Removing the cancellation stamp on an inlay (GC Hinkley). (3 Viewers)

[Winslow2918]

I changed the formula a bit
And just soak them In 90% concentrate
It took the foil off a rack in about 10 mins it was 95% dissolved
Also added a little oxi detergent
Worked well for me but yah needs oil after

And wear gloves the concentrate form of it burns any small cuts

Hello all,

I finally worked on the 25s i recently bought from @Carnth and this method worked the best. I did this a rack at a time in a one gallon bowl 50/50 hot water with simple green and two ounces of dawn. I let them soak for an hour after testing a few and due to the quantity. Some (around 10% were a little more stubborn and I set those aside and repeated the process. I used this method for about 240 chips and it worked well without damaging the chips. This will make the chips dry so i did oil them after and they look great. There is still a hint of hot stamp on a few but they are definitely playable.

In total this took me about six hours but this was mostly prep/ soak/cleanup time. About an hour was spent brushing chips.

I wanted to share a few notes:

I did test this method with a bit of oxidizer as listed above which made the chip come out exceptionally clean. Anything beyond 20 minutes will begin to draw the pigment out of the chips. Due to the quantity I was cleaning and the soak time, I narrowed it down to the degreaser/hot water/regular dawn mix. Which worked very well.

Using a toothbrush worked best for me. A light brushing in a circular pattern (approx. 5x per side) took most of them right off. If you have to scrub, soak them again.

I did try goof off and nail polish remover with/without acetone. All worked very well removing the stamps and I would recommend this for small quantities or valuable chips as precision is required. As mentioned by @BGinGA, this will damage the chip face if you are not careful. The non-acetone NPR takes much longer.

I did try 99% alcohol and this did nothing to the hot stamps. I will say this will make the chips super clean.

I tested some 35% hydrogen peroxide for grins expecting the worst and it made the chip into soup and the inlays and stamps were the only survivors.

Here are some pics of those that came out well. I did not take any pics of the test chips but I wish i had.

Vernon

After stamps removed and well rinsed.

After stamps removed, before and after oil.

 

[Carnth]

Hello all,

I finally worked on the 25s i recently bought from @Carnth and this method worked the best. I did this a rack at a time in a one gallon bowl 50/50 hot water with simple green and two ounces of dawn. I let them soak for an hour after testing a few and due to the quantity. Some (around 10% were a little more stubborn and I set those aside and repeated the process. I used this method for about 240 chips and it worked well without damaging the chips. This will make the chips dry so i did oil them after and they look great. There is still a hint of hot stamp on a few but they are definitely playable.

In total this took me about six hours but this was mostly prep/ soak/cleanup time. About an hour was spent brushing chips.

I wanted to share a few notes:

I did test this method with a bit of oxidizer as listed above which made the chip come out exceptionally clean. Anything beyond 20 minutes will begin to draw the pigment out of the chips. Due to the quantity I was cleaning and the soak time, I narrowed it down to the degreaser/hot water/regular dawn mix. Which worked very well.

Using a toothbrush worked best for me. A light brushing in a circular pattern (approx. 5x per side) took most of them right off. If you have to scrub, soak them again.

I did try goof off and nail polish remover with/without acetone. All worked very well removing the stamps and I would recommend this for small quantities or valuable chips as precision is required. As mentioned by @BGinGA, this will damage the chip face if you are not careful. The non-acetone NPR takes much longer.

I did try 99% alcohol and this did nothing to the hot stamps. I will say this will make the chips super clean.

I tested some 35% hydrogen peroxide for grins expecting the worst and it made the chip into soup and the inlays and stamps were the only survivors.

Here are some pics of those that came out well. I did not take any pics of the test chips but I wish i had.

Vernon



View attachment 1432896
After stamps removed and well rinsed.
View attachment 1432898View attachment 1432899
After stamps removed, before and after oil.
View attachment 1432900

That is some damn fine work!

 

[upNdown]

I tested some 35% hydrogen peroxide for grins expecting the worst and it made the chip into soup and the inlays and stamps were the only survivors.

Science!!

 

[Rieguy]

Hello all,

I finally worked on the 25s i recently bought from @Carnth and this method worked the best. I did this a rack at a time in a one gallon bowl 50/50 hot water with simple green and two ounces of dawn. I let them soak for an hour after testing a few and due to the quantity. Some (around 10% were a little more stubborn and I set those aside and repeated the process. I used this method for about 240 chips and it worked well without damaging the chips. This will make the chips dry so i did oil them after and they look great. There is still a hint of hot stamp on a few but they are definitely playable.

