[mtvernonbryan]

Im about 50-50 on the whole oiling thing. You cant deny how brilliant the colors look after youi oil them, but Im hesitant about puting anything on my chips. Do they feel greasy or slimy afterword? How does the oil react with hotstamped chips or custom lables? If you have custom labels, do you try and avoid them when oiling? Im leaning towards letting them naturally brighten but im just curious. Does anyone have pics of their ASM chips that were never oiled but have lost their chalky look naturally?

[MeridianFC]

I don't have any pics but if I get time later I'll take some. I have to say that they break in just fine in the course of nomal handling. Personally I think the oiling is a waste of time.

[noelsarchs]

Originally Posted by mtvernonbryan

Im about 50-50 on the whole oiling thing. You cant deny how brilliant the colors look after youi oil them, but Im hesitant about puting anything on my chips. Do they feel greasy or slimy afterword? How does the oil react with hotstamped chips or custom lables? If you have custom labels, do you try and avoid them when oiling? Im leaning towards letting them naturally brighten but im just curious. Does anyone have pics of their ASM chips that were never oiled but have lost their chalky look naturally?

I have found that by just handling them over time that the colors come out nicely from the oils in your fingers. I too am reluctant to oil my authentic obsolete casino chips even though I have oiled a few Dunes and ASM Palmas to see how they look. I also found that the dirt tends to build up quicker on oiled chips. If anything, I now just take a stack of 10 chips and oil only the edges. However, if I were to clean any old chips for my own use vs. resale, I would definitely oil them afterwards.

[JM]

ASM is offering to oil the GB chips free of charge, so can't be too bad for them! But to answer your questions, I've oiled a set of no-inlay horseheads and if done right, there is no greasy or slippery feel when you're done. You have to dry them afterwards and then should let them sit and 'cure' for a day or so before you use them. I believe Spacemonkey oiled his with custom inlays and there was no damage to them.

[mtvernonbryan]

Thanks for the quick replys. Im glad to here there are people out there who are hesitant like me. I guess if they NEVER would naturally brighten up, I would probably do it. Im glad to hear that other people have left them alone. It does sound like quite a time consuming process aswell. I host larger tournys once a month (25-30) people, along with smaller bi weekly tournaments. Im sure in wont take that long with all those people handling them.

[babujit1]

Originally Posted by jimb

The Burt Company was the first chip maker to oil chips. I think they started in the 1960's. This is the method used by the Burt Company: fill an empty Coke bottle with 10-30 motor oil and apply the motor oil to a rag; grab a stack of chips (15 or 20) in the left hand and with an oil rag in your right hand apply a liberal amount of oil to the edge of all the chips in the stack; rotate the stack to insure complete coverage; wipe off any excess oil with a clean rag. THE FACTORY NEVER OILED ANY OTHER PART OF THE CHIP. This is the sole factory authorized method of oiling chips.

ASM has replaced motor oil with mineral oil which gives a cleaner finish.
jimb

As far as I know ASM only oil the rolling edge, does anyone oil any other part of the chip?

[JM]

I did the whole chip when I did mine, and I'm pretty sure space and some others did as well.

[MeridianFC]

http://www.chiptalk.net/forum/showthread.php?t=13070

Here's the whole thread with the above quote.

Again I wouldn't bother. With the number of people in your game all the cheques will get handled and they'll be bright in no time.

[tomb1]

To answer your initial questions:

If you use pure mineral oil on your chips they will not be the least bit greasy. Wipe the chips well, especially the inlays, and let dry for a minute. Do NOT use vegetable oil, motor oil, 3-in-1 oil, etc. Somebody around here likes "spoon oil" (which is a salad-bowl type oil containing mineral oil and beeswax), but I wouldn't like any "sealing" effect myself.

I'm pleased with all the clay chips I've oiled, though they tend to be slightly slicker/harder after oiling (just slightly).

There is no effect on hotstamping, as far as I can tell.

I've only oiled a few custom-labeled chips (with no impact), but that probably depends on the type of label, the adhesive used, the underlying surface etc. Personally, I wouldn't oil home-labeled chips.

Comes down to personal preference. I usually oiled my chips and they look better, but I have kept my new Pharaoh's set "au naturel" and they are FINE.