Oil and Water Trick (2 Viewers)

Shaggy said:
This is the part I am trying to avoid... I suppose it was "fun" for my first 1000 chips too... its not fun anymore. :(
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I just put on a tv show. It didn't feel like a chore at all. But I guess once I get to my 10k chip I'll be ready to jump out the window haha
 
** This is a follow-up to my first Ultrasonic Cleaning experience here **

I just used the oil and water trick on Paulson NPS chips and wanted to post my findings. Let me preface by saying that I am horrible at following directions. As a result, I performed this in 3 different ways.

1st attempt (Fail)
  • Filled up a bowl with 1 gallon of warm water and added 2 tablespoons of mineral oil
  • Used the metal cleaning basket from the ultrasonic cleaner, dropped in 2 barrels of chips, and placed the basket in the bowl.
  • Moved the chips around in the basket with my hands for about 10 seconds
  • Thinking that the chips would only get coated passing the surface of the water, I dipped the basket 3 times
  • The chips came out looking like they got slimed. Way too much oil

2nd attempt (Fail)
  • Same as 1st (2 barrels), but reduced the oil to 1 tablespoon for the 1 gallon of water
  • Did not pull the basket out 3 times, just left it submerged
  • Moved chips around in basket with my hands for 10 seconds (but there was limited space for movement within the little basket)
  • Chips came out blotchy and not covered

3rd attempt (Success)
  • Same as 2nd (1 tablespoon per 1 gallon), but ditched the basket and dumped the whole damn rack in the bowl
  • Moved the chips around with my hands for 30 seconds
  • Pulled chips out and set on towel
  • Oiled all 400 chips in 2 minutes
  • Patted down chips with paper towel

Next Day
  • Chips generally looked well covered with oil (somehow)
  • The edges on a handful of chips didn't have the best coverage, so I got one of the bar rags from the prior day, which still had oil on it, and rolled each barrel for about 10 seconds

Verdict
  • Once I settled on my 3rd method, I spent 2 minutes total submerging 400 chips, then about 3 minutes rolling the barrels the next day. So basically, 5 minutes total actually oiling the chips, compared to the 200 minutes I would have spent doing all 400 with a dauber
  • Though not perfect, considering that I completed this process in about 1/40 of the time vs doing it a more traditional way, I will use this method going forward and recommend everyone trying it at least once

Thanks for reading!
 
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Psypher1000 said:
Great write-up, mate! Pics?
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Thanks! I did take some pics when doing 2 barrels at a time (the less successful trials), but since I ended up changing the methodology and tossing the whole racks in, of course I forgot to take good comparison pics.

However, below is a pic comparing 1 mint (naturally clean), but unoiled barrel on the left to 4 (much more worn) clean and oiled barrels on the right. It isn't a before and after pic, so it is not as dramatic, but it gives some indication of how the cleaned and oiled chips look.

20160718_182015.jpg
 
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I haven't tried this method yet, but I have done several hydrodipping projects (pretty cool stuff, and a fun project) that turned out really nice. The methodology is very similar. You get a vat of water, and put the hydrodipping film on top, it dissolves after spraying it with some chemicals, and then the print floats on the surface. You then dip whatever you're printing into the water, and the buoyancy force of the water wraps the object with what's floating on the top. In hydrodipping, the key to a succesful print job is to slowly and carefully dip the object to ensure the print film isn't broken up during the dipping and that the buoyancy force remains consistent across the item you're trying to print. If you go too fast, or if you stir up the water in any way, breaks in the print will manifest themselves on whatever you're dipping.

Surely this method works the exact same way. I have to agree with @BGinGA's advice. If I wanted the best odds of my chips being evenly oiled, I wouldn't be stirring up the water at all. For those of you stating that your chips are coming out blotchy, this is almost certainly the culprit. I would enter the chips into the bowl one at a time. It will still be fast, and they should come out with an even coating. What the best recipe is for how much oil and water to use is obviously a different problem to solve, but it seems like there are a few ideas here that have worked well for others.

I'm eventually going to get around to oiling my 4000+ Rounders CSQ chips, and when I do, I'll try to take some pics and or video of what ends up working best for me, but put me in the camp that says "don't stir up the water/oil mixture"...

My 2c
 
MegaTon44 said:
** This is a follow-up to my first Ultrasonic Cleaning experience here **

I just used the oil and water trick on Paulson NPS chips and wanted to post my findings. Let me preface by saying that I am horrible at following directions. As a result, I performed this in 3 different ways.

