Binion's Horseshoe mold chips and cleaning (1 Viewer)

[Shaggy]

I just acquired a mixed batch of casino grimey Binion's Horeshoe chips. Some on the hat and cane mold, some on the horseshoe (horseshu) mold. In the past I have used oxy-clean and it is great. I was a little concerned on the horseshoe mold chips because I recall oxy-clean will eat an ASM chip... I'm not sure who the manufacturer was for the horseshoe mold chips.

Well, I jumped in head first. I cleaned ten of the $1 (beige) horseshoe mold chips with oxy-clean. I wouldn't exactly say it ate the chips, but there was more beige in the water than when I washed the hat and cane chips. There really isn't any noticeable damage. I didn't let them soak very long. My suspicion is the horseshoe mold chips were made by ASM. Can anyone confirm this?

Looks like I will do the next batch of horseshoe mold chips with Dawn and a Magic Eraser.

 

[ski_ex5]

I have a few of the Horseshoe Molds, and I'm fairly certain they are ASM. FWIW, I've cleaned over 20k chips. The earliest were done by hand with Oxi - which was way too much work for dodgey results, so I didn't do that for very long. I got an ultrasonic unit, and went though a lot of combinations of cleaners, temperatures, and processes, but evolved pretty quickly to use an ultrasonic bath of sodium metasilicate (a TSP substitute), in which the chips are rotated in a plastic cage.

ALL my experiences with ASM lead me to strongly recommend that you use nothing stronger than Dawn in lukewarm water (I wouldn't go over about 110°F), whether you clean by hand or with an ultrasonic cleaner.

Oxi, TSP, sodium metasilicate, and other TSP substitutes I've tried all soften and dissolve away the clay of ASM chips. The stronger the solution, and the warmer the water, the faster it happens. Try it yourself on an old ASM, then wipe the chip on an old clean white towel, and you'll see a very significant amount of the color of the chip come off on the towel, and the surface of the chip will feel soft.

Even with just Dawn and warm water, be very careful and watch the chips closely as you go, giving them the clean towel test at frequent intervals.

I like ASM chips, but frankly, they're kind of water soluble. You also don't want to heat them in an oven to fix warped chips... They're like Play-Doh compared to Paulsons.