Ultrasonic Chip Cleaning (7 Viewers)

[paulkersey]

My own preference has always been to use the J&J gel (Amazon Basics baby oil gel is an acceptable substitute). It lasts longer, which not only keeps the chips looking good, but also keeps them from picking up dirt and grime from your players’ hands. I discovered that last part when, following the common wisdom of the time, I didn’t bother treating my white Paulson fracs, and within just two games, there was noticeable dirt and grime on them.

Anyway… generously apply the J&J gel with a Kiwi brand shoe shine applicator. You can usually find them in the grocery store. Twist the shoe shine applicator over the chip faces, ensuring that you get the gel in all the rings, hats & canes, and/or other molding. If you have some Gemaco soft white plastic shipping racks, put the oiled chips in the Gemaco racks to soak. If you don’t have any Gemaco racks, you can line some regular racks with aluminum foil and put the wet chips in there.

I always let the chips soak in the J&J gel for at least a week before wiping the excess off with bar mop towels (get them in the mega-pack cheap at Sam’s Club). The longer you let them soak, the longer the treatment will last.

DO NOT EVER put your oiled chips directly in PGI era ChipCo racks (clear, hard, and I think made from polystyrene) - not even after they’ve been wiped! The mineral oil will melt the plastic in the PGI ChipCo racks, effectively cementing the chips to the racks. Doesn’t do the racks any good, either. Don’t ask me how I know this. The original ChipCo racks (which are an almost rubbery acrylic that will not crack or break if you drop them, and somewhat cloudy looking) are fine. Real Paulson racks (any vintage) are fine for your oiled chips, too.

Something else I’ve noticed: If you store your racked oiled chips in an acrylic birdcage, they will remain looking great a LOT longer!

Hope that helps!

Amazing! Thank you. I'll have to give this new process a whirl.

 

[JerBear]

My own preference has always been to use the J&J gel

Is this the one you recommend? With aloe and vitamin e?

 

[ski_ex5]

Is this the one you recommend? With aloe and vitamin e?

Yes. It has the added benefit of helping convince wives to allow their husbands to play poker, since after playing poker with chips enhanced with aloe and vitamin E, the husbands are less likely to need to steal their wife’s expensive hand lotion. At least, that’s what I tell the wives…

Here’s a link to the “Amazon Basics” version that also works well:
https://a.co/d/ipxZBfm

 

[JerBear]

Yes. It has the added benefit of helping convince wives to allow their husbands to play poker, since after playing poker with chips enhanced with aloe and vitamin E, the husbands are less likely to need to steal their wife’s expensive hand lotion. At least, that’s what I tell the wives…

Here’s a link to the “Amazon Basics” version that also works well:
https://a.co/d/ipxZBfm

Touche! Thanks for the help!

 

[Tonysquander]

First of all, congratulations on your new awesome set! Once cleaned and oiled (use J&J GEL), they’re going to look amazing.

If you carefully follow the instructions in the OP, you will not damage the hot stamps. I’ve cleaned over 12,000 Paulson hot stamps without a problem.

However if you choose NOT to follow the instructions, you CAN damage/dull the hot stamps with too much heat and/or time in the Lundmark ultrasonic bath.

All that said, PLEASE WAIT a bit, as I’m working on a VERY significant improvement to the ultrasonic chip cleaning with a different cleaning agent, and without heat. The benefits include:

• Significantly less color fading
• Less drying out of the chips
• Even safer for hot stamps
• Less (perhaps zero) risk of over-doing it with regards to time
• Less irritating to skin if you’re accidentally splashed

Scroll up a bit to my post on May 5th to see some photos of some red chips that I did manually to get an idea of the effectiveness - those chips aren’t even oiled!

Anyway… I’m really excited with the initial results, and I’m tweaking the cleaning mixture and method to maximize the effectiveness and minimize effort. As soon as I’ve finished, I will post all the details either in this thread, or possibly a new one.

