush.

Good point. Maybe I should try that out on some that have some of mine that have residual dust.

 

[Tonysquander]

CPC’s have A LOT of dust on them. Highly recommend cleaning them before putting dirt encrusted oil on all of your chips after the first barrel.

 

[Poker Zombie]

The most common advice I've seen is "light rinse to knock the factory dust off and dry, tiny bit of oil just on the edges" but there's definitely a vocal contingent who'll tell you just to play with and shuffle them and skin oils will handle it for you.

I think they're probably both right, in so much as they look dusty in all the 'fresh out of the box' pictures and so a light rinse to remove that is likely in order and if you play with/handle them enough they'll not need oiling... but also it doesn't take that long to oil just the edges (can do them a barrel at a time) and I'd have a hard time waiting. Plus, I doubt I'll be able to use mine weekly.

Truth is, there are a dozen methods to oil chips. All of them work, or they wouldn't be posted here.

Since you have new chips incoming, it would be cool if you took a single denomination and did each barrel with a different method, and posted the results.

What I am suggesting would be a lost of extra work, as repetition makes any process go much faster (except the OP's press-oil-into-the-chip method, as that would take hours no matter what). However, doing so would be an epic addition to this thread, and honestly would probably become the definitive thread on oiling.

 

[demonnic]

Truth is, there are a dozen methods to oil chips. All of them work, or they wouldn't be posted here.

Since you have new chips incoming, it would be cool if you took a single denomination and did each barrel with a different method, and posted the results.

What I am suggesting would be a lost of extra work, as repetition makes any process go much faster (except the OP's press-oil-into-the-chip method, as that would take hours no matter what). However, doing so would be an epic addition to this thread, and honestly would probably become the definitive thread on oiling.

That's actually a pretty good idea. No clue how far out my order is from arriving but now you've mentioned it I think I will have to do this if nobody else does it before me.

 

[Poker Zombie]

That's actually a pretty good idea. No clue how far out my order is from arriving but now you've mentioned it I think I will have to do this if nobody else does it before me.

As far as I know, nobody has tried it. I've used various methods on different sets, so there is no real comparison. If you do it, make a separate thread, but link it here.

 

[GreatWhiteDope]

As far as I know, nobody has tried it. I've used various methods on different sets, so there is no real comparison. If you do it, make a separate thread, but link it here.

That is a great idea. My fear is messing up brand new chips. As I have only owned two sets of chips in my entire life (dice chips and then BCC chips), I have never oiled anything. But I will give that some thought. It would be a cool experiment and I have 90 barrels coming, so there would be plenty to make the comparisons.

 

[GreatWhiteDope]

A related question... Does the same issue exist with ultrasonic cleaning old Sidepot/BCC chips? I was planning to clean my Modern Clay and InPlay chips before I sell them but obviously don't want to ruin them. Thanks.