Milano Chips: Review and Cleaning & Oiling Process (1 Viewer)

YhYh02

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Hello, New to the forum here. I just bought about 450 milano chips for a pretty good price (USD$7.30 or SGD$10). So I’ll like to document my journey of cleaning and oiling them using tips i’ve learnt in various threads.

First of, here are the chips i bought uncleaned and unoiled with the factory dust still on them.

First Impressions: honestly, I was not that impressed with them. I’ve been playing poker for awhile using dice chips and metal slugged ABS chips like the monte carlo.

The milanos are supposed to be an upgrade, but they looked very very dusty, and they smelled absolutely rancid, like burnt rubber. I am hoping that after some cleaning and oiling, the smell won’t be anywhere near as strong and the colours will pop more.

More to come.
 

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Update 1: I have cleaned about 100 of the red chips, and they do look a little nicer. (See pics for the before and after of some cleaned chips)

However, I have some questions before i continue tomorrow. Dawn soap isn’t available, so i used mama lemons dishwashing soap.

I dip about 10-20 chips each time for a few minutes into the water before wiping them with microfiber cloth to get rid of the factory dust.

The water has gotten a little dirty with a very very slight tinge of pink (not really visible in the pic)

Questions: Is it OK to use mama lemons dishwashing soap? I am a little concerned that it’s making the colours come off. Dawns isn’t available here.

Secondly, even after cleaning, there is still some chalky dust that stays on the chips and in the grooves. how do i get rid of them? do i need to use a toothbrush or something?

Thank you all for reading and answering my noob questions and I hope to provide more updates as I continue the process.
 

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Update 2:

I have been informed that my milanos are very likely to be fake. However, I’ll still continue with the process, and post my findings here since mineral oil and soap and water doesn’t cost a lot.

I can also use these chips as a placeholder, until I get better ones.
 
Update 3: I’ve cleaned the factory dust off most of the chips. Made a huge difference. I’ve put the cleaned and uncleaned once side-by-side to illustrate the difference. Hope to finish the cleaning process by tonight or by tomorrow.
 

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I have been informed that my milanos are very likely to be fake.
Fake Milanos? I’m curious. Why does somebody think they’re fake?

FWIW, Milanos (and China clays generally) are know for poor quality control, in terms of color consistency, label differences, roundness, etc. Whether that means actual quality control issues or that there are different manufacturers, I don’t know.
 
I played with Milanos the other night and thought they were the best CC chips I've handled and played with. Of course, as others have mentioned, QC will vary wildly among CCs so one person's experience with them may not be the same as another's.
 
Fake Milanos? I’m curious. Why does somebody think they’re fake?

FWIW, Milanos (and China clays generally) are know for poor quality control, in terms of color consistency, label differences, roundness, etc. Whether that means actual quality control issues or that there are different manufacturers, I don’t know.
i think because Milanos are supposed to have this tapered edge, which is missing in mine.

Also, because mine look more plasticky? I’m not sure how to tell personally, because i’m very very new to chips that aren’t metal slugged ABS or dice chips.
 

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i think because Milanos are supposed to have this tapered edge, which is missing in mine.

Also, because mine look more plasticky? I’m not sure how to tell personally, because i’m very very new to chips that aren’t metal slugged ABS or dice chips.

Those appear to be standard Milanos. They have always had beveled edges like that. And China clays will always have a more plastic feel compared to Paulson ( casino chips ).
 
Those appear to be standard Milanos. They have always had beveled edges like that. And China clays will always have a more plastic feel compared to Paulson ( casino chips ).
ya my chips lack that beveled edge, cuz that last photo is not mine. Right now, i only own the red and green chips shown in my first post.
 
ya my chips lack that beveled edge, cuz that last photo is not mine. Right now, i only own the red and green chips shown in my first post.

Ah, interesting. I misread your post. Link to where you purchased yours from? I think I read someone posting that Tina sells China Clays. :unsure:
 
Ah, interesting. I misread your post. Link to where you purchased yours from? I think I read someone posting that Tina sells China Clays. :unsure:
I got them second hand from a second-hand market app in Singapore.

Didn’t think much of it cuz I didn’t know fake milanos existed; and because honestly even if they are fake, for that price (SGD10) and the fact that it came with a case, I really couldn’t complain.
 
After you finish the oiling, wait a few months. Some may benefit from a second coating.

After that, you'll be good to go. 99.9% of the population will think they are playing with top of the line casino chips!
 
Not necessarily fake, but old. Milanos were re-done in 2017 (I think) and that is when the heavily beveled edges appeared. The older version did not have a significant bevel. My sample below is from 2015 or so.