I’m not 100% positive yet, but it’s looking like I might never use the Lundmark ultrasonic bath in the OP ever again.

Any updates?

 

[Saditsfact]

My own preference has always been to use the J&J gel (Amazon Basics baby oil gel is an acceptable substitute). It lasts longer, which not only keeps the chips looking good, but also keeps them from picking up dirt and grime from your players’ hands. I discovered that last part when, following the common wisdom of the time, I didn’t bother treating my white Paulson fracs, and within just two games, there was noticeable dirt and grime on them.

Anyway… generously apply the J&J gel with a Kiwi brand shoe shine applicator.

Kiwi brand shoe shine applicator: Are we talking about the sponge
https://www.amazon.com/Kiwi-15310-1...efix=kiwi+shoe+applicator,hpc,186&sr=1-4&th=1

Or the brush?
https://www.amazon.com/KIWI-Deluxe-Shine-M-26-Packaging/dp/B001AEZ3QG?ref_=ast_sto_dp&th=1&psc=1

You can usually find them in the grocery store. Twist the shoe shine applicator over the chip faces, ensuring that you get the gel in all the rings, hats & canes, and/or other molding. If you have some Gemaco soft white plastic shipping racks, put the oiled chips in the Gemaco racks to soak. If you don’t have any Gemaco racks, you can line some regular racks with aluminum foil and put the wet chips in there.

I always let the chips soak in the J&J gel for at least a week before wiping the excess off with bar mop towels (get them in the mega-pack cheap at Sam’s Club). The longer you let them soak, the longer the treatment will last.

DO NOT EVER put your oiled chips directly in PGI era ChipCo racks (clear, hard, and I think made from polystyrene) - not even after they’ve been wiped! The mineral oil will melt the plastic in the PGI ChipCo racks, effectively cementing the chips to the racks. Doesn’t do the racks any good, either. Don’t ask me how I know this. The original ChipCo racks (which are an almost rubbery acrylic that will not crack or break if you drop them, and somewhat cloudy looking) are fine. Real Paulson racks (any vintage) are fine for your oiled chips, too.

Something else I’ve noticed: If you store your racked oiled chips in an acrylic birdcage, they will remain looking great a LOT longer!

Hope that helps!

Thank you for the advice!

 

[ski_ex5]

Kiwi brand shoe shine applicator: Are we talking about the sponge

The sponge, but not the one in your link. Here’s a link to the poker chip sized applicator:

https://a.co/d/gPWdAJd

There’s an off-brand that boils down to half the price (4 applicators for about the same price). The off-brand has a softer sponge material that I like better, and it doesn’t wear as fast as the Kiwi brand, BUT… the glue that holds the sponge to the red plastic handle fails after a while. “A while” might be about half the life of the Kiwi brand, so it’s kind of a toss-up. I’m currently trying one of the off-brand applicators in which I’ve wrapped soft black electrical tape snugly around the perimeter of the sponge and red plastic edge in an effort to keep the sponge from separating. It’s working OK, but I’ve only used it to oil a rack of chips so far. We’ll see.

Anyway, here’s the link:

https://a.co/d/as1CZ6S

You might want to try both. I’m not sold on a favorite, yet.

 

[ski_ex5]

Any updates?

I haven’t yet landed on something I’m happy enough with.

Well, I spend nearly the entire weekend experimenting with different methods of using the cleaner in the ultrasonic. Cold. Mild heat. Different cleaning times. Pre-soaks in the cleaner. Lots of other details.

Bottom line, so far, is that the chips experience zero or near zero fading, BUT I’m not getting the extra filthy chips completely clean without manual effort (wiping, or toothbrush, dental pick, etc.).

That said, the chips I’m trying to clean are quite possibly the worst of the worst in the chip world. They’re 1975 vintage Fremont $5s and other denoms with gobs of gunk and deeply embedded dirt that’s had nearly 50 years to harden.