1st attempt (Fail)
  • Filled up a bowl with 1 gallon of warm water and added 2 tablespoons of mineral oil
  • Used the metal cleaning basket from the ultrasonic cleaner, dropped in 2 barrels of chips, and placed the basket in the bowl.
  • Moved the chips around in the basket with my hands for about 10 seconds
  • Thinking that the chips would only get coated passing the surface of the water, I dipped the basket 3 times
  • The chips came out looking like they got slimed. Way too much oil

2nd attempt (Fail)
  • Same as 1st (2 barrels), but reduced the oil to 1 tablespoon for the 1 gallon of water
  • Did not pull the basket out 3 times, just left it submerged
  • Moved chips around in basket with my hands for 10 seconds (but there was limited space for movement within the little basket)
  • Chips came out blotchy and not covered

3rd attempt (Success)
  • Same as 2nd (1 tablespoon per 1 gallon), but ditched the basket and dumped the whole damn rack in the bowl
  • Moved the chips around with my hands for 30 seconds
  • Pulled chips out and set on towel
  • Oiled all 400 chips in 2 minutes
  • Patted down chips with paper towel

Next Day
  • Chips generally looked well covered with oil (somehow)
  • The edges on a handful of chips didn't have the best coverage, so I got one of the bar rags from the prior day, which still had oil on it, and rolled each barrel for about 10 seconds

Verdict
  • Once I settled on my 3rd method, I spent 2 minutes total submerging 400 chips, then about 3 minutes rolling the barrels the next day. So basically, 5 minutes total actually oiling the chips, compared to the 200 minutes I would have spent doing all 400 with a dauber
  • Though not perfect, considering that I completed this process in about 1/40 of the time vs doing it a more traditional way, I will use this method going forward and recommend everyone trying it at least once

Thanks for reading!
Click to expand...
Since @Psypher1000 kindly referenced this in another thread, it reminded me that I wanted to provide an update (I was not able to edit the post above).

Instead of sweeping the edges the next day, I've started an easier method. After removing the chips from the water/oil, I pick up 20 chips at a time and roll them for a few seconds in my gloved hand (which has oil on it). I was stacking the chips in my hand before organizing them on the towel to dry anyway, so I figured I'd save myself a step the next day. After making this small tweak, the chips looked great when they dried and needed no further action on my part.

After having had the opportunity to oil a few thousand chips since my previous post, I'd like to reiterate my position. With the potential to oil 3000+ chips per hour, I would recommend that everyone try this at least once. Even if you don't like the coverage and go back to a more traditional method, you would have only spent a few minutes of your time. In my opinion, this is low risk/high reward proposition, so please give it a shot.
 
IMG_6573.JPG
Just gave this a try with 400 of the $5 Horseshoes. I am not sure how the third rack will turn out as it doesn't look like much oil got on them. The bowl was a little small and water was spilling out a bit as a mixed them up.
 
Thanks megaton worked great and so much easier.

can anyone think of a reason not to do this oil/water dip immediately after using USC?
it seem unnecessary to lay chips out to dry and then to do it all again a day later.

i would think USC, rinse, oil dip, wipe, lay out to dry - would be more efficient, unless there is a reason that i don't know of.
 
R B said:
Thanks megaton worked great and so much easier.

can anyone think of a reason not to do this oil/water dip immediately after using USC?
it seem unnecessary to lay chips out to dry and then to do it all again a day later.

i would think USC, rinse, oil dip, wipe, lay out to dry - would be more efficient, unless there is a reason that i don't know of.
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Thanks for the kind words. Maybe if I had a helper in order to split responsibilities, I would try this. However, I was worried about having oily gloves, then tossing chips in the Ultrasonic. Just figured like a combination that I didn't want to test by myself. This is why I've always let the chips dry for a few hours, meanwhile cleaning up the machine, preparing the oil, fresh towels, etc.

However, if you are down to try, we are always up for learning new efficiencies :D
 
I will when the new box arrives from the main sale.

fyi when i used your method I found that the oil needed a small top up after about 500 chips
 
R B said:
I will when the new box arrives from the main sale.

fyi when i used your method I found that the oil needed a small top up after about 500 chips
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Yes, that would make sense. I've actually only done 400 in a session (all that fit on my table) and the last 100 I would give a few more seconds in the solution to ensure proper coverage.
 
Going to revive this thread for newbies like me.

I did my Majestics by hand, a few weeks ago, before reading the thread.

The colors pop and they feel good. However, I tried rolling my chips like in the video and they don't budge. Well, a few I the center row spins fine. I then switched those out to another row. They didn't spin but the chips now in the middle did spin. So two questions:

1 - Could cheap racks keep the chips from spinning?

2a- if the chips have too much oil, so what? Is that a problem?

2b - if it is a problem, what you do, clean them and start over?
 
I used this method to oil my new CPC custom set today.

Early impressions are that it worked pretty well, but we will see if there are splotches or anything once the chips have fully dried.

I used @MegaTon44 's successful 3rd method from above. The only change I made is pulling out the chips, stacking them in barrels of 20 then rubbing the rolling edges with my thumb before laying them out to dry. I'm hoping this resulted in coating the edges evenly.
 
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btbmason said:
I used this method to oil my new CPC custom set today.

Early impressions are that it worked pretty well, but we will see if there are splotches or anything once the chips have fully dried.

