Paulson cleaning w/pics (1 Viewer)

[Blaster]

I originally posted this on another board years ago, since it worked so well for me & helped others, , I thought I'd pass it along here:

The Tukwila $1's, I had bought were pretty filthy/gunky. Dirt, grey gunk, ect ...

What I did , & would suggest on dirty Casino Paulsons, was use "Palmolive Oxy" green liquid dish soap, a good squirt ( 2-4 tablespoons?), into maybe a gallon or two of hot water ( hot that you can still dip your hand in) , in a plastic container & swish/stir around to make suds..

Threw some of the chips in to test, & after a couple of minutes , started to clean them w/a soft toothbrush.

The grime was actually coming off the chips in my hand, before I started to scrub! A rub of my fingers was cleaning the chips, except for the "nooks & crannies" , like the hat/cane area. Scrubbing w/ the soft toothbrush made them bright & clean.

A dip into clean water for rinse, dry off w/ a towel & put aside on another towel.
* No expensive, overpriced or harsh sounding chemicals!

I think about a 2-3 min soak is probably best, since the chips sitting in the liquid cleaned even easier ... I did not want or feel the need to soak an inlay chip for hours as I have heard some suggest ..
Note Paulsons only, IDK how other chips would react to this method.

Here's an After/Before ....

 

[Kyle]

That's the way to do it! Nice work!

 

[Psypher1000]

This is exactly what I did for my SPM's. The soap/oxy combo really does a nice job, and I actually slightly prefer it to the ultrasonic. The only problem is the time/manual labor part of it. At this point I've cleaned over 10k chips - there's no way I'd have done that by scrubbing. No way. For small batches, though, this is a great way to go.

 

[Dahlar9]

Wow, very dramatic improvement! Like new!

 

[detroitdad]

I'm going to pick some up and try it with my PNY'S. The ones are a little dirty.

Thanks

 

[joepro]

I need to do this, but mine are hot stamps. Should I be worried?

 

[BGinGA]

I need to do this, but mine are hot stamps. Should I be worried?

Do NOT use Oxi or TSP products on hot-stamped chips, unless you have plans to label over or remove the hot-stamps. Expect mixed results at best, discolored or dissolved stamps at worst.

 

[upNdown]

The TSP in the green box - phosphate free, imitation, substitute whatever - does a fine job of cleaning chips and a pretty good job of removing hot stamps.
I had some Paulson starbursts that I was planning to have milled, so I soaked them in that tsp substitute for 10 minutes. A quick scrub removed probably 75% of the hot stamp.

 

[davin]

Will the label peel off if you clean this way, I'm worried the inlay lAbel on a RHC chip will come off

 

[MD Mike]

Do NOT use Oxi or TSP products on hot-stamped chips, unless you have plans to label over or remove the hot-stamps. Expect mixed results at best, discolored or dissolved stamps at worst.

I actually found OxyClean dissolved the hotstamps with very warm or almost hot water. Worked wonders for my horseshoe relabel fracs where I wanted to remove it AND clean at the same time for the Lucky Derby 1s and Paulson pink horsie hotstamps.

But yeah, it dissolves it almost.

.....

...

Then a nice whirl in the rock tumbler....

 

[AWenger]

Then a nice whirl in the rock tumbler....

If you actually have a rock tumbler, and use it on chips, I'd be interested to see some before & after chip pics, and a brief explanation of what it's good for (rounding edges of used chips slightly?, removing hotstamps?, etc.) Seriously. If you're trolling, then just ignore me.

 

[MD Mike]

If you actually have a rock tumbler, and use it on chips, I'd be interested to see some before & after chip pics, and a brief explanation of what it's good for (rounding edges of used chips slightly?, removing hotstamps?, etc.) Seriously. If you're trolling, then just ignore me.