The good thing about these difficult test subjects is that if/when I figure out a way to completely clean them without manual effort and without fading, the method will probably work for ANY other dirty chips, at least, the types that are safe to clean (i.e. NOT ASM/CPC, Ewing, and other chips that in my experience are soluble in just water and mild detergent).

I admit to being a bit disappointed after a weekend of trying without the level of success I wanted, but I have some more ideas to test out in the coming days. I’ll post another update with any news when I have it.

 

[Tonysquander]

I haven’t yet landed on something I’m happy enough with.

Well, I spend nearly the entire weekend experimenting with different methods of using the cleaner in the ultrasonic. Cold. Mild heat. Different cleaning times. Pre-soaks in the cleaner. Lots of other details.

Bottom line, so far, is that the chips experience zero or near zero fading, BUT I’m not getting the extra filthy chips completely clean without manual effort (wiping, or toothbrush, dental pick, etc.).

That said, the chips I’m trying to clean are quite possibly the worst of the worst in the chip world. They’re 1975 vintage Fremont $5s and other denoms with gobs of gunk and deeply embedded dirt that’s had nearly 50 years to harden.

View attachment 1342975

The good thing about these difficult test subjects is that if/when I figure out a way to completely clean them without manual effort and without fading, the method will probably work for ANY other dirty chips, at least, the types that are safe to clean (i.e. NOT ASM/CPC, Ewing, and other chips that in my experience are soluble in just water and mild detergent).

I admit to being a bit disappointed after a weekend of trying without the level of success I wanted, but I have some more ideas to test out in the coming days. I’ll post another update with any news when I have it.

That is a tough job. Even with TSP or fake TSP in the machine, chips that gunky and old are hard to get completely clean. I had some California Clubs that looked like that that I ran through the normal way and they still needed to be hand detailed afterwards. Good luck finding a formula that completely works though.

 

[toothpic]

I haven’t yet landed on something I’m happy enough with.

Well, I spend nearly the entire weekend experimenting with different methods of using the cleaner in the ultrasonic. Cold. Mild heat. Different cleaning times. Pre-soaks in the cleaner. Lots of other details.

Bottom line, so far, is that the chips experience zero or near zero fading, BUT I’m not getting the extra filthy chips completely clean without manual effort (wiping, or toothbrush, dental pick, etc.).

That said, the chips I’m trying to clean are quite possibly the worst of the worst in the chip world. They’re 1975 vintage Fremont $5s and other denoms with gobs of gunk and deeply embedded dirt that’s had nearly 50 years to harden.

View attachment 1342975

The good thing about these difficult test subjects is that if/when I figure out a way to completely clean them without manual effort and without fading, the method will probably work for ANY other dirty chips, at least, the types that are safe to clean (i.e. NOT ASM/CPC, Ewing, and other chips that in my experience are soluble in just water and mild detergent).

I admit to being a bit disappointed after a weekend of trying without the level of success I wanted, but I have some more ideas to test out in the coming days. I’ll post another update with any news when I have it.

@ski_ex5 , sorry if I missed it but are you trying out a new type of cleaning detergent that avoids the fading or is it just the removal of hot/very warm water temperatures? I'm really interested and curious into what change you made that removes the fading of the chips. That was always a big problem with red chips for me and why I steered away from using the ultrasonic for cleaning chips. Thank you for doing all this work and research and sharing it with us!

 

[Saditsfact]

The sponge, but not the one in your link. Here’s a link to the poker chip sized applicator:

https://a.co/d/gPWdAJd

There’s an off-brand that boils down to half the price (4 applicators for about the same price). The off-brand has a softer sponge material that I like better, and it doesn’t wear as fast as the Kiwi brand, BUT… the glue that holds the sponge to the red plastic handle fails after a while. “A while” might be about half the life of the Kiwi brand, so it’s kind of a toss-up. I’m currently trying one of the off-brand applicators in which I’ve wrapped soft black electrical tape snugly around the perimeter of the sponge and red plastic edge in an effort to keep the sponge from separating. It’s working OK, but I’ve only used it to oil a rack of chips so far. We’ll see.

