Oiling chips (1 Viewer)

colter ripton

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I know there are some posts on here about oiling chips

I have never done it though

What is the best oil to use.....

And what is the best techníque


Thanks

Colter
 
Mineral oil is only oil to use. Get it at Walmart or Walgreens. It's considered a laxative, so you'll find it in health and beauty section.

Best method depends on the particular type of chips. Generally I like the oil water trick.
 
A very little bit goes a long way. Do not give them an oil bath.
 
A very little bit goes a long way. Do not give them an oil bath.


e3ccbe896def754b2daa95a016338fd3.jpg
 
I can only speak for myself. I don't like the look of shiny over-oiled chips and I can't imagine touching them. I also had a hard time believing oiled chips would "dry out" on a towel after a few days (I never tried it, so that statement is worthless.) So what I settled on was rubbing each chip individually with a slightly oiled towel, then rubbing them with a dry towel to remove the excess. Works for me, but it's kind of labor intensive and time consuming.
 
I can only speak for myself. I don't like the look of shiny over-oiled chips and I can't imagine touching them. I also had a hard time believing oiled chips would "dry out" on a towel after a few days (I never tried it, so that statement is worthless.) So what I settled on was rubbing each chip individually with a slightly oiled towel, then rubbing them with a dry towel to remove the excess. Works for me, but it's kind of labor intensive and time consuming.
That's exactly how I do it, rub w/ lightly oiled towel, let sit for 10 min or so on a clean towel, then polish off excess w/ dry towel.
 
"Friends don't let friends oil chips"
I've said it before but the only oiling I do is a bag of potato chips and a game :) I never saw the appeal and I personally think it hurts resale.
 
I know there are some posts on here about oiling chips

I have never done it though

What is the best oil to use.....

And what is the best techníque


Thanks

Colter

View my thread, Oiling Chips Done Right. Explains the whole process in full detail start to finish.

Contrary to what some believe, the process does not make the chips oily and sticky if done correctly. Just gives them a smooth, clean appearance and they do dry after a day or two in the air. In fact, they actually air dry in under a half day.

Oil only doesn't dry if the chips are left touching one another prior to drying.
 
I can only speak for myself. I don't like the look of shiny over-oiled chips and I can't imagine touching them. I also had a hard time believing oiled chips would "dry out" on a towel after a few days (I never tried it, so that statement is worthless.) So what I settled on was rubbing each chip individually with a slightly oiled towel, then rubbing them with a dry towel to remove the excess. Works for me, but it's kind of labor intensive and time consuming.

That's what I do, except I only oil the edges. I oil a whole barrel at a time so it actually goes by pretty quickly.
 
I've oiled thousands. Typically use the shoe polish applicator (like THIS) -- with a bit of oil on it, pick up a barrel from ends, oil all around the edges, then lay all out flat on a towel, use applicator to oil one side, then the other and finally use a clean towel to wipe "dry". Works awesome.
Sponge-Applicator-2T.jpg
 
A very little bit goes a long way. Do not give them an oil bath.

I am getting ready to oil chips for the first time ever (new CPCs). If I get them too oily, can I just use water and dish soap to clean them off and start over?
 
I am getting ready to oil chips for the first time ever (new CPCs). If I get them too oily, can I just use water and dish soap to clean them off and start over?

yeah read stibnite's thread. I would never try and wash them off again with soap. If you have too much oil just wipe of the excess. Use the info in stibnite's thread but don't overthink it, you are just putting oil on the chips.
 
I oiled some china clays about two years ago and the end result was nice...that particular set has only seen about a dozen games in those two years...I don't like the smell of them now...the mineral oil seems to smell very distinct, almost like barbershop clippers, therefore, the smell lingers on one's hands during play.
 
"Friends don't let friends oil chips"
I've said it before but the only oiling I do is a bag of potato chips and a game :) I never saw the appeal and I personally think it hurts resale.
I have to agree. I don't like the idea of oiling chips, even though they look much better. Order some pizza during a game and the colors will pop in no time. I'm not sure about resale as I'm talking about my customs. Those will never be sold.
 
Hnmmm. To those advocating using food based oil's like pizza and potato chips. I would say you have a choice, do you want a unscented stable oil such as mineral oil, or do you want pizza and potato chips oil in the micropores of the Clay?

