I got my own oil blend I use for oiling.
These were hydrogen peroxide for 15hrs, then Dawn and a magic eraser.
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Ultrasonic Chip Cleaning (23 Viewers)
- Thread starter ski_ex5
- Start date
These were hydrogen peroxide for 15hrs, then Dawn and a magic eraser.
paulkersey
Two Pair
Exactly. I already speak too much!
paulkersey
Two Pair
Do you really notice much of a difference in waiting a week? Maybe I'm just impatient, but I can't tell the difference. Maybe that becomes apparent with time and game play? (I'm still waiting to see if it melts the Justin racks just to be safe)
Also, how do you soak them in quantity? Literally in a bowl all together or do you find they need to be individually separated?
OP
OP
Yes. Absolutely. You can’t tell the difference in a matter of hours or days. You notice the difference after months.
Storing your oiled chips in a birdcage or some other relatively air tight container also helps the longevity of your oiling A LOT.
It also bears repeating that chips well oiled with J&J gel are quite resistant to picking up dirt and oils from players hands. That’s especially important for ASM/CPC chips, as I’ve found no way to clean their water/detergent soluble clay formula without literally melting the clay.
Because it’s a GEL, I’ve found no way to soak them without (unfortunately) handling each individual chip and applying the J&J gel using a round shoe shine sponge applicator.
I won’t use a less viscous mineral oil than J&J gel to make things faster/easier, because the last time I used regular mineral oil, it seeped under the inlays of a few dozen Paulson Nationals $5 chips. 80-100% of the inlays were significantly darkened.
I also won’t use the other (somewhat popular?) method of putting your chips in a bath of water that has a bit of mineral oil in it for the same reason (seepage under inlays), and also because I don’t want mineral oil trapping water in the clay of the chips.
(I once thought about diluting the J&J gel with a very fast evaporating lacquer thinner, and then using an automotive paint spray gun (I used to paint cars) to spray the thinned gel on the chips, with the idea that the thinner would evaporate before the thinned gel could seep under the inlays. However, lacquer thinner contains a lot of acetone, and I felt the risk to the clay and the inlay material was unacceptable.)
I bought the J & J gel, hated the smell (does the smell last on the chips?) so I went back to mineral oil I got from Walgreens.
I don’t use inlays so seepage ain’t no thang to me
Periodically replacing/refreshing the peroxide bubbles on the chip surfaces will result in quicker cleaning. Measurably quicker.
Eventually, the peroxide solution that is in direct contact with the chips loses effectiveness. Stirring (or otherwise getting fresher solution in contact with the chips) will clean more effectively, thus faster overall.
The trick is determining exactly when it loses effectiveness and needs refreshing. It's somewhere between "never refreshing" and "constantly stirring".
Methinks we need a new thread for peroxide cleaning. We've been far away from the ultrasonic topic for some time.
Finally finished cleaning and oiling the chips.
OP
OP
You have a valid point. I was thinking the same thing a few days back.
I will tie it all together when I finish a few more experiments, possibly with three new topics:
- Manually cleaning chips with a different cleaner (high effort, but great results).
- Pre-soak for chips prior to ultrasonic cleaning (likely using peroxide, but possibly not).
- Ultrasonic cleaning using a different cleaner (after the pre-soak).
OP
OP
OK, I stand by what I said in my last post immediately above. However, until I’ve finished tweaking the cleaning solutions and procedures, and written everything up in detail, I thought you might be interested in seeing some BEFORE and AFTER photos.
If you happen to be one of the folks who actually enjoy spending hours manually scrubbing your chips, STOP reading this post now; it’s not for you.
For the rest of you who are lazy like I am…
Specifically, these photos are of chips that were soaked in a solution (a blend of three cleaners) that I intended to address #2 in my previous post above, i.e. a “PRE-soak prior to ultrasonic cleaning”.
However, it has turned into a “do it all SOAK with no manual scrubbing and no ultrasonic” sort of thing.
