Ultrasonic Chip Cleaning (22 Viewers)

[allforcharity]

Is red devil that? I looked up metasilicate detergent and like laundry detergents came up

Yes, Red Devil is the one I use.

 

[Pinkdan]

Yes, Red Devil is the one I use.

Awesome thanks!

 

[GenghisKhan]

Is my ultrasonic broken after only using it twice? I just used it and would rate the results as a FAIL.

Heated water to 110f. Using real tsp. Don't care about the stamps.

Used 12 cups of distilled water and 3 tbsp of tsp powder.

Cleaned the solid yellows 45s to no results so put them back in 1m30s, still no results. All the grime on them is still there. I'll admit these chips may have some markings other than your usual dirt and might need an oxy clean bath + toothbrush or magic eraser.

But I also cleaned these very dirty spotted yellows for 2m30s, not much came off. Check the dirt around the hats and canes.

I'm using a salad spinner, spinning very slowly, sometimes letting them sit 1-2s before spinning.

Have the heater on and transducers on.
Vevor 6L. Can see the tiny bubbles.

This single spotted yellow, I cleaned the right half of this side a few seconds with a magic eraser and you can see it worked better than the US. It's hard to see here but in the person you can tell I've removed a lot of this grimy substance that was on top of the purple spot. The yellow on right half of chip is significantly cleaner / brighter too after a few secs of magic eraser.

Shouldn't the US have been able to do the same? Or better? I swear the 1st 2 times I used it, it cleaned so good these chips would be like new.

Sorry about the bad lighting.

 

[allforcharity]

I've had similar issues, but it's not necessarily about your cleaner. If dirty chips have been stored badly for a very long period of time, the grime that they accumulate can actually react with the surface of the chip, causing a permanent discolouration. No amount of ultrasonic cleaning will reverse that. What you need is a magic eraser to actually scrub off that reacted layer. Luckily, it is very thin and comes off fairly easily.

 

[GenghisKhan]

Yeah I think I see much scrubbing in my future.

To do the rest of the spotted rack, I added a tbsp of TSP. And upped the rotation apeed of the salad spinner. Next batch came out significantly cleaner. Although it will still need magic eraser.

I noticed bubbles sticking to the spinner which I hadn't before. I think the rotation speed made the difference.

 

[warma]

Anyone try baking soda instead of non-TSP TSP? Or too abrasive?

 

[Pinkdan]

Wow, I can’t imagine doing all these chips by hand. Thanks you all for convincing me to go the ultrasonic route.

I used a medium large Pyrex lid to contain the chips as I spun them. I was able to process 60 chips at a time this way with great results. The really gross chips I left in for 2+ min.

After drying overnight I noticed they still smell slightly of smoke, even though I ran them all through 5% vinegar. I might do another vinegar bath tonight and then dip in oil water bath to help the process go faster.

thoughts?

 

[warma]

Couple of observations:

I tried just the basket and a wooden spoon, because I read others that uses that method. Good, but not great.

I have a bunch on non-Paulson chips, including some vintage dots and green-painted Horseshoe Gardena Tournaments. (Seriously, who paints chips? One even had a green quarter note painted on on. Wut?)

1. A 6L Vervor holds 4L. Maybe 6L refers to the total size? A distilled gallon of water was all I needed.

2 Baking soda. Tried it, because, why not? Straight water wasn’t working. 3tsp helped better than straight water.

3. Dawn. The whole bubble concern? Non-issue. I saw tons of folks using it to clean their carbs- so I tried it. Fill tank with warm water, apply a few mL. Stir. No sudsy soap bubbles appeared, ever. In small quantities, you should have no issues.

At 40deg, the 3tsp baking soda, light application of Dawn, 2 min each side- It definitely helped. 90% clean. It didn’t remove those caked-on hooker juice patties on the old card room Paulsons. It didn’t clear away all the black grime on my vintage dots. It didn’t remove the green paint or all the gunk from the Gardena. But yeah, it cleans. The chips are much better looking.

I easily picked off the patties. A quick forceful rub of a damp washcloth took away most of the Gardena grime (hot stamps not impacted btw- those are well done).

I’m happy- they aren’t minty-fresh breath clean, but clean. Shame on me for not taking before photos, but these are much better.

I’m going to grab some TSP and re-do the Paulsons. I can’t tell is the light tan discoloration on the blue chips is gunk or something else. Might try the Gardenas- just to see what happens.

And yeah, a vintage clay dot slipped through the open edge of the basket early on and was no worse for wear.

