Cleaning hot stamp chips (1 Viewer)
- Thread starter Goldfish
- Start date
Good question. I’m about to get an ultrasonic for my hotstamp set. Will the TSP damage the stamps?
Definitely not recommended, it will erase the foil if you scrub it enough. But with that said, I do use a magic eraser over hot stamps - very gently though, to clean the center of the chip. i'll also try to avoid the foil as much as possible when doing so.
I've used an u/s cleaner and TSP on a bunch of hot stamps - there's a chance it'll degrade some of the more worn hot stamps, but i found that it's fine for short baths and better if the hot stamp is strong. I also only use the phosphate free red devil brand. Be careful directly after taking the chips out of the cleaner when you handle them - i've found that the stamp is vulnerable at this point and there's a better chance of rubbing the foil off. I usually have a clean water tub waiting to dump the cleaned chips into to wash the remaining tsp off.
Edit: Also be mindful of the amount of time you have the chips in the u/s bath. The longer the bath, the higher the chance of degrading the hot stamp foil.
We don't generally use TSP or the ultrasonic at all due to the erosion of the hot stamp.
You can wash the faces gently with a magic eraser, but very gently. TSP or its sister alternative is ok in a light amount and very very short time. We tend to wash the rolling edges and area outside of the recess like normal, while keeping your thumb over the hot stamp
You can wash the faces gently with a magic eraser, but very gently. TSP or its sister alternative is ok in a light amount and very very short time. We tend to wash the rolling edges and area outside of the recess like normal, while keeping your thumb over the hot stamp
That set is brand new though, no? lol Probably wouldn't need to clean those if they are
I have bathed hot stamps in metasilicates for long periods of time without damage to the foil. Magic eraser should work if the hot stamps are deep and well preserved.
I tested one HS for 30s in the US... It came out great, so I did the rest.
I have an ultrasound, but I don’t use it because a two-minute warm bath in a 9:1 water/Lundmark mix, lightly agitated, always does the trick.
Less than 1% of chips require a touchup after, which I do with toothpaste and a toothbrush.
For agitating, I use a salad spinner (unmodified). The lift-out basket makes rinsing easy.
But you could probably just fill a small sink and mix with a wood serving spoon or the like. Main thing is to make sure chips don’t stick together.
After, I find a light oiling restores any dulled color. But there normally isn’t much if any, unless the mix is too strong.
I’ve probably cleaned about 5,000 Starbursts this way with very good results.
One caveat: Intact hotstamps do well with TSP. Degraded ones which have already started chipping or fading sometimes will fade, usually toward more of a silver color. I think the reason is that intact foil protects the stamp, but once it is penetrable the TSP can interact with it more.
Lundmark in an Ultrasonic cleaner is the way to go. I have cleaned thousands of chips. Just make sure you do not use the real TSP or anything other than Lundmark. Most of what you see in my gallery were cleaned in my ultrasonic!
OP
OP
They are new Now, but as I use them they will get dirty. I have found that Paulson get dirty quickly. So I was just worried that I wouldn’t be able to clean them up Like my other chips.
Red Devil is fine as well, right? For those of us that depend on Amazon.
I’ve never used that one so test it first.
That's the only one i've used and it works well from my experience.
Same here. I've used it on HS, RHC, and THC. Just hoping I wasn't giving bad advice. I wonder how the Lundmark compares to RD.
Yes, Red Devil is fine. I've used it for more than 20,000 chips, easy.
MrCatPants
Full House
I've worn off a couple of worn hotstamps using an ultrasonic with TSP. Be careful.
AWenger
Full House
Depending on the particuar chip and hotstamp, your mileage may vary -- from no damage to the hotstamp foil to severe damage. Test with a minimum amount of TSP and short cleaning time to test a chip, and go up from there.
I have cleaned some hotstamps with the ultrasonic that have had little damage, and sometimes there was complete removal of the hotstamp (which was ok with me for the used chips I planned to mill/relabel anyway).
Ultrasonic machines themselves will destroy aluminum foil -- it's even a way to test the ultrasonic machine.
I have cleaned some hotstamps with the ultrasonic that have had little damage, and sometimes there was complete removal of the hotstamp (which was ok with me for the used chips I planned to mill/relabel anyway).
Ultrasonic machines themselves will destroy aluminum foil -- it's even a way to test the ultrasonic machine.
Testing the performance and quality of your ultrasonic cleaner - foil test
GenghisKhan
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Don't use the blue carton TSP.
I tested this TSP on a few hotstamps and it worked fine. So then I cleaned the entire batch, and a large amount of stamps were damaged.
I have not used the ultrasonic to clean hotstamps since. I think there are no guarantees either way, but Lundmark non tsp seems to be the consensus more and more.
Is this the Lundmark you all use?
I see PCF is still influencing Amazon's suggestions....
I tested this TSP on a few hotstamps and it worked fine. So then I cleaned the entire batch, and a large amount of stamps were damaged.
I have not used the ultrasonic to clean hotstamps since. I think there are no guarantees either way, but Lundmark non tsp seems to be the consensus more and more.
Is this the Lundmark you all use?
I see PCF is still influencing Amazon's suggestions....
@JeepologyOffroad can weigh in here.
This is what I have used on all my chips (except ASM/CPC):
I got swiftly told otherwise last time I warned against TSP on HS chips. I always believed so, but there must be some people who believe otherwise. Was thinking of doing some cleaning soon and might test a couple...
Yes, that’s the one. If you have any ACE Hardware locations near you, I have found it on the shelves at mine.
https://www.acehardware.com/departm...ing-and-disinfectants/scouring-cleaners/12590
Same as most of the others - theres a good chance any hotstamp will be further degraded if left in an ultrasonic too long (2-3+ minutes) but if the hotstamp shows no sign of wear/fading a normal cleaning will likely be ok in an ultra w/ lundmark. If the hotstamp already has wear/is fading already, avoid the ultrasonic altogether as even a quick ultra cleaning can significantly wear down the rest of the hotstamp so do it by hand gently as described above.
oh yeah, the one I have my eye on
ADS Aviator
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I prefer Red Devil TSP for Paulson Inlay chips. However...
For Hot Stamps, I will only use Lundmark. I've ruined the foil using Red Devil TSP. Always test out on 1 or 2 chips first. YMMV.
Ace Hardware is a good place to purchase Lundmark.
For Hot Stamps, I will only use Lundmark. I've ruined the foil using Red Devil TSP. Always test out on 1 or 2 chips first. YMMV.
Ace Hardware is a good place to purchase Lundmark.
Very interesting! Yes, I always use Red Devil as well b/c it works wonders on my THC/RHC chips. Also, because I don't need to leave my house to get it. I did test my "worst" HS Joker Wild with Red Devil and it came out fine, so I did the batch. I only did them for about 30s though, but there were no problems.
Anyone had any experience cleaning up those Tropicana 3rd edition chips?
The chips seem to be mint for the most part. However, because of the way they were stored or because of the fact they are oooold, some of them have a little bit of a weird gunk on them, not the typical HJ from use. It might even be some sort of glue, idk. It would be awesome if the UC could get rid of that stuff and at the same time, kipping the stamping intact.
The chips seem to be mint for the most part. However, because of the way they were stored or because of the fact they are oooold, some of them have a little bit of a weird gunk on them, not the typical HJ from use. It might even be some sort of glue, idk. It would be awesome if the UC could get rid of that stuff and at the same time, kipping the stamping intact.
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