It might or might not make any difference whatsoever? But I'll stick to mineral oil
 
Wait.

Applying mineral oil hurts resale value?

But oiling by potato chip and pizza is fine?

crazy_talk.jpg
I hope he wasn't serious about the pizza and chips thing. But I'd agree that oiling chips hurts resale value. When I see pictures of shiny chips, I'm totally turned off. Plastic is shiny. Clay is not.
 
Resale value is not likely hurt by oiling most chips. Clay CPC chips are custom, and don't hold their value anyway. Paulson chips, (when acquired used) often need to be cleaned, which causes them to benefit from a coat of mineral oil. Oiling used Paulson chips is not likely to negatively affect of their resale value.

The only exception to this might be racks of minty chalky brand new in box Paulsons. Ya. If you're lucky enough to own any of those, I might forgo the oiling if I were worried about resale value.
 
IMO (getting out my dead horse-beating stick), oiling done right does not result in the wet, shiny look. It just takes away the dusty, chalky look and brings out the colors.

That said, I have never oiled my cash set. Its in one of those black lock boxes. The top tray has most of what is needed for a typical cash game. The bottom racks hold extra ones, and fives, plus the twenties and hundos (and the once-used snappers).

You can definitely see a difference in the ones up top from the ones underneath (that have seen minimal play if any). A light oiling seeks to mimic that transfer of oil from handling chips and clean off the factory dust.
 
oiling done right does not result in the wet, shiny look

I agree. I've even oiled chips and been pleased with the results. But I see enough pictures posted of wet looking shiny chips that I continue to beat this horse.
 
My line about the potato chips is to mean oil them with human contact.

Regarding resale I can only speak for myself. When an ad says they’ve been oiled, I usually move on. Oiling can be done in a way that doesn’t advesly affect the chips but not everyone oils the same way. I’ve seen chips wet with oil and in some cases with hair stuck to them! If I can see the oil in little puddles on the chip there is zero chance I’d be happy owning them. It is a general rule of thumb to leave customizing anything up to the buyer. You increase your potential buyers that way. As a buyer, you can always choose to oil yoir chips but you can’t undo an oiling (probably).

Now although I’ve always been an anti oiler I can see the case for a ASM/CPC set and have thought about hitting the edges of my set. Some of my old colors are too close to each other and oil would help differentiate them so I’ve thought about it. So far I’m holding out for more games with them :)
 
Oiling your chips doesn't give a shiney wet look. Some pictures may appear that way because the micropores of an oiled chip are now sealed and the flash catches these reflective qualities and causes it to shine in the image at a greater degree. In person, the difference is primarily in handling, as opposed to visible shine. Once properly air dried, it will be clean and protected chips you have, not plasticy shiney chips with an unhinged resale value. Used chips are used chips. They'll get the same appearance over the course of much use; except at least with properly oiling, their appearance will be uniform and protected--even once they fully dry out without use over time. I would suggest that this increases their resale value.

It simply gives them a clean feel and protects them from other forms of oils and contaminants. Next to a freshly unpacked chip, there will be a noticeable difference.

I also put some unused, uncleaned and unoiled factory dust-covered chips into play at a tournament I hosted the chips for, due to not having enough $100 blacks in circulation. I had 3 people question the strange appearance of said chips amongst the others. 1 guy said, what's with these diseased looking chips? One guy pulled his separate from the others at the table I was dealing (they were that noticeable), because they kept sticking while he was trying to shuffle them.

Afterwards, it was easy to find all $10,000 worth of the $100 black chips. You could noticebly see every form of debris, finger prints and a few with even some sticky food stuck to them--all having a splotchy appearance. Then I started finding factory dust on the felts of my poker tables.

The other chips show no signs of having been handled and foreign particles aren't sticking to them and they get nothing but compliments from the masses using them.

To those saying they will feel like plastic--nah. Their feel is the same regardless. A China clay feels like a China clay, and so on. Oiling the chip doesn't make it feel or look like plastic. It does, however, make it easier to handle, shuffle and keep a clean appearance and protect it from foreign debris.

The benefits of oiling chips, correctly, is certain--but giving the effort to do so isn't for everyone.
 
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