It’s a long standing troll now but it comes from an actual question I asked the forum some time ago about rounding the edges on fresh Paulsons lol

 

[AWenger]

It’s a long standing troll now but it comes from an actual question I asked the forum some time ago about rounding the edges on fresh Paulsons lol

Ha. Yes, I remember that thread, but not who it was from! I actually have a desire to make a few chips flatter/skinnier for a California Bell set I have, and always wondered how a rock tumbler would work, but wondered if it would flatten the chip, or make it too much of an 'oval'.

 

[Taghkanic]

Is it definitely the Oxy which does a good job of loosening the grime on these chips? Or is it just the soaking in hot water, and the cleaning? Has anyone tried a comparison? Do people also suggest other cleaners (or a particular thread where this is discussed)?

FWIW, here’s my usual process. Admittedly, it is dull and labor intensive:

I dunk dirty Paulsons and ASMs briefly in warm water—just for a couple of minutes—with a very little bit of ordinary Ivory-type soap (bar, not flakes). This may not even be necessary, except for some very basic disinfecting.

I’ll agitate them a bit, pat them very loosely with a cotton rag (e.g. from old sheets), then more thoroughly rub them dry with a microfiber or textured cotton cloth (see below). This pulls off gunk loosened by the soak.

Any chips which still have noticeable soiling (or what I call chip “boogers”) I set aside for a second soak and more thorough rub-down. I also have an old dentist’s tool which comes in handy for prying gunk out of crevices, e.g. inside the corner of a Top Hat.

I lay them out on a cotton tarp, folded in half so that nothing soaks through, as there is often still some dampness on the chips. As I lay them out, I give each a “twist” on the tarp to help pick up any remaining water droplets and soil. After one side has aired out, I flip them over and repeat.

This is in preparation for applying mineral oil, which I mush onto them with a (clean) foam applicator from a cheap shoe polish set, per a suggestion elsewhere on this site. After the oil is applied, I lay them out again on the cotton tarp, flipping the oiled side down in preparation for doing the next side. As I put them down, I again give each a “twist,” both to remove some of the oil, and more evenly spread it.

Note: I lay the chips out in rows spaced about 4-6 inches apart to help keep track of where I’m at, and also so that I can flip each chip onto a spot that isn’t damp/oily from the other side. I also will keep an eye out for any which show excess oil and clean that off either by an extra twist or with the cotton rag.

Once both sides are done, I let them air dry (flipping after 6-12 hours).

Finally, the next day I’ll set up in front of the TV with a couple of big bowls lined with clean cotton rags, and give each chip a thorough wiping, moving the swabbed chips from one bowl to the other.

Again, I find using a microfiber cloth or textured-but-aborbent cloth works well to both lift the oil and any remaining grime. I pinch the chip between the cloth with one hand, and rotate the chip in that pinched cloth with the other, which makes sure both surfaces and the edge get scrubbed.

In short, by the time I’m done, each chip has been agitated in warm water, loosely dried, rubbed down, “twisted” on a tarp, oiled, “twisted” again on the tarp, and finally rubbed down again.

I’m pleased with the results, although I’m sure something in this process will appall someone, or just seem like too much work... In general, I think it is the multiple rubbings which are getting these nice and clean—as opposed to using a cleaning product.

But if there is some magic cleaner which would mean fewer steps, I’d be delighted. Almost all of my chips are hotstamped, though, so it sounds like the Oxy is not an option.

 

[Blaster]

It’s a long standing troll now but it comes from an actual question I asked the forum some time ago about rounding the edges on fresh Paulsons lol

Ah yes, Nov 18, 2016, .. I am proud to be the 1st person in the forum/on that thread to mention a " Rock Tumbler" , now an an invaluable tool that has since helped hundreds of PCFers!!!!

 

[n0m1n4l]

Great thread, helpful information ... thanks!

 

[Mripton3]

My husband received an order of paulsons from a guy who taped them together? The glue residue all over the chips coupled with the dirt that was already caked on made for a fun cleaning time. We did the soap in warm water and toothbrush method first, but then subbed the toothbrush for a magic eraser. The magic eraser worked really well in getting the grime off. The added bonus is that I don't think there are added chemicals in the magic eraser that will damage the chips.