I used @MegaTon44 's succesful 3rd method from above. The only change I made is pulling out the chips, stacking them in barrels of 20 then rubbing the rolling edges with my thumb before laying them out to dry. I'm hoping this resulted in coating the edges evenly.
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Exactly. In post #70 I noted that I made the same adjustment. Works perfectly. Thanks Brett!
 
MegaTon44 said:
Exactly. In post #70 I noted that I made the same adjustment. Works perfectly. Thanks Brett!
Click to expand...

D'oh! Sorry, I missed that entirely. I thought I did something smart by accident :LOL: :laugh:

After 24 hours of drying, I picked up and racked all the chips. I'm happy with the results, but I should have topped up the oil a bit sooner. About 50 chips out of 648 (all the same color, most likely about 300-350 chips in) ended up having a few splotches, even after doing the rolling edges with my thumb along the way. I did about 300 chips after that with a fresh batch of water and oil and those turned out just fine.

As done above, just touched them up with a towel I had sitting around with oil from yesterday.

A few photos to come later on in the week.

I'd definitely use this method again based on the results.
 
btbmason said:
D'oh! Sorry, I missed that entirely. I thought I did something smart by accident :LOL: :laugh:

After 24 hours of drying, I picked up and racked all the chips. I'm happy with the results, but I should have topped up the oil a bit sooner. About 50 chips out of 648 (all the same color, most likely about 300-350 chips in) ended up having a few splotches, even after doing the rolling edges with my thumb along the way. I did about 300 chips after that with a fresh batch of water and oil and those turned out just fine.

As done above, just touched them up with a towel I had sitting around with oil from yesterday.

A few photos to come later on in the week.

I'd definitely use this method again based on the results.
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Excellent point. Once you get in the 300-400 range, a little oil top-off (or a new bath) is usually required to ensure good coverage
 
I'll have 850 cpcs to oil up. I'm thinking I might have to try this. Is "mentally" difficult dropping 400 brand new chips into a bucket of water/oil? I don't know if I can physically do it or not lol.
 
detroitdad said:
I'll have 850 cpcs to oil up. I'm thinking I might have to try this. Is "mentally" difficult dropping 400 brand new chips into a bucket of water/oil? I don't know if I can physically do it or not lol.
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Haha. I wouldn't think so, as I've done it with some newer chips. My recommendation would be to get a helper to sweep the edges and lay out the chips when you pull them out of the bath. Add a tiny bit of oil after 300, then again after 600, and I think you should be pleased the next day. The whole process will easily be done within 30 minutes
 
detroitdad said:
I'll have 850 cpcs to oil up. I'm thinking I might have to try this. Is "mentally" difficult dropping 400 brand new chips into a bucket of water/oil? I don't know if I can physically do it or not lol.
Click to expand...

I'd recommend a plastic bowl.

I didn't have one and used a metal bowl, and shuddered a bit every time because I was worried about damaging the chips. I slid them down the side of the bowl a barrel at a time.

Also maybe just try doing 20 of them first using that method and see how you like it compared to regular oiling. I did a quick barrel to judge the time/process before going nuts and dumping them in 120 at a time.
 
MegaTon44 said:
3rd attempt (Success)
  • Same as 2nd (1 tablespoon per 1 gallon), but ditched the basket and dumped the whole damn rack in the bowl
  • Moved the chips around with my hands for 30 seconds
  • Pulled chips out and set on towel
  • Oiled all 400 chips in 2 minutes
  • Patted down chips with paper towel
Click to expand...

I trust you. I'll try this. I already have a bucket downstairs from cleaning 1500 chipcos over the weekend.

As for a "helper". This is the only helper I'll have/want. After all, these are "my" babies.

20170314_190001_zpszce1bocf.jpg
 
btbmason said:
I'd recommend a plastic bowl.

I didn't have one and used a metal bowl, and shuddered a bit every time because I was worried about damaging the chips. I slid them down the side of the bowl a barrel at a time.

Also maybe just try doing 20 of them first using that method and see how you like it compared to regular oiling. I did a quick barrel to judge the time/process before going nuts and dumping them in 120 at a time.
Click to expand...

I'll definitely experiment first with a few chips. I'll probably do two racks at a time if I like the results.
 
It doesn't look like you dry the chips off. You pull them out of the water, maybe give a quick rub a dub dub, then lay out on the towel (I use the extra soft towels and get yelled at by the wife) and pat dry.

Definitely will save some time.
 
detroitdad said:
It doesn't look like you dry the chips off. You pull them out of the water, maybe give a quick rub a dub dub, then lay out on the towel (I use the extra soft towels and get yelled at by the wife) and pat dry.

Definitely will save some time.
Click to expand...
Pull them out of the solution and onto a different towel (should be 100 chips) pat a little, grab a barrel, roll them in your gloved, oily hand to hit the edges, then lay out on a new towel.
 

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