Oiling Chips Done Right (10 Viewers)

[BGinGA]

I've read many threads in multiple forums, and videos, where people called the sticker's placement an inlay.

And they were all wrong, too.

An adhesive label (often laminated) is just that -- a base material (paper or vinyl), sometimes covered with a protective plastic laminate, with an adhesive glue on the back, which adheres it to the chip surface (usually in a recessed area) when it is applied to the surface of the otherwise finished chip. It is essentially a sticker, and unless using a UV-cured adhesive, relatively easy to remove afterwards.

An inlay is different, in terms of how it is affixed to the chip. The base material (paper, linen, or vinyl) is also usually covered with a protective laminate, but the inlay itself is actually pressed into the chip during the compression manufacturing step, using extremely high pressure and heat. Depending on the specific compression mold being used, the finished inlay may be recessed, or it may be flush with the rest of the chip surface area. It also takes on the surface characteristics of the specific mold, meaning that it may end up with a linen or crosshatched surface finish, or it may end up with a smooth finish -- all dependent upon the mold, not the inlay itself (although matte finish vs glossy is usually a function of the protective laminate material). Because it is actually inlaid into the base chip material (hence the name), removing an inlay is usually extremely difficult, and will often end up destroying the base chip in the process unless done with extreme care.

To summarize:

All plastic chips (including china clays) with artwork have adhesive labels which are applied after the chip manufacturing process is completed (usually injection-molded).

All high-end compression molded chips have inlays which are pressed into the chip during the manufacturing process -- unless the chips are produced as blanks (which have no inlay, but can be later hot-stamped). Some blank high-end chips have a deep enough recess to take a thin label, but others do not -- it is all dependent on the mold characteristics.

And for reference, ceramic chips use a dye-sublimation method to apply ink directly onto/into the surface and rolling edge of a blank chip.

edit: typo

 

[Stibnite]

@BGinGA

Beautiful explanation!

Thank you very much for taking the time to emphasize on and clarify the difference.

I will correct the verbiage accordingly.

 

[Stibnite]

@SemiNumerical

The original post has the updated photos at the bottom per your request.

@BGinGA

Also, the inlay/sticker corrections were applied.

 

[mummel]

Updated pics are great!

 

[SemiNumerical]

Thanks for the update mate!

They look pretty nice even after a few weeks!

 

[Max D]

great threads. I have gone through similar process, lot's of work... finger cramps, but it works.

 

[mrr]

First off--awesome write up.

Second: 200 chips done in one hour. No hand cramping as mentioned by another person, but damn do I have some blisters.

Thanks for the instruction!

 

[Stibnite]

As of today, the ones I oiled at the start of this thread still look great.

 

[FCCDAD]

Bought 300 of these for a friend. Preparing them with your method. Looking good.

 

[Stibnite]

Cant recall if I mentioned it or not in my original thread, but make sure to oil both sides of the plastic rack holders.

The plastic on the bottom will suck oil out of the chips it sits on as well. I tested that theory also, and figured I'd give it honorable mention since someone asked me.

 

[Jagamov]

Just saw this post. Great info and great write up. Thanks!! Will try this method tomorrow on my new chips.

 

[mrr]

Chips came out looking and feeling great. Little bit of residual oil in the face of each chip makes them a bit sticky to start. Some completely stuck together and others just a bit too sticky for shuffling, but after playing with the chips and that oil on he inlay being wiped away, the chips don't stick together, they shuffle well and they look very rich in color. Thanks again for the awesome post.

 

[dennis63]

Very detailed write-up. You've clearly done your research on this and a great deal of careful work.

As a vendor of clay chips, my biggest concern with cleaning and oiling is that a customer not use too much water, too much soap, too much oil, and end up damaging the chip or the inlay.

 

[mummel]

Milano PrOn FTW

 

[BTSyndrome]

You convinced me to give it a go...
The chips on the left have sat for over five yrs after only being used one time.

Next is to use them again in the next 5 years. haha

 

[FCCDAD]

You convinced me to give it a go...
The chips on the left have sat for over five yrs after only being used one time.

Next is to use them again in the next 5 years. haha

I must say, I love the Pharaoh's custom mold and their colors and progressive spot patterns.
What I do not love about them is the size of the sticker. The Milanos simply show more clay on the face. For me, that would be dispositive.
Let us know whether the Pharaoh's also hold their shine once oiled.

 

[mummel]

Everyone says the same thing. The labels are too big on the pharaohs. If that ever gets changed I would be in for a set. I really like them.

 

[FCCDAD]

Everyone says the same thing. The labels are too big on the pharaohs. If that ever gets changed I would be in for a set. I really like them.

I doubt it would ever change. First, that would require an entirely new mold to be created. Second, there is very likely a licensing requirement that they be different (size, color, whatever) from the inlays on the original Paulson chips, to make the originals easy to distinguish/harder to counterfeit.

 

[Stibnite]

Chips came out looking and feeling great. Little bit of residual oil in the face of each chip makes them a bit sticky to start. Some completely stuck together and others just a bit too sticky for shuffling, but after playing with the chips and that oil on he inlay being wiped away, the chips don't stick together, they shuffle well and they look very rich in color. Thanks again for the awesome post.

There is a step in there mentioned where you simply wipe the oil off the sticker. Although, once used, your fingers will achieve the same purpose.

Very glad you got the same richly colored results.

 

[Stibnite]

Very detailed write-up. You've clearly done your research on this and a great deal of careful work.

As a vendor of clay chips, my biggest concern with cleaning and oiling is that a customer not use too much water, too much soap, too much oil, and end up damaging the chip or the inlay.

That was my original concern as well after reading other write-ups. Although, I submerged a Milano chip in oil for a long time, and the sticker didnt get damaged. Milano stickers are plastic, so my thinking is if a sticker is made up of some kind of paper product on certain chip brands, it could end up staining them if left for long periods of time--but I haven't tested this on a paper-like sticker in order to comment.

Using this process, however, if followed to the letter, the oil shouldn't be enough or on the sticker long enough to cause damage of any kind. Regardless, I suggest everyone do a small test run in some samples before committing their entire valuable collection to the process with brands I haven't tested.

 

[mummel]

I used a lot less oil and still got the same results. But one thing is for sure, oiling is the way to go. They chips look great.

 

[mrr]

There is a step in there mentioned where you simply wipe the oil off the sticker. Although, once used, your fingers will achieve the same purpose.

Very glad you got the same richly colored results.

I did the wipe. There was just a bit of oil remaining that kept them stuck a bit. But like I said all good after use!

 

[Stibnite]

I did the wipe. There was just a bit of oil remaining that kept them stuck a bit. But like I said all good after use!

Ah, gotcha.

 

[mrr]

Ah, gotcha.

Regardless, very happy with the results. I appreciate your effort and research (chemist here--gotta research to live!)

 

[SixSpeedFury]

@Stibnite, how do they look now after a 4 month period?

 

[Stibnite]

Still look good even now. Just had them out the other day. The method really sticks. Glad I took the time to oil them.

 

[Chip Hunter]

Very useful, thanks.

 

[Steverino]

i used pretty much the same process on my Pharoahs I bought for my son's stag poker tourney and that was five years ago and they still look good even though they haven't been used much since then. I don't remember exactly, but I think I did 1000 chips over the course of two or three nights. I wasn't sure about the oiling making much difference on the china clays as there was a definite difference of opinion from what I read back then, but it was worth it when I saw the results.

 

[Skitzo6_6_6]

Very detailed. Thank you!

 

[SixSpeedFury]

Has anyone tried this method with CPC, BCC or Paulson chips?