Anyway, here’s the link:

https://a.co/d/as1CZ6S

You might want to try both. I’m not sold on a favorite, yet.

Thanks Ski!

I haven’t yet landed on something I’m happy enough with.

Well, I spend nearly the entire weekend experimenting with different methods of using the cleaner in the ultrasonic. Cold. Mild heat. Different cleaning times. Pre-soaks in the cleaner. Lots of other details.

Bottom line, so far, is that the chips experience zero or near zero fading, BUT I’m not getting the extra filthy chips completely clean without manual effort (wiping, or toothbrush, dental pick, etc.).

That said, the chips I’m trying to clean are quite possibly the worst of the worst in the chip world. They’re 1975 vintage Fremont $5s and other denoms with gobs of gunk and deeply embedded dirt that’s had nearly 50 years to harden.

View attachment 1342975

The good thing about these difficult test subjects is that if/when I figure out a way to completely clean them without manual effort and without fading, the method will probably work for ANY other dirty chips, at least, the types that are safe to clean (i.e. NOT ASM/CPC, Ewing, and other chips that in my experience are soluble in just water and mild detergent).

I admit to being a bit disappointed after a weekend of trying without the level of success I wanted, but I have some more ideas to test out in the coming days. I’ll post another update with any news when I have it.

Also thank you for taking the time and effort to try new methods to help all of us!

 

[ski_ex5]

@ski_ex5 , sorry if I missed it but are you trying out a new type of cleaning detergent that avoids the fading or is it just the removal of hot/very warm water temperatures? I'm really interested and curious into what change you made that removes the fading of the chips. That was always a big problem with red chips for me and why I steered away from using the ultrasonic for cleaning chips. Thank you for doing all this work and research and sharing it with us!

In answer to your question, I’m using a different cleaning agent, and I’m *hoping* to use lower temperatures, but again, I haven’t yet hit on a non-manual method/procedure I’m happy with.

Scroll back up (I think to May 5th) to see photos of some Paulson “Cherry” chips with “Peach” and “Metallic Gold” spots to see results of cleaning by hand. After looking at that photo, I think you’ll understand why I’m trying hard to find a non-manual method to accomplish the same thing. Without checking my notes, the manual effort took over 3 hours/rack IIRC, and I DO mean over 3 hours HANDS-ON, i.e. that 3+ hours doesn’t include any soaking/waiting time or anything like that.

WRT your other comments…

• Not just red, but purple and green colors sometimes have fading issues, as well.
• AND SOMETIMES, it’s NOT fading, but wear/abrasion on the edges giving a white-ish appearance that only looks like fading. The faux-fading from wear/abrasion has to be addressed with physically polishing the edges.
• Don’t steer away from ultrasonic because of fading! Use of an ultrasonic cleaner does not cause fading. Using harsh/caustic cleaning agents and/or high temperatures that leach pigment out of the clay, especially for prolonged periods, is what causes fading. For any given cleaning agent and temperature, using an ultrasonic machine REDUCES FADING by cleaning the chips faster, so they’re not exposed to the cleaning agent and high temperatures for as long.

Hope that all makes sense the way I worded it!

Also… you’re very welcome. I really hope I can hit on something great that I can share with you soon. In the meantime, here are some “AFTER” photos. The results aren’t terrible, but if you zoom in and look carefully, you’ll see the results aren’t quite yet where I want them to be. That said, the colors “pop” - they’re super saturated. These photos are NOT enhanced in any way to make the colors appear more saturated.

 

[paulkersey]

• Don’t steer away from ultrasonic because of fading! Use of an ultrasonic cleaner does not cause fading. Using harsh/caustic cleaning agents and/or high temperatures that leach pigment out of the clay, especially for prolonged periods, is what causes fading. For any given cleaning agent and temperature, using an ultrasonic machine REDUCES FADING by cleaning the chips faster, so they’re not exposed to the cleaning agent and high temperatures for as long.