In total this took me about six hours but this was mostly prep/ soak/cleanup time. About an hour was spent brushing chips.

I wanted to share a few notes:

I did test this method with a bit of oxidizer as listed above which made the chip come out exceptionally clean. Anything beyond 20 minutes will begin to draw the pigment out of the chips. Due to the quantity I was cleaning and the soak time, I narrowed it down to the degreaser/hot water/regular dawn mix. Which worked very well.

Using a toothbrush worked best for me. A light brushing in a circular pattern (approx. 5x per side) took most of them right off. If you have to scrub, soak them again.

I did try goof off and nail polish remover with/without acetone. All worked very well removing the stamps and I would recommend this for small quantities or valuable chips as precision is required. As mentioned by @BGinGA, this will damage the chip face if you are not careful. The non-acetone NPR takes much longer.

I did try 99% alcohol and this did nothing to the hot stamps. I will say this will make the chips super clean.

I tested some 35% hydrogen peroxide for grins expecting the worst and it made the chip into soup and the inlays and stamps were the only survivors.

Here are some pics of those that came out well. I did not take any pics of the test chips but I wish i had.

Vernon



View attachment 1432896
After stamps removed and well rinsed.
View attachment 1432898View attachment 1432899
After stamps removed, before and after oil.
View attachment 1432900

Great that worked for those and thanks for sharing!

However, to anyone reading this w/ regard to Hinkley's like in the OP, do not use Oxi. It will ruin/discolor your chip(s).

Specifically, Oxi fades certain color reds, while hydrogen peroxide lightens gray/showboat-gray, so neither are advised for Hinkley $5s. It's a very tough chip for removal, so basically, I am still stuck with the hand method. Everything else, including the aforementioned, degreaser, ultrasonic, and so on comes with an associated (and likely) risk of damaging the chips.

Science!!

 

[Winslow2918]

Great that worked for those and thanks for sharing!

However, to anyone reading this w/ regard to Hinkley's like in the OP, do not use Oxi. It will ruin/discolor your chip(s).

Specifically, Oxi fades certain color reds, while hydrogen peroxide lightens gray/showboat-gray, so neither are advised for Hinkley $5s. It's a very tough chip for removal, so basically, I am still stuck with the hand method. Everything else, including the aforementioned, degreaser, ultrasonic, and so on comes with an associated (and likely) risk of damaging the chips.


View attachment 1433020

Agreed, oxidizers can be bad news for anything with pigment.

 

[doublebooyah85]

@triton

 

[dazoki]

I am on this journey with some recently acquired sundowners. Looks like these have been around and run over by a car and nobody has taken to deep cleaning them. Makes sense because of the stamp but given i am new to this addiction i thought i would put in the work.

From left to right is original state - diluted simple green bath - raw simple green bath + fast rub of mineral oil.

They clean up well and the red/light blue pops nicely but the hotstamp is stubborn.

@Josh Kifer i ran into a few posts where you made this sound like it was trivial to remove - i am struggling a bit - got any tips? Forgive me if i missed a thread somewhere.

 

[Josh Kifer]

I am on this journey with some recently acquired sundowners. Looks like these have been around and run over by a car and nobody has taken to deep cleaning them. Makes sense because of the stamp but given i am new to this addiction i thought i would put in the work.

From left to right is original state - diluted simple green bath - raw simple green bath + fast rub of mineral oil.

View attachment 1437586

They clean up well and the red/light blue pops nicely but the hotstamp is stubborn.

@Josh Kifer i ran into a few posts where you made this sound like it was trivial to remove - i am struggling a bit - got any tips? Forgive me if i missed a thread somewhere.

It's not hard. I'll send ya a PM in a bit.

 

[Winslow2918]

Hello all,

I finally worked on the 25s i recently bought from @Carnth and this method worked the best. I did this a rack at a time in a one gallon bowl 50/50 hot water with simple green and two ounces of dawn. I let them soak for an hour after testing a few and due to the quantity. Some (around 10% were a little more stubborn and I set those aside and repeated the process. I used this method for about 240 chips and it worked well without damaging the chips. This will make the chips dry so i did oil them after and they look great. There is still a hint of hot stamp on a few but they are definitely playable.

In total this took me about six hours but this was mostly prep/ soak/cleanup time. About an hour was spent brushing chips.

