Casino Chip Cleaning

[Guest]

I recently purchased a set of El Tropical Casino (San Juan) casino chips. Some of these chips are pretty dirty and I started cleaning them with warm water, Dawn dishwashing soap and a soft toothbrush. I have noticed that some of the ink bleeds when cleaning them this way. Does anyone have a better way to clean this type of chip (I believe they were manufactured by ChipCo and seem to have a linen cover)?

[stevcha]

Not sure if this would work for Chipco Chipds but give this a try:

http://www.oldvegaschips.com/chipcleaning.htm

[supa-t]

I glue them to my Bronco and drive through the carwash.

Sucks cause you have to do it twice to get both sides.

[supa-t]

...then a third time to get off the dirty polka dots.

[mindgame]

Okay guys sober up! This is a legit question to those of us who buy the real deal. You know you have an authentic casino chip because the damn things are dirty as hell. And, as your Grandmother used to say, "My Gawd, you don't know where them things have been!" (Believe me, you start thinking about this sort of thing after you've cleaned a couple hundred...jeez how many hundred thousand hands...what if some sorry, sleazy, syphilitic bastard forgot to wash his hands......????)

There are almost as many answers to this question as there are chip collectors. In fact, if you go to the FAQ's at thechipboard.com you can explore dozens of expert opinions on the subject (and some honest-to-god disasters almost as bizarre as the Bronko-car-wash scenario).

In general, you did the best you could: mild detergent, soft-bristle brush and a awful lot of work. Avoid solvents. You can soak them, but don't ever boil them or anything like that. Do NOT put them in your dishwasher (no kidding, some people have tried it). There's a company that sells a cleaning solution and kit just for collectors, but if you're like I was, trying to clean 1200 chips, fugettaboudit.

Have fun.