Ultrasonic Chip Cleaning (18 Viewers)

[MikeLV]

Native Lights Chip Cleaning Report - glad they were not as NASTY as the Horseshoes!

Fired up the US and:
Since it had been a while - first tried Dawn for five minutes on each side. Results OK.
Then tried TSP for three minutes each side - much better!

No brushes used.

Random Before:

Dawn:

TSP Bottom Row, Dawn Top - not too much difference, but TSP is brighter and more complete

Top 5 = TSP, Bottom 5 = Dawn

 

[justsomedude]

Then tried TSP for three minutes each side - much better!

What do you mean by 3 minutes each side? Three minutes in the ultrasonic cleaner with TSP?

 

[MikeLV]

What do you mean by 3 minutes each side? Three minutes in the ultrasonic cleaner with TSP?

I did a test of five chips each method, 5 minutes and 3 minutes each side. Then did a bulk clean of about 50 chips with the US - rotated the container every minute or so, took about fifteen minutes eventually - will post when dry.

 

[v1pe]

What do you mean by 3 minutes each side? Three minutes in the ultrasonic cleaner with TSP?

I guess not salad spinner method?

 

[MikeLV]

Poor mans salad spinner (kids school supply box)and watching the TV news.

50 was too many - some slight discoloration remains along the flat edge, very clean to the touch. Probably 35 or so is a better number.

 

[Mac128k]

I bought an US for this sale but can't wait to use it with some of my other chips too. The results look great!

 

[GoStumpy]

Yeah I'll be busting out the ultrasonic... I bought I think 1400 $1's and 800 $5's... lol

Salad Spinner is my method of choice... Helloooooooooo limit set

By the way those $1's look CRISP! AWESOME! I can't wait to get them in my hands!! Stupid Canadian borders

 

[Dr. Matt]

I sold my ultrasonic machine after cleaning my Cleveland horseshoes (because I thought it would discourage me from buying more chips (which I told my wife I would not need after spending so much on horseshoes))...

So, needless to say...I am waiting for the new ultrasonic to arrive in the mail from amazon now that I have nearly 1000 native lights to clean

Those ones do look crisp! (y) :thumbsup:

 

[MikeLV]

. . . . . .So, needless to say...I am waiting for the new ultrasonic to arrive in the mail from amazon now that I have nearly 1000 native lights to clean

Those ones do look crisp! (y) :thumbsup:

The ones I cleaned are in great shape with nice edges and lots of cross-hatching remaining - and I noticed at least two in the uncleaned group that are absolutely new and unused

 

[Dr. Matt]

The ones I cleaned are in great shape with nice edges and lots of cross-hatching remaining - and I noticed at least two in the uncleaned group that are absolutely new and unused

Cool! really glad I picked up some of the last available chips after all the drama and unknown status future sales

 

[uclaure]

Native Lights Chip Cleaning Report - glad they were not as NASTY as the Horseshoes!

Fired up the US and:
Since it had been a while - first tried Dawn for five minutes on each side. Results OK.
Then tried TSP for three minutes each side - much better!

No brushes used.

Random Before:

Dawn:

TSP Bottom Row, Dawn Top - not too much difference, but TSP is brighter and more complete

Top 5 = TSP, Bottom 5 = Dawn

Did you notice some "bleeding" on the blue edge spots? I hand cleaned 20 by soaking for 2-3 mins in oxyclean and then scrubbing with toothbrush. They came out really bright and clean, but noticed some bleeding on the blue edge spots. I thought maybe the oxy was too strong and caused the bleeding, so I tried some chips with only dawn....same results. I wonder if that shade of blue just doesn't like being submerged I water.

 

[BGinGA]

Did you notice some "bleeding" on the blue edge spots? I hand cleaned 20 by soaking for 2-3 mins in oxyclean and then scrubbing with toothbrush. They came out really bright and clean, but noticed some bleeding on the blue edge spots. I thought maybe the oxy was too strong and caused the bleeding, so I tried some chips with only dawn....same results. I wonder if that shade of blue just doesn't like being submerged I water.

