How would you restore these ceramics? (1 Viewer)

[Bayern]

I'm mostly interested in Jetons, but since I already own a spectacular Casino de Cassis Jeton/Plaque case by Hector Saxe (previously listed here: https://www.pokerchipforum.com/thre...laques-spécial-leather-case-ultra-rare.86097/), I couldn't say no when I saw its Chipco (I assume) cousin pop up a few weeks ago:

It's sadly in far worse condition than its bigger brother, but I assume also Hector Saxe.

I can't quite make sense of the chips inside. The 5 and 2500 francs chips look like they saw modest fair casino use, while the 100s are heavily used. The 25s and 500s look pristine (maybe some light use in private games in the past 25 years; who knows how this case spent that time). 2.5s and 500s have heavy bleed damage. 25s not having been used makes sense, seeing that it used to be (and still is) an uncommon denomination in European casinos. Why the 500s are near pristine I can't say. (In the late 1990s, 100 francs were worth about $15).

(Best chip of the respective denomination on top row, worst at bottom)

I did a fair bit of reading about rehabbing Chipcos (which I assume these are, even though I don't see the CI marking). I'm based in Europe, so can't get my hands on Amish Wood cleaner. Went to a specialty store and asked for ceramics cleaner. There was no lasting improvement on the 100s. But tbh, even though the 100s are the least appealing visually, they handle best in play. The 25s and 500s (though visually pleasant) aren't broken in at all, and a bit of a pain to handle. Any experts on ceramics have advice on how to break these in, or in general, how would you proceed with this set? Thanks!

 

[Ahven]

Those are for sure Chipco's!

Ceramics I haven't tried cleaning, but one thing you could try is to lightly coat them with mineral oil, then wipe it off completely. If you're lucky you could at least make the colours look a bit better.

I've cleaned off my B&G's and lightly oiled them once, and it did wonders to them. Unsure if you'll see the same results with Chipco's, but could be worth a shot!

https://www.pokerchipforum.com/threads/cleaning-b-g-chips-a-beginners-story.132958/

 

[Thomacetti]

Not much more you can do besides cleaning them really well.
The white ring syndrome can't be avoided with ceramics but keeping them clean helps a lot.

You could reprint new chips (not sure if there are still OEM chipco blanks available) to match the mint chips.
But I would use as is...best ceramic blank out there imho.

 

[Colquhoun]

Those are for sure Chipco's!

Ceramics I haven't tried cleaning, but one thing you could try is to lightly coat them with mineral oil, then wipe it off completely. If you're lucky you could at least make the colours look a bit better.

I've cleaned off my B&G's and lightly oiled them once, and it did wonders to them. Unsure if you'll see the same results with Chipco's, but could be worth a shot!

https://www.pokerchipforum.com/threads/cleaning-b-g-chips-a-beginners-story.132958/

I don't recommend any oil on a ceramic. It will never penetrate, and the color hasn't faded...it has worn off.
Ceramics are produced by printing the image in reverse onto paper, and by using heat and pressure, the ink jumps from the paper to the plastic ceramic blank. That ink has stained the very outer surface of the blank, making a durable color surface...but can be worn off through use. Once the color begins to wear off, the underlying base starts to show through, and no amount of oil, cleaning, etc. will bring back the eroded ink.

 

[Bayern]

Thanks for the input! This is my first set of ceramics, so still learning about them.

I took this set to a friend's house for a poker game on Christmas Day. The denominations are awkward for poker (40 each of 2.5, 5, and 2500, 80 each of 25, 100 and 500), but they turned out great for Blackjack. Europeans aren't very used to quarters, and indeed I don't think I've ever seen a 2500 chip in casino play before.

The 100s handle beautifully, although it's quite interesting how much they've been ground down. A barrel of 100s is about 3mm shorter than a barrel of (mint-ish) 500s. The 25s and 500s play very awkwardly, so while I don't want to damage them, I need to find a way to break them in more.

I found a vendor who has a handful of 100s on hand. This makes me more willing to experiment with cleaning. Would have hated to ruin some of the chips and destroy the set. Now that I can get backups, I'll start de-griming the 100s.

 

[Thomacetti]

I found a vendor who has a handful of 100s on hand. This makes me more willing to experiment with cleaning. Would have hated to ruin some of the chips and destroy the set. Now that I can get backups, I'll start de-griming the 100s.

Less is more here...just lukewarm soapy water and rinse them in clean water.
Dry them with clean kitchen towels.

 

[Bayern]

Less is more here...just lukewarm soapy water and rinse them in clean water.
Dry them with clean kitchen towels.

Thank you for the advice! So you wouldn't try Amish wood cleaner (or whatever ceramics cleaner alternatives we have in Europe) at all? Just remove the casino grime and be happy?

What would you do to break in the mint-ish (and awkward to play) 25s and 500s?

 

[Thomacetti]

Thank you for the advice! So you wouldn't try Amish wood cleaner (or whatever ceramics cleaner alternatives we have in Europe) at all? Just remove the casino grime and be happy?

What would you do to break in the mint-ish (and awkward to play) 25s and 500s?

Yes

Shuffle them...only way

 

[Dr_Dan11]

So I read somewhere that when Chipco entered the market in the early 90's, it was a hit, specially with Colorado's casinos. They offered the possibility to print big beautiful designs, and they could print it on the entirety of the surface of the chip. However, over time, casinos started to realize that the images would fade away with heavy use, such as this case. I wonder if the technology has improved now where this does not happen in the newer ceramic chips.

 

[sleepypiggly]

I wonder if the technology has improved now where this does not happen in the newer ceramic chips.

Narrator: "It has not."

...which is great for predicable reorders from the manufacturer's perspective.

 

[Bayern]

Narrator: "It has not."

...which is great for predicable reorders from the manufacturer's perspective.

How would you estimate the percentage of Ceramics on casino floors these days? Feels to me as though they peaked around 2005, but TBF I left the US a decade ago and maybe they're just not as common in Europe and Asia.

 

[Colquhoun]

How would you estimate the percentage of Ceramics on casino floors these days? Feels to me as though they peaked around 2005, but TBF I left the US a decade ago and maybe they're just not as common in Europe and Asia.

I think the ceramic casino chip is making a bit of a comeback recently. Not for short-run promotional chips as much as casinos wanting to cut corners with a less expensive alternative. The Icon brand has emerged as a manufacturer of a bunch of casino chips recently, even mimicking the edgespots and mold of the clay chips they are replacing.
The Golden Nugget and Four Queens are relatively recent examples:

The trend to move to ceramic from clay, and to hotstamp from inlaid clay is definitely growing.

 

[Bayern]

I think the ceramic casino chip is making a bit of a comeback recently. Not for short-run promotional chips as much as casinos wanting to cut corners with a less expensive alternative.

Thanks for the info! I'm sure there are people much smarter than I am, with access to much better data, but folks keeping promotional ceramics as souvenirs must have been pretty lucrative for casinos. If only I had a dollar for every $5 chip I took home over the years. But I guess the extra cost of replacing these chips early due to excessive wear might not be offset by the large scale disappearance of $5s (that cost what, 50-80 cents? to make).

Might be too early to tell, but this set is really growing on me. The broken in chips handle really well, and I prefer the sound to clay. The missus recently uttered something like "there sure are a lot of chips around the house" and if it comes down to a Marie Kondo moment, I'm gonna keep these over my CdM set.