The catch is that it’s only for inlaid chips, as it pretty much destroys hot stamps… errr… I meant to say, it’s a GREAT way to remove OVERSTAMPS like on Grand Casino Hinckley chips (way better than using isopropyl alcohol, not to mention a lot safer, and cheaper)!
Without further ado…
BEFORE - Side 1:
BEFORE - Side 2:
AFTER - Side 1:
AFTER - Side 2:
This is not a joke. Those chips were only soaked, then rinsed in cold tap water, placed on a bar mop towel, and *patted* dry with another bar mop towel.
There was ZERO scrubbing or wiping or other manual effort involved. The chips were then allowed to air dry for 3 hours prior to taking the AFTER photos.
The photos are NOT retouched. In all four photos, the chips were under a very bright light, and camera flash was not used.
Again, though, this can NOT be used for hot stamp chips unless it is your intent to remove the hot stamps.
As you can see in the AFTER photos, the chips are dried out, just as they are when using Lundmark in the ultrasonic. These chips are currently soaking in some J&J gel, after which I’ll wipe the excess, and then compare to other chips. I want to ensure that this soak didn’t cause any noticeable color fading.
If you happen to be one of the folks who actually enjoy spending hours manually scrubbing your chips, STOP reading this post now; it’s not for you.
For the rest of you who are lazy like I am…
Specifically, these photos are of chips that were soaked in a solution (a blend of three cleaners) that I intended to address #2 in my previous post above, i.e. a “PRE-soak prior to ultrasonic cleaning”.
However, it has turned into a “do it all SOAK with no manual scrubbing and no ultrasonic” sort of thing.
The catch is that it’s only for inlaid chips, as it pretty much destroys hot stamps… errr… I meant to say, it’s a GREAT way to remove OVERSTAMPS like on Grand Casino Hinckley chips (way better than using isopropyl alcohol, not to mention a lot safer, and cheaper)!
Without further ado…
BEFORE - Side 1:
BEFORE - Side 2:
AFTER - Side 1:
AFTER - Side 2:
This is not a joke. Those chips were only soaked, then rinsed in cold tap water, placed on a bar mop towel, and *patted* dry with another bar mop towel.
There was ZERO scrubbing or wiping or other manual effort involved. The chips were then allowed to air dry for 3 hours prior to taking the AFTER photos.
The photos are NOT retouched. In all four photos, the chips were under a very bright light, and camera flash was not used.
Again, though, this can NOT be used for hot stamp chips unless it is your intent to remove the hot stamps.
As you can see in the AFTER photos, the chips are dried out, just as they are when using Lundmark in the ultrasonic. These chips are currently soaking in some J&J gel, after which I’ll wipe the excess, and then compare to other chips. I want to ensure that this soak didn’t cause any noticeable color fading.
I need more details! No scrubbing at all is amazing. I don't enjoy doing it, I only do it because it's necessary (so I thought).OK, I stand by what I said in my last post immediately above. However, until I’ve finished tweaking the cleaning solutions and procedures, and written everything up in detail, I thought you might be interested in seeing some BEFORE and AFTER photos.
If you happen to be one of the folks who actually enjoy spending hours manually scrubbing your chips, STOP reading this post now; it’s not for you.
For the rest of you who are lazy like I am…
Specifically, these photos are of chips that were soaked in a solution (a blend of three cleaners) that I intended to address #2 in my previous post above, i.e. a “PRE-soak prior to ultrasonic cleaning”.
However, it has turned into a “do it all SOAK with no manual scrubbing and no ultrasonic” sort of thing.
The catch is that it’s only for inlaid chips, as it pretty much destroys hot stamps… errr… I meant to say, it’s a GREAT way to remove OVERSTAMPS like on Grand Casino Hinckley chips (way better than using isopropyl alcohol, not to mention a lot safer, and cheaper)!
Without further ado…
BEFORE - Side 1:
View attachment 1350969
BEFORE - Side 2:
View attachment 1350970
AFTER - Side 1:
View attachment 1350972
AFTER - Side 2:
View attachment 1350973
This is not a joke. Those chips were only soaked, then rinsed in cold tap water, placed on a bar mop towel, and *patted* dry with another bar mop towel.