Most Paulson darker blue shades are notorious for transferring color, wet or dry.

 

[Dr. Matt]

Getting at it. Not too shabby. #nativelights #game6

 

[OliG]

I just read the whole tread but still cant say for sure if I can safely and efficiently use real tsp (trisodium phosphate) over the one recommended in the OP, the fake tsp (sodium metasilicate). I’m asking because the real tsp is available in every hardware store near me, but cant find the fake one other than on amazon shipped from USA.

What chemical do you canadians use in your ultrasonic cleaners and where did you find it? Did it worked as well as described in the OP?

Thanks!

 

[Gear]

I haven't done exhaustive head-to-head double-blind testing, but I've used both, and both work well.

 

[BGinGA]

Real TSP will disolve some chip types (ASM/CPC) and is not friendly to hot-stamps (and certain colors) on other chip types (Paulson, BCC). Just be careful, and test samples first.

 

[Shaggy]

Real TSP will disolve some chip types (ASM/CPC) and is not friendly to hot-stamps (and certain colors) on other chip types (Paulson, BCC). Just be careful, and test samples first.

Fake TSP will dissolve ASM/CPC and Lcrown TRK as well.

 

[OliG]

Thanks, I will try with real TSP on samples and will see what happens. Does real TSP is more/less aggressive i.e. should I reduce/increase bath time proposed in OP?

 

[David O]

Thanks, I will try with real TSP on samples and will see what happens. Does real TSP is more/less aggressive i.e. should I reduce/increase bath time proposed in OP?

In my opinion I would do everything as directed including using distilled water. I noticed cleaner chips in less time using it over tap water. Also maintain the same temperature and start with shorter cleaning times and working your way up to the maximal cleaning time time.

Better to take your time and save a chips life than going quickly and risking a poor chips life!

David O

 

[RowdyRawhide]

For anyone one on the fence about using this method on Paulson hot stamps here is slink to a thread started by @David O


https://www.pokerchipforum.com/threads/cleaned-fracs.26953/#post-502321

 

[Taghkanic]

2. Lundmark "TSP" (sodium metasilicate) Hard Surface Cleaner
http://www.amazon.com/Lundmark-TSP-Hard-Surface-Cleaner/dp/B001001VRA/

I hate the false advertising by Lundmark and others that boldly put "TSP" on the labels of their products that are NOT trisodium phosphate, but I love the way that sodium metasilicate cleans chips.

Grrr. I ordered the Lundmark via Amazon, with two-day Prime shipping... Two weeks later, it has passed through 11 different FedEx centers in 7 states, and still has not arrived.

I found this stuff at a local hardware store, and it appears to also be a sodium metasilicate faux-TSP product. The formulation is not exactly the same, but seems close:

Savogran Liquid TSP Substitute
http://www.savogran.com/pdfs/TSP_Liq_Sub_PD.pdf
http://www.savogran.com/pdfs/TSP_Liquid_Sub_MS.pdf

3. Composition/Information on Ingredients Component
ETDA, TETRASODIUM (38%)
SODIUM METASILICATE​

Any opinions? I may just try it on some Paulsons I don’t care much about.

 

[David O]

Grrr. I ordered the Lundmark via Amazon, with two-day Prime shipping... Two weeks later, it has passed through 11 different FedEx centers in 7 states, and still has not arrived.

I found this stuff at a local hardware store, and it appears to also be a sodium metasilicate faux-TSP product. The formulation is not exactly the same, but seems close:

Savogran Liquid TSP Substitute
http://www.savogran.com/pdfs/TSP_Liq_Sub_PD.pdf
http://www.savogran.com/pdfs/TSP_Liquid_Sub_MS.pdf

3. Composition/Information on Ingredients Component
ETDA, TETRASODIUM (38%)
SODIUM METASILICATE​

Any opinions? I may just try it on some Paulsons I don’t care much about.