Appreciate everything you're doing to nail down a new method - thank you!

With regards to the ultrasonic, do you find time to be much of a factor? I followed the OP instructions, but I ended up keeping them in a full 60 seconds (minimum cycle time), and then it probably took me another minute to gently fish out some of the chips that fell out of the salad spinner. Some of my reds and greens were noticeably "faded", thankfully I only experimented with Tachi haha.

I'm thinking of trying it again, securing the basket better (any ideas? I'm thinking of zip tying each load), and then pulling it out mid cycle after about 30 seconds.

 

[toothpic]

In answer to your question, I’m using a different cleaning agent, and I’m *hoping* to use lower temperatures, but again, I haven’t yet hit on a non-manual method/procedure I’m happy with.

Scroll back up (I think to May 5th) to see photos of some Paulson “Cherry” chips with “Peach” and “Metallic Gold” spots to see results of cleaning by hand. After looking at that photo, I think you’ll understand why I’m trying hard to find a non-manual method to accomplish the same thing. Without checking my notes, the manual effort took over 3 hours/rack IIRC, and I DO mean over 3 hours HANDS-ON, i.e. that 3+ hours doesn’t include any soaking/waiting time or anything like that.

WRT your other comments…

• Not just red, but purple and green colors sometimes have fading issues, as well.
• AND SOMETIMES, it’s NOT fading, but wear/abrasion on the edges giving a white-ish appearance that only looks like fading. The faux-fading from wear/abrasion has to be addressed with physically polishing the edges.
• Don’t steer away from ultrasonic because of fading! Use of an ultrasonic cleaner does not cause fading. Using harsh/caustic cleaning agents and/or high temperatures that leach pigment out of the clay, especially for prolonged periods, is what causes fading. For any given cleaning agent and temperature, using an ultrasonic machine REDUCES FADING by cleaning the chips faster, so they’re not exposed to the cleaning agent and high temperatures for as long.

Hope that all makes sense the way I worded it!

Also… you’re very welcome. I really hope I can hit on something great that I can share with you soon. In the meantime, here are some “AFTER” photos. The results aren’t terrible, but if you zoom in and look carefully, you’ll see the results aren’t quite yet where I want them to be. That said, the colors “pop” - they’re super saturated. These photos are NOT enhanced in any way to make the colors appear more saturated.

View attachment 1343032

View attachment 1343033


View attachment 1343034

I hear you loud and clear. The ultrasonic is great for really dirty chips that would be a tremendous pain to clean by hand. It was always the fading that was the biggest negative to me. I was concerned that not warm enough a temperature would inhibit the ability to clean the gunk of the chips. I recent got some hot stamps that I want to try and clean in the US but will wait for your updated results and testing before I attempt it. Some pictures below of chips I've cleaned which you can see how dry they looked after a cleaning.

 

[paulkersey]

I hear you loud and clear. The ultrasonic is great for really dirty chips that would be a tremendous pain to clean by hand. It was always the fading that was the biggest negative to me. I was concerned that not warm enough a temperature would inhibit the ability to clean the gunk of the chips. I recent got some hot stamps that I want to try and clean in the US but will wait for your updated results and testing before I attempt it. Some pictures below of chips I've cleaned which you can see how dry they looked after a cleaning.

I was getting very similar results with the Lundmark tsp non tsp. I think you're right, ultrasonic is great for super gunky chips like Tachi Palace ones, but an alternative hand method will probably be best. I would also be very cautious about hot stamps - I've read elsewhere that magic erasers, dawn, the pink stuff, and sterling magic with a toothbrush (for non hot stamp) might be better options. But what do I know, I've yet to experiment with those

 

[allforcharity]

I have had zero, repeat, zero issues with hot stamped chips in the ultrasonic cleaner with metasilicate detergent (Lundmark/Red Devil).

I accidentally left a hot stamp chip in the detergent bath for over 10 cleaning cycles (20-30 minutes total, plus more submerged time when "off"). No damage to the hot stamp foil at all.