View attachment 1443210

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Interesting!
I actually have one left from a sample set I bought in 2016. Taking a close look at the beveled edges, you can see how inconsistent it is on a single chip.


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Update 4: Have finally finished cleaning all the chips. I can’t seem to get rid of some of the factory dust on the chips. I have decided to attempt to oil the chips, and see if the chips will take to the oil.

My mineral oil will arrive in 1-2 days, so I’ll post my findings then. Hopefully, the oil will get rid of some of the factory dust that are still stuck to the chips despite my hard rubbing with cloth.

Also, the smell has quite noticeably improved. It no longer stinks up my whole room. Whether it is due to the removal of the factory dust or the fact that it is now finally exposed to air after such a long time, i don’t know. But at least, the chips are useable now.
 

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Update 4: The mineral oil has finally arrived, so i have begun oiling the first batch of chips. The biggest difference I’ve seen is the fact that the mineral oil does an excellent job getting rid of the dried factory dust that still cling to the chip even after vigorous washing.

The difference in colour was significantly more pronounced in the red chips than in the green chips. I will say about a 35-40% increase in how good the red chips look versus only a 10-15% increase in the green chips.

I don’t know whether it’s because my chips may be fake, but the difference isn’t as night and day as what others have experienced. However, since the oiling does get rid of the dried factory dust, I will still be oiling them.
 

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Right now, I dont know if i’ve applied too much oil, and whether my (possibly) fake chips can actually absorb the oil, and whether it looks nice purely because of the removal of the dried factory dust and the fact that the oil makes the chips shinier.

I’ll wait the 24-48 hours as recommended, and after that, see if the chips are as oily to the touch. Will post my findings then.

In the meantime, here is a comparison of the oils chips (on paper towels) versus unoiled (not on paper towels
 

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doubt those are fakes.. never heard of or seen knockoff Milanos.
Yours do have beveled edges even if not as noticeable as some others.
Think you may have been confused by @LeLe comments in the other thread.
I believe they were stating that these china clays are "knockoffs" of real clay chips like Paulson.
The comparison picture was trying to show that Paulson's don't have beveled edges like Milanos.
I don't think they weren't stating that your Milanos were knockoffs/fakes.
 
Update 5: I’ve waited for 24 hours whilst some of the oiled chips sit on paper towels. Bad news first. they don’t look as good as when i just oiled them.

Additionally, some of the factory dust chalk on the red chips were actually not removed, and they showed up after a day. I don’t know where the oil that was on them went. Did it evaporate? or did it seep into the paper towels?

The good news is, the oiled red chips do still look better than unoiled ones, although by only about 20% after a day. The edges, however still look cleaner than the oiled chips.

The oiled green ones, however, look indistinguishable from unoiled chips other than the fact that they have less of that factory dust smegma stuck on them. Perhaps it was because i did them last and i was using whatever little oil was left on the cloth? Will use more oil on the green ones and report back.

First Pic: Oiled after 24 hours versus unoiled edges.

Second Pic: Freshly oiled versus oiled 24 hours later
 

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Other more experienced members who have oiled milanos, did your milanos lose that sheen after 24 hours?
 
Other more experienced members who have oiled milanos, did your milanos lose that sheen after 24 hours?

Give them a few days. They will soak it up as needed. The more it soaks up, the longer the color is better. After a week or so, you could go back and gently swipe off any excess.
 
Give them a few days. They will soak it up as needed. The more it soaks up, the longer the color is better. After a week or so, you could go back and gently swipe off any excess.
hmmm the problem is that it seems as though the oil just disappeared. it’s as if it was never there after 24 hours, so there is no excess oil to wipe away.

The chips are now dry and back to their original form. I am wondering if i am doing anything wrong.
 
hmmm the problem is that it seems as though the oil just disappeared. it’s as if it was never there after 24 hours, so there is no excess oil to wipe away.

The chips are now dry and back to their original form. I am wondering if i am doing anything wrong.
I doubt it. Just do a 2nd coating. Also be generous with the mineral oil.
 
I don't really advocate for oiling China Clays. What is often referred to as "chip dust" (which is most likely the lubricant powder residue needed to ensure efficient ejection from the mold) can be cleaned with a little soapy water. The entire plastic composition of the chips doesn't really hold onto the mineral oil, so it simply evaporates over time. Depending on how you store it (exposed to air, or in some sort of closed container) will reflect how long that process will take.
 
For some reason, I think royals / majestics feel way better when oiled but find it to be the other way around with the Milanos. Don't really know why, they just feel better without the oil. Anyone else had this experience?
 
With proper care, they could be thrown away in a week's time, without offending the garbage bin.:)
 

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