 

[W1LDC4T43]

What's the preferred ultrasonic cleaner now? The one linked in OP isn't available anymore.

 

[BearMetal]

What's the preferred ultrasonic cleaner now? The one linked in OP isn't available anymore.

Lots of opinions; Vevor 6L seems to be a top contender (I love mine)

 

[Pinkdan]

What's the preferred ultrasonic cleaner now? The one linked in OP isn't available anymore.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/181434466620

 

[dkellerd]

This smaller Vevor unit interests me as it’s only $50ish...anyone have direct experience?

VEVOR Ultrasonic Cleaner 1.3L Ultrasonic Parts Cleaner Professional Stainless Steel Industrial Ultrasonic Cleaner Jewelry Cleaner with Heater Timer(1.3L)
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B083KHP4B8/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_fabc_6tbPFbVWAS1J8?psc=1

 

[juankay20]

This smaller Vevor unit interests me as it’s only $50ish...anyone have direct experience?

VEVOR Ultrasonic Cleaner 1.3L Ultrasonic Parts Cleaner Professional Stainless Steel Industrial Ultrasonic Cleaner Jewelry Cleaner with Heater Timer(1.3L)
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B083KHP4B8/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_fabc_6tbPFbVWAS1J8?psc=1

Looks like the one i picked up from @Josh Kifer and was my first u/s cleaner. Works just as well, but it would be tough to do more than 20 at a time. I upgraded to a 6L but i still have the smaller one in case i have a smaller batch of chips to wash.

 

[Josh Kifer]

Looks like the one i picked up from @Josh Kifer and was my first u/s cleaner. Works just as well, but it would be tough to do more than 20 at a time. I upgraded to a 6L but i still have the smaller one in case i have a smaller batch of chips to wash.

Yeah, smaller works fine, but it's pretty rough to do 6 chips at a time. Fine for a rack, but doing multiple racks can take a bit too long. The 6L is kinda the happy spot there...

 

[dkellerd]

Awesome thanks guys! Looks like the wife is gonna get a new ‘jewelry cleaner’!

 

[allforcharity]

Larger units are preferred because they have more power.

 

[arch3r]

Before and after.

 

[allforcharity]

Did they need some magic eraser work on top?

 

[arch3r]

Did they need some magic eraser work on top?

Nope. Just soak in dawn and water for 10-15 min, then rinse and into ultrasonic for 2 minutes. Winnah!

 

[warma]

Nope. Just soak in dawn and water for 10-15 min, then rinse and into ultrasonic for 2 minutes. Winnah!

Just water in the US?

 

[jbomb1018]

Nope. Just soak in dawn and water for 10-15 min, then rinse and into ultrasonic for 2 minutes. Winnah!

Did you just use plain water in the cleaner?

 

[jbomb1018]

Does anyone have any suggestions in place of TSP?

 

[BearMetal]

Does anyone have any suggestions in place of TSP?

See this post from @ChipTalker.

I'm going to have to try Simple Green next time I clean chips...

 

[ChipTalker]

I think the simple green was the same active ingredient when I checked but was a while ago so someone can double check that.

 

[BearMetal]

I think the simple green was the same active ingredient when I checked but was a while ago so someone can double check that.

Again, thank you for that great post on your method!

 

[jbomb1018]

I think the simple green was the same active ingredient when I checked but was a while ago so someone can double check that.

Thanks you as well, im going to try it hopefully todsy or tomorrow on some 36 mm wsop Cincinnati chips.

 

[arch3r]

Did you just use plain water in the cleaner?

Nope. TSP.

 

[allforcharity]

Since lots of people are talking about Simple Green, has anyone tried to use this to clean ASM/CPC chips?

 

[ChipTalker]

I believe I started the simple green fad but for the record I am in no way saying it is better or worse than anything else. I only used it because that is what was at my local store and I was pleased with my results. I am trying to find a list of ingredients, I recall at the time trying to find something that was similar to the TSP everyone usually uses.

 

[BearMetal]

I believe I started the simple green fad but for the record I am in no way saying it is better or worse than anything else. I only used it because that is what was at my local store and I was pleased with my results. I am trying to find a list of ingredients, I recall at the time trying to find something that was similar to the TSP everyone usually uses.

Yes, but what makes your method so interesting is that you left the chips in for at least 2 minutes and there was no fading. Chip fading after U/S is the bane of my existence. After only 30s with Red Devil TSP, the chips are quite clean, but have faded. I'm happy to try something else that might alleviate this problem.