 

[ski_ex5]

With regards to the ultrasonic, do you find time to be much of a factor?

If you’re asking if “more time in the Lundmark TSP” = “more fading”, then the answer is yes.

 

[ski_ex5]

Some pictures below of chips I've cleaned which you can see how dry they looked after a cleaning.

In addition to mistaking white-ish scuffed/worn edges for fading, I think some people sometimes mistake DRY for FADED.

You can easily address DRY chips - a good J&J gel treatment does wonders. Doing something about chips that are actually FADED is a lot more work.

 

[ski_ex5]

I think you're right, ultrasonic is great for super gunky chips like Tachi Palace ones, but an alternative hand method will probably be best.

An “alternative hand method” that uses the same cleaning agent and temperature is worse.

I would also be very cautious about hot stamps - I've read elsewhere that magic erasers, dawn, the pink stuff, and sterling magic with a toothbrush (for non hot stamp) might be better options.

Wow… do NOT use a Magic Eraser on hot stamps unless you want to dull their finish, or even remove them entirely.

If you’re going to use a toothbrush on hot stamps, make sure it’s extra soft (I use children’s toothbrushes), make sure the cleaning agent you use contains ZERO abrasives, and scrub GENTLY.

 

[ski_ex5]

I forgot to mention, WRT to your chips in the photo above… These chips *may* have some fading, but I’m quite sure that most of the lighter (white-ish?) color you see on the edges is due to wear/abrasion on the edge, not fading. That can be eliminated by physically polishing the edges. That’s a fair amount of work, though, and whole ‘nuther conversation!

 

[ski_ex5]

On the other hand, THESE chips don’t have worn edges like the others, and hence don’t have “faux fading”, and in fact are not noticeably faded, and look AWESOME after cleaning and oiling. Nice job!

 

[ski_ex5]

Not relevant to the ultrasonic method, but remember the photo from my May 5th post of those Paulson “Cherry” chips with “Peach” and “Metallic Gold” spots after they’d been cleaned by hand (over 2 hours of manual effort per rack) with an alternate cleaning agent?

Well, here are the two racks after a J&J gel treatment. I’m pretty happy with the results. The photo looks like it has been edited to jack up the saturation, but I assure you it has not. I actually *reduced* the saturation in the photo by 3% to make it look a bit more believable!

 

[ski_ex5]

Some positive news on using the ultrasonic machine with the alternate cleaning agent:

A few nights ago, I manually applied some of the cleaner to 40 dirty chips to pre-soak them for a couple of days before throwing them into the ultrasonic. It wasn’t a huge amount of work, but still, each chip had to be handled individually, so… not optimal from a manual effort standpoint.

That said, last night, I ran them through the ultrasonic for 3 minutes, and the results were very encouraging. Out of the 40 chips, I found only two canes that still contained black gunk. See the photos below:

AMBIENT LIGHT:

FLASH:

CLOSEUP IN AMBIENT LIGHT:

In the photo above:

1. Just a piece of fuzz I failed to brush off the chip before the photo.
2. Some sticky gunk I later carefully cleaned off the chip using acetone and a Q-tip.
3. Gunk in a cane that the presoak + ultrasonic failed to clean.
4. Chip inspection marked “complete” by chip cleaning assistant and chief inspector Gracie the cat (photo below).

Anyway, I’m VERY encouraged by the results.

Right now, I have a couple of different pre-soaks in progress that did NOT take any manual effort in the form of handling individual chips.

Hopefully, one or both of those little experiments will be successful, and I can proceed to a bigger cleaning test of several racks of chips.

 

[Mushmanchuman]

holy jeeez I’m stoked for the peroxide suggestion from The Don, @Josh Kifer.

The bubbly drink pulled almost all the stains outta my whites and from what I can tell 100% of the greens.

Thanks for the sharing of knowledge on this thread @everyone!

