Paulsons: So Fresh and So Clean Clean (1 Viewer)

Robert

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I cleaned and oiled my Paulson VLVs this weekend and they came out amazing! These chips have been in my game for 20 years and most of them were disgusting. I once attempted to clean them with dish soap and a toothbrush but it wouldn’t get the gunk off. I don’t own an ultrasonic cleaner, so after a lot of research on different ways to clean, as well as advice from fellow PCF members, I combined the 3 best methods and shared it below:

**This method is safe on Paulson clay chips. I’m not sure about any other types as these were the only chips that needed cleaning**

What you’ll need:

• vinyl or rubber gloves
• Lundmark TSP - bought 1 pound from Ace
Hardware for $5, also available on Amazon
• soft bristled toothbrush
• microfiber cloths
• dawn dish soap
• magic eraser
• tupperware container

Step 1: Put on rubber gloves. Use 1 tablespoon of TSP mixed in 8 cups of warm water in a tupperware container. Soak 20 chips for the following time according to the level of dirtiness: 90 seconds if extremely filthy, 60 seconds if dirty, and 30 seconds for slightly dirty. Then remove the chips and set them on a microfiber cloth.

Step 2: Have a toothbrush soaking in a cup of warm water with a few drops of dish soap. Brush over the chips and all the years of gunk and grime will literally slide right off. Rinse with cold water.

Step 3: Use a magic eraser with dish soap to go over the edges, rinse with cold water, pat dry with a microfiber cloth and then place the chip on a cloth to dry for 24 hours.

Step 4: Oil chips using the thread “oiling chips done right”

They came out looking good as new. After a few barrels I had it down to a science. Once the chips were pulled from the TSP, the entire cleaning process took approximately 15 seconds per chip.

I only took one before pic of the first 11 chips that I randomly started with. Most were more disgusting than these. I’ve posted the pics below as well as a pic of the TSP.

I hope this helps if you’re in a similar situation as me. Thanks and let me know if you have any questions!

-Robert

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During my first batch I noticed some of the blue $10 chips were leaving some color on the cloth so i reduced the soak time to 30 seconds. That solved the issue. And the few that bled from the first batch was so little that it’s still unnoticeable now.

With all the others there’s been no wear at all.

Welcome to PCF!
 
During my first batch I noticed some of the blue $10 chips were leaving some color on the cloth so i reduced the soak time to 30 seconds. That solved the issue. And the few that bled from the first batch was so little that it’s still unnoticeable now.

With all the others there’s been no wear at all.

Welcome to PCF!
These look great!

Does your Lundmark TSP container indicate if it's actually Sodium Meta-Silicate (as some Amazon reviews indicate)?

Up here in the great white north we have TSP (in the milk carton) which is just Trisodium Phosphate Powder.

Just wondering if anyone has compared and contrasted the two (for better or for worse).
 
Gotta love those before and after pics!
 

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I have a quick-and-dirty version: Put warm-to-hot water in a salad spinner, at about a 10 cups of H20 to 1 tablespoon of Lundmark.

Spin for two minutes, with a couple breaks to open the top and manually mix the chips (which can get a little stuck together) with rubber-gloved hands.

Then lift out the basket, rinse the chips, and start another batch.

I can do about 150 chips at a time this way. I’ve not noticed any chipping or other damage. Don’t overdo the TSP or temperature, especially if they’re hotstamps. Always test some expendable chips first.

There will be a few chips per batch of 150 which need repeat attention with a toothbrush, but unless yours are filthy the vast majority will be clean and ready to go.

I also use the spinner (after cleaning) later to do mineral oil baths (a teaspoon or less per batch), lifting the basket out and mixing chips by hand, if they seem dry or less vibrant after cleaning.

I bought an ultrasonic, but to be honest I still haven’t used it since this method has been efficient and more than adequate for the past couple of years.

NOTE: I do not keep this spinner anywhere near the kitchen, and drew a skull on the top with permanent marker, just in case there are traces of TSP inside and someone tries to use it for lettuce!
 
I have a quick-and-dirty version: Put warm-to-hot water in a salad spinner, at about a 10 cups of H20 to 1 tablespoon of Lundmark.

Spin for two minutes, with a couple breaks to open the top and manually mix the chips (which can get a little stuck together) with rubber-gloved hands.

Then lift out the basket, rinse the chips, and start another batch.

I can do about 150 chips at a time this way. I’ve not noticed any chipping or other damage. Don’t overdo the TSP or temperature, especially if they’re hotstamps. Always test some expendable chips first.

There will be a few chips per batch of 150 which need repeat attention with a toothbrush, but unless yours are filthy the vast majority will be clean and ready to go.

I also use the spinner (after cleaning) later to do mineral oil baths (a teaspoon or less per batch), lifting the basket out and mixing chips by hand, if they seem dry or less vibrant after cleaning.

I bought an ultrasonic, but to be honest I still haven’t used it since this method has been efficient and more than adequate for the past couple of years.

NOTE: I do not keep this spinner anywhere near the kitchen, and drew a skull on the top with permanent marker, just in case there are traces of TSP inside and someone tries to use it for lettuce!

Nice! Definitely tricky around the cane for the chips from what I've seen, it

Nice! Definitely tricky around the cane for the chips from what I've seen, it
Woops - misclick!

The cane tends to hold onto the grime the best!

Brush/sponge/toothbrush always gets it
 
New here but how did the chips fare after being oiled and in use? I seen a post where it looked like oil attracted more grime/dirt. Thank you
 
New here but how did the chips fare after being oiled and in use? I seen a post where it looked like oil attracted more grime/dirt. Thank you
General consensus is that cleaned/mint paulsons don't need to be oiled, if you like to bring out the color some people like to lightly oil the rolling edges.
 
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I use a salad spinner, warm/hot water and Lundmark faux-TSP. Two minute spin. Rinse, lay out. I do about 200 per cycle. If any of them need extra attention, I set them aside and use an old toothbrush/toothpaste, but the spinner gets 98.5% of them clean.
 

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