It is worth a try. I would make sure you get the concentration close and then try it on one or a few chips before trying them on a couple of barrels. If you can get the concentration of liquid and temperature right try them in the salad spinner for about 1 minute and see how they look. It is always scary the first time but once you get through the first time with no problems and clean chips then it is all downhill from there.

Good luck
David O

 

[Taghkanic]

Thanks. If this damn shipment keeps getting delayed, I’m going to try the Savogran stuff on a couple chips, at a low concentration, and then try increasing it if there is no obvious problem.

 

[Taghkanic]

Aaaand I just found the Lundmark TSP at an area hardware store for 1/3 the price of Amazon.

 

[allforcharity]

Aaaand I just found the Lundmark TSP at an area hardware store for 1/3 the price of Amazon.

Ain't this always the case

 

[Taghkanic]

I got a salad spinner from Wally World (a/k/a Wal-Mart), but don’t have an ultrasonic cleaner yet. And I got impatient.

So I decided to try out the TSP on some recently-acquired chips, as a colorfastness test. The experiment was with four Off Whites and four Charcoals.

The Off-Whites are in great shape, edge-wise, and the hotstamps are excellent, too. But they were very dirty. The Charcoals are more softened, with lots of fading on the hotstamps, including some going from gold to silver.

I used the recommend 2 tablespoons to 8 cups hot water mixture, and on a whim decided to throw these into the salad spinner to agitate them for exactly two minutes.

It was very light workout keeping the spinner in motion; I’d say I did about one pull every two seconds.

After two minutes, I offloaded the chips into a rinsing bowl, and (with gloves on) lightly mixed these around while running water over them to help ensure a complete rinse.

Lo and behold — the very soiled Off Whites came out looking pretty much mint. I’m stunned.

The Charcoals also seem better, but due to their less choice starting condition, the transformation wasn’t as dramatic. If anything, they now look kind of dry, and seem to be crying out for oiling.

(Not going to oil the Off-Whites — they look so great after the TSP/salad spinner treatment, and this is *not* a color I normally like much.)

So I went ahead and did a bigger batch of each (about a half-rack) in the spinner. Same stunning results.

Interestingly, though the Charcoals appeared to be much less dirty than the Off Whites, the water from the Charcoals came out a lot darker.

My suspicion is that it is not the clay of the chips coming off... but maybe instead due to the worn condition of the hotstamps, I am guessing it is not dirt, though maybe the darker color was hiding more grime.

In short, it appears to me that the TSP itself is a great Paulson cleaner. The spinner helps keep the chips from sticking together/covering each other. I might shorten the time on chips with hotstamps which are already more abraded.

And still planning on getting the full rig with the ultrasonic… But I thought it was interesting how well these came out with the quick-and-dirty improvised method.

One thing to note, if anyone else tries this: Be prepared for some of the TSP “broth” to leak out of the spinner. (I say broth, because it has a slightly seafood-y smell, to my nose… Like I’d just steamed some mussels.) The water doesn’t fly out of the spinner on the model I have, but it does seep out a bit from a small vent on the top. Gloves are a must… and a workspace which can handle the mess.

Also, since the spinner obviously doesn’t have a heater, this means replacing the water each time I f doing more than one batch. I think I could do 75-100 at a time with this shortcut method.

Pics to follow in daylight.

 

[allforcharity]

Just to be clear, this is the "non-TSP kind of TSP" which is sodium metasilicate, right?

 

[Taghkanic]

Right. The Lundmark faux-TSP recommended in the OP.

Here are some “before“ pics of the dirty Off Whites:

 

[Taghkanic]

And here are some “after“ results:

 

[David O]

And here are some “after“ results:

View attachment 158671 View attachment 158672

Those turned out great. I will tell you those chips came out pretty good for not using an Ultrasonic cleaner. I have had some that Lundmark would run away from if it was not for the ultrasonic. Such a great feeling to see clean chip!. Now let them dry over night flipping them once in between and apply a light boiling if they seem too chalky.

Also good to note to everyone if you use the right stuff you will not harm the hot stamp (HS). Just make sure you test one chip before you commit them to the cleaning

David