Ultrasonic Chip Cleaning (22 Viewers)

[Balanar]

OK so I'm the proud owner of a new but expensive ultrasonic now but finding a suitable cleaner is turning out to be a pain. Wanted to just amazon the right stuff but..

But my buddy @Drifter779 came to the rescue with some faux tsp he has in Sg already. Anyone has experience with this brand:

 

[toothpic]

I ordered the red devil phosphate free version so closer match to the one you're getting.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0015WT148/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

 

[ADS Aviator]

OK so I'm the proud owner of a new but expensive ultrasonic now but finding a suitable cleaner is turning out to be a pain. Wanted to just amazon the right stuff but..

My personal preference is Red Devil TSP (regular) from Lowes/HD for Inlay Paulsons & Lundmark for Hot-stamp Paulsons. YMMV

Ace is the place for Lundmark. If you have an Ace Hardware close by: 1lb-$4 or 4lb-$10. 4lbs will probably last a couple of lifetimes.

 

[allforcharity]

Yup, Red Devil customer here, too.

 

[WhiteMamba1646]

Time for a little cleaning session

 

[BearMetal]

Hmmm... My minty new chips were hiding a dirty little secret...

 

[1020chase]

Can hot stamps be cleaned with an ultrasonic cleaner

 

[Balanar]

My experience is in line with what has been shared here: non phosphate tsp does not harm undamaged hotstamps. Cleaned a bunch of starbursts and other hotstamped chips yesterday.

Partially damaged hotstamps might be affected.

 

[Balanar]

And so it begins...

 

[JeepologyOffroad]

 

[BearMetal]

@JeepologyOffroad nuh-uh. You photoshopped those... Colors are too amazing

No really, nice cleaning job! Did you oil after? How long did each spend in the US? 60 seconds?

 

[JeepologyOffroad]

@JeepologyOffroad nuh-uh. You photoshopped those... Colors are too amazing

No really, nice cleaning job! Did you oil after? How long did each spend in the US? 60 seconds?

Ya I oiled them too lol

These were pretty bad. I did 1 min 15 seconds and the snapper still needed a little touch up in a couple spots with a magic eraser

 

[BearMetal]

I'm too lazy to start a new thread, so I'll tack onto this one. Has anyone here cleaned very-good to excellent condition THC leaded chips with an US? I was surprised to see them come out after about 30 seconds feeling clean (but not looking as clean as my other non-leaded THC).

They also didn't look or feel like they needed any oiling; they weren't dry/chalky like some other non-leaded THC's that I've cleaned. Just curious if the leaded goodness makes cleaning with the US a different experience.

 

[allforcharity]

I'm too lazy to start a new thread, so I'll tack onto this one. Has anyone here cleaned very-good to excellent condition THC leaded chips with an US? I was surprised to see them come out after about 30 seconds feeling clean (but not looking as clean as my other non-leaded THC).

They also didn't look or feel like they needed any oiling; they weren't dry/chalky like some other non-leaded THC's that I've cleaned. Just curious if the leaded goodness makes cleaning with the US a different experience.

Yes.

Both the cleanliness and the dryness/chalkiness will be a result of variations in your detergent solution concentration, the temperature you're working at, and the amount of time you have the in the ultrasonic (and its power, etc.). I do remember the (relatively fewer) leaded chips I've cleaned do have a more consistent colour upon cleaning and drying compared to the (relatively more) non-leaded chips, but that does not prevent me from oiling them anyway. If you want your chips to look their best, take the reasonable amount of time and effort to do so. It takes way less time to oil chips than to ultrasonic clean them.

 

[BearMetal]

Ok, so it's not my imagination. Thanks @allforcharity .

It takes way less time to oil chips than to ultrasonic clean them

I haven't been able to master the swipe-n-wipe method documented in the oiling thread. Wasn't able to get a consistent shine. So I'm back to compression oiling, which takes me at least an hour, plus waiting, plus edge oiling, plus waiting... For every rack.

 

[allforcharity]

I haven't been able to master the swipe-n-wipe method documented in the oiling thread. Wasn't able to get a consistent shine. So I'm back to compression oiling, which takes me at least an hour, plus waiting, plus edge oiling, plus waiting... For every rack.

Something is a bit wrong if you're taking an hour per rack. The compression oil method will do the rolling edge at the same time. You're probably squeezing way too hard - it's just a little bit of pressure. You should be able to do a rack every 20 minutes, tops.

