Stained Yellow Paulson THC Cleaning Help (1 Viewer)

[AfterTheFact]

I picked up a rack of stained yellow chips off FeeBay knowing they were stained but thinking they would clean up with some effort. Yellow usually cleans up well. Turns out they are REALLY stained. Not sure with what, almost looks like wine (or blood lol). Any ideas on how to try and clean. I already tried a TSP bath followed by an Ultrasonic Spa treatment. The magic eraser will “somewhat” work but probably removing more clay than I’d like. I soaked one in hydrogen peroxide and water overnight. It helped a little but still required more effort with a magic eraser than I would like. Any other ideas?

 

[Eloe2000]

I don’t know if this would work, but it’s something you haven’t apparently tried… I soak my hard to clean chips for 5min (you should try 10min+) in hot water with dissolved OxyClean crystals. Then I use a Sonic Scrubber from Amazon to do the hard labor. This thing is aggressively powerful at scrubbing without sanding the chip down like magic erasers do.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B007D0H4O..._fabc_CA32DXK9B2DWZ62T5E1R?tag=pokchifor0d-20

Before and after

 

[AfterTheFact]

That’s a HUGE difference. I think the stain on mine goes beyond this however. Those are the results I was hoping for but I think I need a stronger cleaning agent.

 

[aggie]

Go for a “Black Gold - Texas Tea” themed label and keep them how they are … big rig with oil spouting out the top?

Interested how this turns out, those are quite crispy given the stained condition. Good luck.

 

[ovo]

sandpaper

 

[Ben8257]

David,

Brie and I have tried on several occasions to clean deeply stained yellow chips. I have found absolutely nothing that gets them cleaned. We have managed to clean chips that have been in forests and totally black, chips that Katrina spit out and looked like absolute hell! Even chips that were poured in casinos foundations and encased in concrete for decades! But cleaning these deeply stained yellows, so far I have not come up with a way!! It is not just on the surface of the chip, if you take a knife and scrape away the first layer you will likely find that what is underneath is also stained, as if it has soaked into the chip. Drawing that stain back out is well beyond my expertise sir!

Good Luck!!
Ben

 

[Potsie1]

I wish you luck. Ive been trying for years. I can tell you its not mold. Any kind of mold cleaner will likely stain the chip further(from experience). Best I can figure is they were soaked in mud water and as Ben pointed out its not just surface. The edges seem to be mostly surface but still no luck getting mine off.

 

[Irish]

The oxi bath will "brighten" them a bit but as @Ben8257 notes getting them back to white is damn near impossible.

Some gross AC chips after an ultrasonic & hand cleaning then an oxi bath:

Better, but you can still see the smoke staining.

 

[Ben8257]

I wish you luck. Ive been trying for years. I can tell you its not mold. Any kind of mold cleaner will likely stain the chip further(from experience). Best I can figure is they were soaked in mud water and as Ben pointed out its not just surface. The edges seem to be mostly surface but still no luck getting mine off.

View attachment 741735

Yikes!! Arc Yellow is a whole different monster Jim! You have to be really careful cleaning those. I believe it is mostly from sun damage... but many solid arc Yellow chips fade and loose that neon brightness. I really don't know what to say about that... again we have had chips like that and given up...

 

[Ben8257]

The oxi bath will "brighten" them a bit but as @Ben8257 notes getting them back to white is damn near impossible.

Some gross AC chips after an ultrasonic & hand cleaning then an oxi bath:

View attachment 741742
View attachment 741741

Better, but you can still see the smoke staining.

That is definitely another good example Matt, the old school AC white chips... once that smoke is in them... you can spend hours with one chip in oxi... scrub and scrub and scrub! It's not coming out! It sucks but also part of their authentication! Lol

 

[Potsie1]

Go for a “Black Gold - Texas Tea” themed label and keep them how they are … big rig with oil spouting out the top?

Interested how this turns out, those are quite crispy given the stained condition. Good luck.

or "mud man" themed.

 

[ekricket]

I think some yellow krylon would clean that right up

 

[juankay20]

David,

Brie and I have tried on several occasions to clean deeply stained yellow chips. I have found absolutely nothing that gets them cleaned. We have managed to clean chips that have been in forests and totally black, chips that Katrina spit out and looked like absolute hell! Even chips that were poured in casinos foundations and encased in concrete for decades! But cleaning these deeply stained yellows, so far I have not come up with a way!! It is not just on the surface of the chip, if you take a knife and scrape away the first layer you will likely find that what is underneath is also stained, as if it has soaked into the chip. Drawing that stain back out is well beyond my expertise sir!