I wanted to share a few notes:

I did test this method with a bit of oxidizer as listed above which made the chip come out exceptionally clean. Anything beyond 20 minutes will begin to draw the pigment out of the chips. Due to the quantity I was cleaning and the soak time, I narrowed it down to the degreaser/hot water/regular dawn mix. Which worked very well.

Using a toothbrush worked best for me. A light brushing in a circular pattern (approx. 5x per side) took most of them right off. If you have to scrub, soak them again.

I did try goof off and nail polish remover with/without acetone. All worked very well removing the stamps and I would recommend this for small quantities or valuable chips as precision is required. As mentioned by @BGinGA, this will damage the chip face if you are not careful. The non-acetone NPR takes much longer.

I did try 99% alcohol and this did nothing to the hot stamps. I will say this will make the chips super clean.

I tested some 35% hydrogen peroxide for grins expecting the worst and it made the chip into soup and the inlays and stamps were the only survivors.

Here are some pics of those that came out well. I did not take any pics of the test chips but I wish i had.

Vernon



View attachment 1432896
After stamps removed and well rinsed.
View attachment 1432898View attachment 1432899
After stamps removed, before and after oil.
View attachment 1432900

Just a quick note on this method:

I tried a different degreaser this time (Zep) and it was not as effective as simple green. I had to repeat the process 2-3 times for most of the chips. The results were still good but took a lot more time and a little more elbow grease FYI.

I believe the glycol ether content is higher in the simple green explaining the faster diffusion of the cancellation stamp.

 

[Tonysquander]

Just a quick note on this method:

I tried a different degreaser this time (Zep) and it was not as effective as simple green. I had to repeat the process 2-3 times for most of the chips. The results were still good but took a lot more time and a little more elbow grease FYI.

I believe the glycol ether content is higher in the simple green explaining the faster diffusion of the cancellation stamp.
View attachment 1501199

Which version of simple green did you use?

 

[Winslow2918]

I used this: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0000AXNO5?ref_=ppx_hzsearch_conn_dt_b_fed_asin_title_1&th=1

 

[allforcharity]

Does anybody know off the top of their head if soaking chips in hydrogen peroxide removes hot stamp foil (or aids in)?

 

[ekricket]

Does anybody know off the top of their head if soaking chips in hydrogen peroxide removes hot stamp foil (or aids in)?

I tested some 35% hydrogen peroxide for grins expecting the worst and it made the chip into soup and the inlays and stamps were the only survivors.

Maybe a less concentrated solution might work, but I suspect it would be the same as oxi eventually. Both will oxidize and fade colors, like your car paint in the sun after a few years.

 

[allforcharity]

Maybe a less concentrated solution might work, but I suspect it would be the same as oxi eventually. Both will oxidize and fade colors, like your car paint in the sun after a few years.

I'm not worried about fading colours as I just want to turn slightly discoloured chips more white.

 

[ekricket]

Anybody ever weigh their chips before and after any of these soaks? Curious to see if they uptake any liquids. Probably have to weigh a couple racks as a whole to see any appreciable difference.

 

[Winslow2918]

I'm not worried about fading colours as I just want to turn slightly discoloured chips more white.

I tried this overnight with a Railroad Pass hot-stamp 1 in a beige or off white color with 3% consumer grade peroxide. It cleaned the chip well with no effect on the stamp and no noticeable change to the color.

I would test one of low value if I were you, being mindful of what @ekricket mentioned.

 

[Winslow2918]

Anybody ever weigh their chips before and after any of these soaks? Curious to see if they uptake any liquids. Probably have to weigh a couple racks as a whole to see any appreciable difference.

I am noticing about 0.5 grams more weight for a barrel so probably best to let them air dry for a day. Also a bit of degreaser odor still so i will rinse them again and air dry for a day, then perhaps a day in the rack to dry and i will weigh them again.

 

[ekricket]

I am noticing about 0.5 grams more weight for a barrel so probably best to let them air dry for a day. Also a bit of degreaser odor still so i will rinse them again and air dry for a day, then perhaps a day in the rack to dry and i will weigh them again.

I’ve found that drying the chips well, like using a desiccant, will help restore faded colors from cleaning. No claims that it will make them new, but I’ve found that chips that have had an excessive time in water (I’ve forgotten chips overnight) will look dull and luster less, and the heavy drying will bring them back to some form of normality.

 

[Winslow2918]

Good point. I am going to run a test on these chips to check for fading and use your desiccant method to dry the others.