 

[BearMetal]

Something is a bit wrong if you're taking an hour per rack. The compression oil method will do the rolling edge at the same time. You're probably squeezing way too hard - it's just a little bit of pressure. You should be able to do a rack every 20 minutes, tops.

So, I started with compression oiling with my China Clays; I think the extra power was needed to get a lot of that factory crap off of them. The rag looked like a rainbow when I was done. With Paulsons, I definitely think you're right that I'm probably squeezing too hard. I'm also only putting on 2-3 drops of oil on my rag and then doing about 10 chips with them, and then re-applying, which takes time. I also go back after each stack of 10 that I do and clean the labels very carefully. Man I'm OCD. I could probably speed it up; you're right.

 

[allforcharity]

I'm also only putting on 2-3 drops of oil on my rag and then doing about 10 chips with them, and then re-applying, which takes time. I also go back after each stack of 10 that I do and clean the labels very carefully.

Far be it for me to say you're doing it wrong. You can do it whichever way you want as long as you think the result is good.
Even with clays like Paulsons, you will lose a little bit of colour into the cloth that you are oiling with, especially after an ultrasonic bath. The detergent and the oil will take off the teensiest little bit of material off the surface that has reacted or dissolved.
You don't have to worry about over-oiling if you have the time to lay the chips on some absorbent surface, such as a nice flat towel, bedsheet, or layers of paper towel. Any excess oil will just soak into whatever you lay it on. Give it a little time, then flip, and give a little more time. Then rack 'em up. (Of course, launder the towels or sheets afterward; paper towels you can leave out to dry somewhere and re-use until they're gross-looking.)

 

[BearMetal]

I last oiled my PCA fracs. The US really sucked some of the color out of them. Even after only about 30s. The pink just seems to be susceptible to it. Because they took a hurtin', I spent time spinning them, wiping the inlays clean, laying them out, flipping, etc. Then another round of edge oiling a few days later. 3 days total, 1 giant f-ing blister, but they came back to life.

Yeah, I know I'm going to lose some material each time. The CC's though - like I said - it was a rainbow. I thought I'd find a leprechaun at the end of the oily rag. Paulons were like 2% of that. Barely anything coming off onto the rag.

 

[OlNoiShi]

For EU ultrasonic users, I found Trisodium phosphate in Netherland :

https://www.braumarkt.com/fr/tri-natriumfosfaat-1000-gr

It's not packaged in a bag (like on the picture) but in a bucket.

It work very well.

Before :

After :

 

[allforcharity]

Just don't use it on ASM/CPC.

 

[Littleluck55]

Just don't use it on ASM/CPC.

So has it been confirmed you could use something like simply green for CPC/ASM?

 

[allforcharity]

So has it been confirmed you could use something like simply green for CPC/ASM?

Not by me.

 

[Gear]

Ultrasonic is fine for ASM/CPC chips, but TSP is not.

 

[BGinGA]

And whatever additive you use should not cause suds, which kill the ultrasonic action.

 

[chestermordis]

A spectacular job

 

[1020chase]

I'm finally going to buy an ultrasonic cleaner. Should this one work well and is the cleaner appropriate? Or if there are suggestions for better stuff, I'd be happy to hear about it. Thanks

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07HRFDXS8/ref=ox_sc_act_title_1?smid=A38RGG0HETH3WH&psc=1

https://www.amazon.com/Red-Devil-02...asilicate&qid=1589041238&s=home-garden&sr=1-3

 

[BearMetal]

I'm finally going to buy an ultrasonic cleaner. Should this one work well and is the cleaner appropriate? Or if there are suggestions for better stuff, I'd be happy to hear about it. Thanks

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07HRFDXS8/ref=ox_sc_act_title_1?smid=A38RGG0HETH3WH&psc=1

https://www.amazon.com/Red-Devil-02...asilicate&qid=1589041238&s=home-garden&sr=1-3

That seems overpriced. What about a Vevor 6L from eBay? https://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_from=R40&_trksid=m570.l1313&_nkw=vevor+6l&_sacat=0

Edit: The red devil is what I use. Does a great job.

 

[1020chase]

Thanks. I have no problem saving money! I'll spend the savings on more chips

 

[Degen_Ethan]

Wish I had found this thread before scrubbing all my chips with a toothbrush for 4 hours...