 

[Josh Kifer]

holy jeeez I’m stoked for the peroxide suggestion from The Don, @Josh Kifer.

The bubbly drink pulled almost all the stains outta my whites and from what I can tell 100% of the greens.

Thanks for the sharing of knowledge on this thread @everyone!View attachment 1345225View attachment 1345226View attachment 1345228

Love it. Glad I could help.

 

[ski_ex5]

@Josh Kifer and @Mushmanchuman -

I’m quite interested in your use of peroxide, and have a few questions:

1. Are you using peroxide in a static bath, or in the ultrasonic?
2. Are you using it undiluted?
3. Are you adding any other detergent/cleaner to the peroxide?
4. How much time are you leaving the chips in the peroxide?
5. What temperature are you using?
6. Do you know what caused the “stains” on your chips?
7. Do you have any “before” photos?
8. In addition to the “stains” you mentioned, is the peroxide useful in removing black dirt and/or black gunk deposits?

I did find Josh’s post in the “Headed back to North Carolina” thread recommending a 12 hour soak, but if by chance the questions are answered in another earlier post, my apologies! Just let me know, and I’ll search again.


Thanks!

 

[Josh Kifer]

@Josh Kifer and @Mushmanchuman -

I’m quite interested in your use of peroxide, and have a few questions:

1. Are you using peroxide in a static bath, or in the ultrasonic?
2. Are you using it undiluted?
3. Are you adding any other detergent/cleaner to the peroxide?
4. How much time are you leaving the chips in the peroxide?
5. What temperature are you using?
6. Do you know what caused the “stains” on your chips?
7. Do you have any “before” photos?
8. In addition to the “stains” you mentioned, is the peroxide useful in removing black dirt and/or black gunk deposits?

I did find Josh’s post in the “Headed back to North Carolina” thread recommending a 12 hour soak, but if by chance the questions are answered in another earlier post, my apologies! Just let me know, and I’ll search again.


Thanks!

Static bath

Yes - just pour the bottle in.

No

I've done for it in 24hr baths up to 7 days in a row.

Whatever the temp the bottle is and room is.

I dunno what stains did his chips, but it's good at removing stains from clay.

It doesn't remove dirt, just stains. But if you clean them then soak them, it can pull alot of crap out of the clay.

 

[paulkersey]

Some positive news on using the ultrasonic machine with the alternate cleaning agent:

Thank you for clearing up my previous post. I know you're still working out the kinks, but just curious, what alternate cleaning agent are your experimenting with?

 

[ski_ex5]

Right now, I have a couple of different pre-soaks in progress that did NOT take any manual effort in the form of handling individual chips.

Hopefully, one or both of those little experiments will be successful, and I can proceed to a bigger cleaning test of several racks of chips.

Another update:

One of the pre-soaks I mentioned simply used the same diluted cleaning solution that I’m using in the ultrasonic. Frankly, it didn’t fare too well. Black gunk was left behind in a much higher percentage of the chips, relative to the earlier test in which I manually applied the undiluted cleaning agent to each individual chip. I was really disappointed.

The other pre-soak I used was simply blue Dawn dishwashing detergent - 1 tablespoon in 1 cup of distilled water. This did an amazing job; I was quite surprised at how the Dawn dissolved nearly all the black gunk after 12 hours, with the chips being turned several times during the soak. HOWEVER (dammit), the Dawn solution worked its way under the inlays of some of the chips.

In the photo below, you can see this in the two O’Shea’s chips and the three Fremont $1s. BTW, this photo was taken BEFORE the chips were cleaned in the ultrasonic bath; the Dawn solution got them THAT clean all on its own.

On the positive side, after just a few days, I can already notice the water drying out from under the inlays. However, I have a couple of ideas to try that will hopefully avoid this from happening in the first place.

I’ll update you later when I have news.

 

[ski_ex5]

It just occurred to me… The irony of this whole thing for me is that, by the time I finally get the process and procedure optimized for awesomeness, I won’t have any more dirty chips to clean!