 

[Winslow2918]

Good point. I am going to run a test on these chips to check for fading and use your desiccant method to dry the others.

Hello @allforcharity,
I soaked these for 12 hours with 3% H2O2, then rinsed and dried for two hours. No visible change or bleeding of the pigment on these. These did appear pretty clean but there was a bit of gunk in the bottom of the glass of the majestic star likely from the hard to clean hat and cane. I guess this hooker was all out of juice lol! I think for very dirty chips an hour soak, light brushing, then rinse and repeat as needed to be safe.

I'm hoping to buy some funky chips in the future for a more methodical test and bigger sample size.

 

[allforcharity]

Hello @allforcharity,
I soaked these for 12 hours with 3% H2O2, then rinsed and dried for two hours. No visible change or bleeding of the pigment on these. These did appear pretty clean but there was a bit of gunk in the bottom of the glass of the majestic star likely from the hard to clean hat and cane. I guess this hooker was all out of juice lol! I think for very dirty chips an hour soak, light brushing, then rinse and repeat as needed to be safe.

I'm hoping to buy some funky chips in the future for a more methodical test and bigger sample size.

Thanks for the info.

I'm not worried about colour fading from the base chip, since mine are White. I am more concerned about damage to the hot stamp, which wasn't part of your test.

 

[Winslow2918]

I did the same test on a railroad pass hot stamp Sunday night. No effect on the hot stamp or chip.

 

[Winslow2918]

Crystal Park cleaned up nicely. I may polish them up a bit more.

 

[smashed_potato]

No claims that it will make them new, but I’ve found that chips that have had an excessive time in water (I’ve forgotten chips overnight) will look dull and luster less,

Did any of those chips warp after such a long bath? I find it interesting that humidity can affect chips but cleaning them doesn’t seem to warp them. (From my experience)

A lot going on with these little disc…

 

[Winslow2918]

No warping on these chips. They spent about 5 mins in 100 degree bath of simple green then a double rinse. If anything they were a bit proud between each chip, and a bit less afterwards. I cant speak to the chemistry of the stamps but these were far easier than the starbursts or Argosy and others that I have removed before.

Perhaps @Josh Kifer has some input, but this seems like a less resilient hot stamp.

 

[Winslow2918]

I also wanted to clean these HS Cinci but I don't have access to the museum level conservation lab which i had recently. Still i have some goodies.

Fluorescent residue (I think) on some very nice chips. I used UV to verify my curiosity.

12% peroxide no. 3% no effect

Degreaser nada.

99% alcohol and scrub with a toothbrush. Perfect.

 

[Josh Kifer]

No warping on these chips. They spent about 5 mins in 100 degree bath of simple green then a double rinse. If anything they were a bit proud between each chip, and a bit less afterwards. I cant speak to the chemistry of the stamps but these were far easier than the starbursts or Argosy and others that I have removed before.

Perhaps @Josh Kifer has some input, but this seems like a less resilient hot stamp.

Oh hai.

Honestly, I've found cancellation stamps super easy. To the point you can toss a barrel in a bucket of alcohol. Give them 2-3 minutes and the entire stamp will scrub away. The lamination on the inlay isn't nearly as good as clay in holding foil. When I can stand and my brain works, I can do a rack in 20 or so minutes with a sonic scrubber.

Never tried the simple green trick, but it's on the list when I catch up.

As always. This is not legal advice and I'm not a lawyer. Err. I mean, do at your own risk and always start with 1 as a test.

 

[Santa123]

No warping on these chips. They spent about 5 mins in 100 degree bath of simple green then a double rinse. If anything they were a bit proud between each chip, and a bit less afterwards. I cant speak to the chemistry of the stamps but these were far easier than the starbursts or Argosy and others that I have removed before.

Perhaps @Josh Kifer has some input, but this seems like a less resilient hot stamp.

That worked out great. Can you tell me a bit more about the chips? I read something about the edge spots being printed and the faces being fully labeled. Is that correct?

 

[Winslow2918]

That worked out great. Can you tell me a bit more about the chips? I read something about the edge spots being printed and the faces being fully labeled. Is that correct?

Hi there, just noticed this.

The inlays appear to be normal and recessed in the chip material. I cant speak for the edge spots but they do have some type of clear coating on the faces making them wear more slowly. I think this explains the sharp edges even on old chips. The center of the edges shows a slight bit of wear but the faces show none.

Some moisture did form bubbles between the chip/coating but most of this dissipated after air drying for a few days.

Here is an example just after a wash: