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Ultrasonic Chip Cleaning (27 Viewers)

Hey Chaos, chips look terrific!! How long were they in the bath? They look great! I am hauling out the machine today to attack 2 racks of Nevada Lodge $1. I am putting them in play on Super Bowl Sunday, so I better get on it!!
 
Hey Mel!! Yeah, they turned out really clean... Those were 'bathing' for around 4+ mins on average with constant rotation. I loaded about 2 barrels at a time... And they were FILTHY as you can see... If I were you I would recommend starting with Ski's recommended timing and go from there. I am SURE the NLs are not even close to being as dirty as the GC, at least all the ones I've seen are mildly dirty :-)

I think when you start leaving the chips there shorter (per Ski's), you diminish the change of any fading to a minimum. You find your sweet spot on later batches. I really want to know your results as I don't remember any test with TRKs... R you using real TSP or the substitute recommend by Ski? Once again, I'll try to mimic his method... I'm just a bit lazy sometimes to go out and buy distilled water just for that, but my first try I did exactly how he recommended, with the exception of the TSP.

Can't wait to see those NLs dirty and then cleaned! :-) What a great way to spend part of your Super Bowl weekend, huh!

Cheers!



liftapint said:
Hey Chaos, chips look terrific!! How long were they in the bath? They look great! I am hauling out the machine today to attack 2 racks of Nevada Lodge $1. I am putting them in play on Super Bowl Sunday, so I better get on it!!
Click to expand...
 
Chaos,

Those look really great for damaged chips. [emoji12]

I think distilled water would prolly make a big difference for you. I cleaned about 800 chips per mix, and some were mildly dirty and some were pretty cruddy. I think I could have done more per mix as well.
 
Great work Chaos.

Figured I'd post some before and afters of filthy Cali Bells. I was a little worried about the hotstamps on the quarters, but proceeded anyway. The hotstamps remained intact, and are actually much more visible now that the chips are cleaned. These were cleaned for 3 minutes with the Red Devil "TSP". There was still a little bit of gunk in the grooves of the quarters that I used the back of an exacto to clean out. The after pics have been oiled.
P1173389.jpgP1203390.jpg
 
Hahahaha... Damaged for SURE!!! :-)

Wow, that's pretty good... 800 per mix sound great! 2 or 3 mins per cycle?

I agree with you, the water might make a big impact... First couple of time, idk, a couple of years back (Ski has a better memory than I do) I used distilled water and the same TSP we 're using and I remember the results being exceptional... Of course, I did not take any notes so it's hard to compare... I have a few barrels to go on some other chips and I'll make sure I'll do distiled water, and half our TSP and half Ski's...

courage said:
Chaos,

Those look really great for damaged chips. [emoji12]

I think distilled water would prolly make a big difference for you. I cleaned about 800 chips per mix, and some were mildly dirty and some were pretty cruddy. I think I could have done more per mix as well.
Click to expand...
 
The chips that were of average gunkiness, I ran for 1 minute at 42*C. The dirtier chips I ran at 2 minutes. My unit holds a gallon of distilled water so that's also a factor.
 
That's outstanding man!!! And yeah, size of unit could definitely be a factor... Regardless, what a breeze cleaning chips in a min or two!

courage said:
The chips that were of average gunkiness, I ran for 1 minute at 42*C. The dirtier chips I ran at 2 minutes. My unit holds a gallon of distilled water so that's also a factor.
Click to expand...
 
I too had a chip fall out of the salad spinner. It was one from first batch. It was in the tank while I cleaned nearly 500 chips. When all said and done, the face was worn to the point where the hats were barely distinguishable. The face also became quite rough and porus. Oops.
 
LONG day of chip cleaning. After 3 minutes in the spinner, the Nevada Lodge still looked dirty on the light blue spots. So I ended up taking a magic eraser to all of the edges, and all of the light blue quarter pies -- that would be 800 quarter pies on the 2 racks of chips!! But I'm happy with how they look in the end. These are the first chips that I've cleaned with this method that still had some ground in gunk that needed scrubbing after coming out of the cleaner. All other chips (Paulsons) that I've cleaned have needed no other cleaning measures, except oiling.

Anyway, here are some photos. First, the dirty chips. Then one rack clean, one rack dirty. Then cleaned and oiled, ready to go.

NL1_dirty.jpgNL1_clean_dirty.jpgNL1_oiled.jpg
 
Shaggy said:
I too had a chip fall out of the salad spinner. It was one from first batch. It was in the tank while I cleaned nearly 500 chips. When all said and done, the face was worn to the point where the hats were barely distinguishable. The face also became quite rough and porus. Oops.
Click to expand...

Yes, must be careful with that when placing the salad spinner into the tank. It's one advantage I like of my Progressive brand, the external bowl will catch a stray chip, but it was probably longer to modify.

Mel, those are the most beautiful Nevada Lodge $1s eva.
 
They Bells look great Shaggy... And I'm sorry for the 'one left behind'! :( The ones I did had no issues and I couldn't pick them apart from the others after drying and oiling... So maybe the threshold is between how much mine stayed in there and yours...

It's great to know you had no issues with the stamping... I do same some to clean but I've been kinda cautious... I did clean some Starburst that I'll resurface and the stamps were also intact but it's always good to have more good results like yours...

Your cycle seems to be closer to mine than Ski's and courage... Maybe a function of gunkiness and how hard it is... In my case, instead of using a pick or an exacto, i'll leave them in there a little longer...

Well, great results man...



Shaggy said:
I too had a chip fall out of the salad spinner. It was one from first batch. It was in the tank while I cleaned nearly 500 chips. When all said and done, the face was worn to the point where the hats were barely distinguishable. The face also became quite rough and porus. Oops.
Click to expand...
 
They look awesome Mel, and squeaky clean!! I love those NL $1s... Yeah, although the process is super quick for a coupe of barrels, it's still an afternoon ordeal for a few racks... Good time to put some tunes and crack a few open...

Using Magic Eraser on the faces is my absolute least favorite part of the process, although not always necessary depending on the chips. I had to do that with some light color chips like whites and pinks... I don't remember which chips they were but I believe they were the Stardust Mansions (that weren't dirty at all, but still)... For the edges, what I do is to clamp about three barrel tight and go to town... Super fast...

I think they look terrific Mel... You'll have a heck of a Super Bowl day, and even better pending SB result :)


liftapint said:
LONG day of chip cleaning. After 3 minutes in the spinner, the Nevada Lodge still looked dirty on the light blue spots. So I ended up taking a magic eraser to all of the edges, and all of the light blue quarter pies -- that would be 800 quarter pies on the 2 racks of chips!! But I'm happy with how they look in the end. These are the first chips that I've cleaned with this method that still had some ground in gunk that needed scrubbing after coming out of the cleaner. All other chips (Paulsons) that I've cleaned have needed no other cleaning measures, except oiling.

Anyway, here are some photos. First, the dirty chips. Then one rack clean, one rack dirty. Then cleaned and oiled, ready to go.

View attachment 5874View attachment 5875View attachment 5876
Click to expand...
 
Those are beautiful Mel.

Regarding my chip that fell out. It wasn't a Cali Bell, it was a Joker's wild quarter. My memory wasn't very accurate. I have gone back to find the chip. The hats are still present, the hotstamp however was removed and the face has severe scratching.
 
How are y'all keeping the lid of the spinner secured to the bowl? I don't see any latch or anything like that. Zip ties?
 
Psypher1000 said:
How are y'all keeping the lid of the spinner secured to the bowl? I don't see any latch or anything like that. Zip ties?
Click to expand...

The style I used the lid snaps tight and also the depth of it fits nicely into the model cleaner I have.
 
I think he forgot to use the lid. ;)
 
So shaggy was right.. Looks like I have been getting a lot of used chips and I can justify getting one of these things. Still concerned about cleaning hot stamps like this.

Found one of the hornady cleaners for $217 on eBay. Wife is excited about the jewelry cleaning aspect. Happy anniversary gift to me :).

Thanks for the info and posts. Hoping to learn from all of your methods here.
 
Someone mentioned a spinner better than the good cook to use without chips falling out? Can someone provide a link to it?
 
Chips won't fall out if you use the lid. :)
 
NiceShot said:
Wow, if that's the one I just got on eBay then I paid $50 more than this... model 43440. I don't see the model on this link but it looks the same.
Click to expand...
I am fairly sure it is the same unit. I ordered one and will report back when it arrives. The 43440 is not in the 2015 Hornady catalog, so I am guessing this is Cabela's closeout pricing.
 
bluegill said:
I am fairly sure it is the same unit. I ordered one and will report back when it arrives. The 43440 is not in the 2015 Hornady catalog, so I am guessing this is Cabela's closeout pricing.
Click to expand...
Great find if it is!
 

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