There was ZERO scrubbing or wiping or other manual effort involved. The chips were then allowed to air dry for 3 hours prior to taking the AFTER photos.
The photos are NOT retouched. In all four photos, the chips were under a very bright light, and camera flash was not used.
Again, though, this can NOT be used for hot stamp chips unless it is your intent to remove the hot stamps.
As you can see in the AFTER photos, the chips are dried out, just as they are when using Lundmark in the ultrasonic. These chips are currently soaking in some J&J gel, after which I’ll wipe the excess, and then compare to other chips. I want to ensure that this soak didn’t cause any noticeable color fading.
paulkersey
Two Pair
I find the ultrasonic has been great at cleaning dingy chips in bulk (using the Lundmark knockoff TSP). It does a great job. Especially with white chips. But it tends to fade certain colors such as red and purple. Haven't oiled them yet, so not sure if it's much of a concern.
With my higher value reds, I've simply used dawn and a magic eraser. Time consuming (like 2-3 min/chip), but I've had fantastic results. So this is my preferred method for a small quantity.
With my higher value reds, I've simply used dawn and a magic eraser. Time consuming (like 2-3 min/chip), but I've had fantastic results. So this is my preferred method for a small quantity.
Tried the h2o2 soak on these. They aren’t incredibly stained, but there is some staining on what’s left of the textured area where the inlay was before, as you can see on the left chip. Overnight soak in 3% removed the stains well.
Working quite well on the whites too (which I expected). These were just straight in to h2o2, ran the eraser over it for 2 seconds after.
Working quite well on the whites too (which I expected). These were just straight in to h2o2, ran the eraser over it for 2 seconds after.
Last edited:
OP
OP
Lighter colored objects appear larger than darker colored objects.
OP
OP
OK, I stand by what I said in my last post immediately above. However, until I’ve finished tweaking the cleaning solutions and procedures, and written everything up in detail, I thought you might be interested in seeing some BEFORE and AFTER photos.
If you happen to be one of the folks who actually enjoy spending hours manually scrubbing your chips, STOP reading this post now; it’s not for you.
For the rest of you who are lazy like I am…
Specifically, these photos are of chips that were soaked in a solution (a blend of three cleaners) that I intended to address #2 in my previous post above, i.e. a “PRE-soak prior to ultrasonic cleaning”.
However, it has turned into a “do it all SOAK with no manual scrubbing and no ultrasonic” sort of thing.
The catch is that it’s only for inlaid chips, as it pretty much destroys hot stamps… errr… I meant to say, it’s a GREAT way to remove OVERSTAMPS like on Grand Casino Hinckley chips (way better than using isopropyl alcohol, not to mention a lot safer, and cheaper)!
Without further ado…
BEFORE - Side 1:
View attachment 1350969
AFTER - Side 1:
View attachment 1350972
This is not a joke. Those chips were only soaked, then rinsed in cold tap water, placed on a bar mop towel, and *patted* dry with another bar mop towel.
There was ZERO scrubbing or wiping or other manual effort involved. The chips were then allowed to air dry for 3 hours prior to taking the AFTER photos.
The photos are NOT retouched. In all four photos, the chips were under a very bright light, and camera flash was not used.
Again, though, this can NOT be used for hot stamp chips unless it is your intent to remove the hot stamps.
As you can see in the AFTER photos, the chips are dried out, just as they are when using Lundmark in the ultrasonic. These chips are currently soaking in some J&J gel, after which I’ll wipe the excess, and then compare to other chips. I want to ensure that this soak didn’t cause any noticeable color fading.
Apologies for going radio silent for a bit, but unfortunately, I’ve been doing quite a few more tests. Without further ado…
GOOD NEWS
- I failed to mention in my previous post that the soak I did to get the chips in the photos so amazingly clean was ONLY FOUR HOURS LONG.