Good Luck!!
Ben

+1
I picked these up last year and tried a few different methods as well, including using an u/s cleaner multiple times (different temp, TSP concentration, etc.) and the stains remain https://www.pokerchipforum.com/threads/mitchs-half-dollars.59244/

 

[AfterTheFact]

Some degree of success. These chips were basically the same condition when I started…

 

[Ben8257]

Some degree of success. These chips were basically the same condition when I started…
View attachment 741747
View attachment 741748

As long as you don't care about keeping the gold stamp, then yes we can come up with a concoction that will work... you might not want the breathe in the same room... but I can help with something from science lab! Lmao

Definitely looks better David!

 

[AfterTheFact]

Maybe I should just leave them as is, mill them and make a Bucket of Blood logo

 

[AfterTheFact]

Or…. Make a found at a crime scene logo .

 

[Ben8257]

Or…. Make a found at a crime scene logo .

A crime scene of public defication?? I am so confused! Lol

 

[AfterTheFact]

A crime scene of public defication?? I am so confused! Lol

I’m calling it dried blood!

 

[fishsaybloop]

https://www.goodhousekeeping.com/home/cleaning/a33588329/laundry-stripping/

I’ve been testing this method today and have found it pretty effective for a 30min soak at about 110F water that supposed to strip mineral oils.

Tried it on red and green chips and it really stripped away a lot of the dirt. You could try a small batch if you have borax, washing soda and detergent. a min in the ultra sonic after to shake off the dirt seemed to do the trick. Chips get super dried out but some mineral oil after seemed to revive them

 

[upNdown]

The oxi bath will "brighten" them a bit but as @Ben8257 notes getting them back to white is damn near impossible.

Some gross AC chips after an ultrasonic & hand cleaning then an oxi bath:

View attachment 741742
View attachment 741741

Better, but you can still see the smoke staining.

I’m pretty sure you could get those chips whiter, with more oxi, but it would be at the expense of those pretty blue 418s

 

[Irish]

I’m pretty sure you could get those chips whiter, with more oxi, but it would be at the expense of those pretty blue 418s

That was after two 15 minute baths with a very warm and concentrated oxi solution. I may try again for a few of them, but I think there's only so much you can do. Years of AC smoke takes it toll.

 

[Potsie1]

Just 30 mins soaking

 

[Potsie1]

wait where did my other post go? lol.

 

[AfterTheFact]

Mines not coming off at all with soaking. Mostly elbow grease and a magic eraser works best. Too much work for me probably be a sale thread up soon…

 

[Potsie1]

Ok somehow my post didnt make it. This process is used for taking china or porcelain that has cracked glaze and has become discolored underneath the glaze.
Basically soak in hydrogen peroxide which will turn the dirt light. Then bake it to pull the moisture water/peroxide out with the dirt. Sort of like getting wax out of carpet with an iron and paper sack. I will be baking with paper towels above and below to absorb. Will update shortly.


What to do? More involved and more effective process:
From a pharmacy or a beauty supply store, purchase 8% Hydrogen peroxide bleach that is typically used to bleach hair. Soak your stained item in the solution for several hours. Then, while wet place it in an oven and set to 180 to 200 degrees Fahrenheit (82 to 93 Celsius). Let the oven rise to 180-200 degrees F * while your item is in the oven. WARNING: Do not enter your item to a preheated oven. The rapid temperature change could crack the item or chip off some of the crazed glaze. After 30-60 minutes, take it out, wait for it to be cooled to room temperature and wash it with room temperature water. You will see slightly colored water seeping out from the crazing washing off. **


* Warning - Heating to above boiling temperature may results in organic matter burn stains

** While this removes the color it does not remove the foreign matter (dirt etc.) causing the stain, thus, stain can reappear if introduced to moisture.

 

[Potsie1]

Small update. 180 degrees might be fine for porcelain or bone china but not for chips. Keep it down around 100 to 120 for 15 minutes as if you're flattening them. Thats all thats needed. With additional soaking of other chips I'm not sure heating is even necessary. After putting a chip in hydrogen peroxide results are very fast, less than half hour and are incredible. Try and let me know if you get the same thing.

 

[mtl mile end]

Everyone always chooses an oxidizing agent (TSP, peroxide, Oxyclean, etc) to clean chips. If they fail, I would try a reducing agent like CLR.

I've never tried this and don't know how it would affect the chip, but it may be worth a try. If that staining is from rusty water, CLR may help.

 

[Potsie1]

These are the same chips which had already been fully cleaned and scrubbed with a tsp bath and they looked terrible. I'd say hydrogen peroxide soak is a success. (forget anything about baking them).

 

[Potsie1]

Definitely seems to be something other than dirt as the peroxide reacted on some of them for hours. Tons of bubbles.