[tomb1]

Yeah, my rust stains were the same, as you can see in the top picture (top left and lower right). Plus all the other crud on these chips! I suppose the rust came from sitting in the dealer trays covered with salt water. I assume it's rust, although it could be corrosion from some other metal or combination of metals. As I recall, those were cast metal trays so it's unlikely they were 100% ferrous, likely some nickel or whatever added.

As you can see from the scans on the bottom, the chips cleaned up beautifully with OxyClean. This helped the rust quite a bit, but the remaining stain is in the chip material itself, not on the surface. I couldn't get it off with magic eraser, diamond, soap, even soaking in some CLR (calcium lime rust) cleaner. Fortunetely, I only have a handful with rust.

[jamby]

The OxyClean really did a good job on yours though, remaining rust notwithstanding. I'd be concerned about how it might effect the hotstamps though.

Originally Posted by tomb1

the chips cleaned up beautifully with OxyClean. This helped the rust quite a bit, but the remaining stain...

[2_hotty]

Okay, mine only have rust spots on the edges. None on the faces at all. As a matter of fact, you can only really see the rust stains when they're stacked.

Here are a few of the worst ones I have:

That second one is the worst of the bunch

[tomb1]

Originally Posted by jamby

The OxyClean really did a good job on yours though, remaining rust notwithstanding. I'd be concerned about how it might effect the hotstamps though.

OK, here's the result from the OxyClean vs. Hotstamp test . . .

DON'T !!

Same chip, same scanner settings, unretouched. The chip looks great, but virtually all the gold foil from the hotstamp has disappeared.

[jamby]

Wow tomb, thanks for the warning.

I tried the hydrogen peroxide today and it was not successful. I soaked the chip for about 10 minutes and it didn't harm the hotstamp at all, but also didn't make much of a difference as to the rust.

Other ideas?

-jamby

[JM]

It would probably take longer. Try putting a drop right on the rust on one of the worst like are at the top of the picture you posted. Just on the rust part itself so its not on the hotstamp at all and let it sit and check it periodically throughout the day. I doubt it'll hurt the chip itself, but I'd check it after a half hour, then an hour then about every hour or so to see what's going on.

Tom's probably right, there's probably some other metals in the tray so it may not be completely ferrous.

Jamby, if you want to send one to me I can take it to work and play in the lab and see what we can come up with. Maybe we can make some kind of dent in the stains, or at least see what we're dealing with.

[smoore]

Hydrogen peroxide from the drugstore is very, very weak. If it makes any difference at all you may want to try a stronger solution from a chemical supply house. Be prepared to sign for it though, as it's an explosive component.

[texred1]

For those guys using a toothbrush....

I was cleaning a couple of chips I got from the Luxor (they were funky, nasty).

I found an old electric toothbrush in the drawer like this:



Worked great and saved me lots of time. You can pick them up at Walmart for next to nothing.

~dustin

[jamby]

I tried the peroxide just on the bad spots for a longer period of time (1 hour with constant checking) and still no luck with removing the rust. A bit seemed to come off especially on the edges, but not much improvement overall.

Other ideas worth attempting?

-jamby

[JM]

Probably need a stronger solution. I wonder if brushing it in a bit with a toothbrush would help.