- It bears repeating that these results were from ONLY a SOAK and rinse. I did absolutely ZERO scrubbing, rubbing, ultrasonic cleaning, etc. ZERO handling of individual chips (except for the oiling I did afterwards).
- I’m especially happy with how crazy clean this blend gets the recesses in the mold (H&C, rings, etc.). Look again at the BEFORE and AFTER photos. I promise they are not retouched in any way.
- After a J&J gel treatment, the chips are simply stunning.
BAD NEWS
- This makes me sad, and it will likely make @Josh Kifer (AKA Mr. Peroxide ) even sadder, but I found that certain Paulson colors are SIGNIFICANTLY LIGHTENED by hydrogen peroxide.
- The PAULSON colors I’ve found that are affected are: GREY, SHOWBOAT GREY, GRAPE, PURPLE, and LAVENDER.
- Noticed that I said “LIGHTENED” above, and NOT “FADED”. To be technically correct, if we’re using HSL (hue/saturation/luminance) to describe color, “faded” is a reduction in saturation. I found that hydrogen peroxide *lightens* certain chip colors, i.e. the hue remains the same, and the saturation is also unaffected to my eye. Frankly, the colors still look good, but they are quite noticeably different.
- The lightening is significant. GREY is lightened about halfway to being WHITE. GRAPE (a very dark purple color) is lightened to the point that it looks nearly identical to my PLUM color sample (a medium lightness, highly saturated purple color).
- I suspect that most or all of the Paulson colors in the purple family would be lightened, but I don’t know that for fact. I also suspect that Paulson CHARCOAL and Paulson BLACK will be affected. I’m testing a BLACK chip as I type, but I don’t have a CHARCOAL chip that I’m willing to sacrifice.
- It doesn’t matter whether you’re using 3% or 12%, with or without other cleaners - those certain chip colors will be LIGHTENED. Stronger peroxide will lighten the colors faster, and adding a surfactant like Dawn will also speed the process, but the lightening happens either way.
When I finish some tests on additional colors, I’ll post additional detail. I also plan to do a relatively large scale SOAK ONLY cleaning of 200+ Fremont $1s, $5s, and $25s.
I’m still super happy to have a fast, near effort-free way to get inlaid chips so clean. (Again, NO hot stamps!) I’m super bummed, though, that the peroxide in the blend causes such obvious lightening of Paulson colors in the grey and purple family.
PokerSenpai
Straight
I tried to do my best to go through some of the old thread to answer my questions. But here I am.
Okay all, I just put a purchase in for the Vevor 6L Upgraded Version and some of the fake TSP cleaner.
On to the Salad Spinner I see a bunch of people talking about, anyone have any recommendations? Links? Size advice? and actually how does this work, so instead of using the basket that comes with it- I would use a Salad Spinner and give it a good mixing around while it's cleaning in the solution?
The cleaner is ordered but hasn't been delivered yet.
Okay all, I just put a purchase in for the Vevor 6L Upgraded Version and some of the fake TSP cleaner.
On to the Salad Spinner I see a bunch of people talking about, anyone have any recommendations? Links? Size advice? and actually how does this work, so instead of using the basket that comes with it- I would use a Salad Spinner and give it a good mixing around while it's cleaning in the solution?
The cleaner is ordered but hasn't been delivered yet.
Yes. The salad spinner should just fit into ultrasonic sideways and should be able to spin freely. The outer bowl of the spinner you can use as a container for your rinse water.
innacanoe
High Hand
Lundmark "TSP" is sodium-metasilicate not tri sodium-phosphate. So not actually TSP but "TSP"
In case that product is ever discontinued here is the composition from the SDS http://www.lundmarkwax.com/__static/ac1e48a089b49d239787d98d1ebbb4fb/3287-tsp_cleaner.pdf?dl=1
58%WW Silicic acid, disodium salt; sodium metasilicate pentahydrate
42% water
In case that product is ever discontinued here is the composition from the SDS http://www.lundmarkwax.com/__static/ac1e48a089b49d239787d98d1ebbb4fb/3287-tsp_cleaner.pdf?dl=1
58%WW Silicic acid, disodium salt; sodium metasilicate pentahydrate
42% water
OP
OP
The Amazon link to the Salad Spinner is in my original post, i.e. page 1 of this topic.
Yes, as I stated in my original post, 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.
I’ve never found another brand of sodium metasilicate, but I admit I haven’t looked too hard lately.
I had always used the "Red Devil TSP/90" brand of metasilicates and it worked on all my ultrasound chip cleaning needs for years, but they no longer have this available on Amazon so I bought a Lundmark tub.
PokerSenpai
Straight
I'm trying to decide on a salad spinner still, trying to find the ideal one for a 6L ultrasonic
The best one is the one that's $2 at Goodwill.
extreme517
Two Pair
Here is the one the OP links to and will nicely fit the 6L cleaner:
https://www.amazon.com/GoodCook-BPA-Free-Plastic-Capacity-Spinner/dp/B005JYZSTK
I think I got my salad spinner from the dollar store. I probably paid $3 (Canadian).
OP
OP
To any of you who are interested in the alternate cleaning methods I’ve been testing:
To summarize, to date, I’ve done a bit over 30 different tests for four alternate cleaning methods:
Some of you may know that, in spite of repeatedly telling myself I don’t need more chips, I recently purchased 400x nice Paris chips (very light dirt), and 860x Chuck’s Golden Spike chips full of 1970’s leaded Paulson LCV awesomeness (some of which have a bit of dirt). I also have racks of wonderfully vintage but absolutely filthy Fremont chips to clean. I also have somewhere between 1,000 and 2,000 other chips to clean with variable filth.
With all the testing I’ve done, my head is swimming a bit as to which cleaning method to use for all of my various dirty chips. Coming into play in that decision are:
If you’re interested, take a look at this first draft at the following link to the PDF file:
Poker Chip Cleaning Methods Comparison
A REQUEST: If you’re interested in actually using any of these methods, I would really appreciate your thoughts, uncensored opinions, and constructive criticism on the comparison. Which methods do you like? Which do you not like?
Your feedback will help me prioritize my efforts, and could possibly even save me a bunch of effort writing up something that no one is interested in! I also welcome any questions or ideas you may have!
THANKS IN ADVANCE!
To summarize, to date, I’ve done a bit over 30 different tests for four alternate cleaning methods:
- Ultrasonic cleaning using a “mystery cleaner”
- Soak-only cleaning using 12% hydrogen peroxide plus one additional cleaning agent
- Soak-only cleaning using 12% hydrogen peroxide plus two additional cleaning agents
- Manual cleaning of individual chips using the “mystery cleaner”
Some of you may know that, in spite of repeatedly telling myself I don’t need more chips, I recently purchased 400x nice Paris chips (very light dirt), and 860x Chuck’s Golden Spike chips full of 1970’s leaded Paulson LCV awesomeness (some of which have a bit of dirt). I also have racks of wonderfully vintage but absolutely filthy Fremont chips to clean. I also have somewhere between 1,000 and 2,000 other chips to clean with variable filth.
With all the testing I’ve done, my head is swimming a bit as to which cleaning method to use for all of my various dirty chips. Coming into play in that decision are:
- Costs (both initial equipment cost, and cost of cleaning agents)
- Time spent on manual effort
- Time needed to clean the chips (including “soak time” that doesn’t require manual effort)
If you’re interested, take a look at this first draft at the following link to the PDF file:
Poker Chip Cleaning Methods Comparison
A REQUEST: If you’re interested in actually using any of these methods, I would really appreciate your thoughts, uncensored opinions, and constructive criticism on the comparison. Which methods do you like? Which do you not like?
Your feedback will help me prioritize my efforts, and could possibly even save me a bunch of effort writing up something that no one is interested in! I also welcome any questions or ideas you may have!
THANKS IN ADVANCE!
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