[King of the Farm]

I know the removal of HotStamps has been discussed at length on a million threads.

I recently obtained 300 Solid Red HotStamped H-Molds. These are hotstamped with "ANS" on one side and "$1" on the other. I'd love to remove these and have already done some work on a few with various methods with various results. I should mention that these hotstamps are stamped on VERY lightly. Most of tehse chips have the "ANS" already wearing off. The "$1" is a little deeper, but not very.

I have 100 White Horseheads that have a $1 stamp on them and I'd like to remove the stamps on these reds to use these 300 as $5 chips for my $1/$2 games at my house (when I feel like using someething other than my chipcos that is)

I've removed stamps with

1) Comet, toothbrush & water
Removed the hotstamp but is kinda brutal to the chip
2) Oxiclean, toothbrush & water
Didn't remove the stamp at all
3) 409, toothbrush & water
Didn't really remove the stamp, made the brush very red though
4) Non-acetone nail polish remover, toothbrush & water
removed the hotstamps just a little too harsh on the chips

My biggest problem is that these ASM's seems to loose some clay off the chip with every method that has worked to remove the stamps. The nice matte finish of these chips is dulled almost every time. I have a few chips that the finish remains fully intact but I can't figure out why it happened to one but not the other. The only thing I can think of is that ASM's clay varies by individual chip or I pressed too hard... whatever.

Are there other methods that someone can suggest that can be delicate enough NOT to ruin these chips?

Here's a couple photos of what i'm dealing with.

[ACE'S FULL]

This is going to sound crazy but use Everclear... I used it and it works great!

[JM]

Yeah I was going to suggest the same thing. Ethyl alcohol may do it.

[King of the Farm]

I had some mixed results with Ethyl Alcohol.

It looks like this is the best method for removing the stamps. It's pretty gentle and doesn't rub off much (if any) clay from the chip itself.

BUT...

You definitely can't leave this alcohol on the chip for very long. I left it on a few chips too long and they're permanently discolored now.

The chips that I cleaned, then quickly washed dried and oiled turned out prefect. The chips that sat for a few minutes before washing off the alcohol are done... spotty.

Learning experience I guess. This is definitely a one-by-one project and not something that you can easily move across a one man assembly line.

I'll snap some pics when I get a chance today.

[Colquhoun]

If the foil is loose like you say, it might respond to duct tape. Not an off-brand, but one with a really good adhesive like 3M or Duck. Attach the tape and really rub it hard onto the surface, so you get complete adhesion....then peel it quick. You might need to do this a few times, but it might be a better alternative to staining the chip with chemicals or alcohol.

[King of the Farm]

*****UPDATE*****

So I read everyone's suggestions... I took a look at OldCycles Pipe shield method. and I tried a few ideas with various results.

I tried 5 different cleaners, Comet, Non-acetone nail polish remover, Ethyl alcohol and Isopropyl alcohol and finally, Drano Max... which is an enzyme based pipe cleaner much like Roto rooter pipe shield. Be warned, this is not the super harsh stuff, it's contains natural enzymes, bacterial cultures and surfactants (yes, I quoted the bottle)

The comet was obviously brutal, it removed the stamps but shredded the nice texture and cross etching of the chips although it didn't really impact the color of the chip clay. The Non-acetone nail polish remover was just as brutal and permanently discolorized the clay color. The Isopropyl alcohol was less brutal, but ruined the color as well...

The Ethyl alcohol was the most mild of these first four solutions, but I found it to be very inconsistent. It would ruin the color on one chip and then do no damage to the next. I think it really depended on how hard you rubbed the chip with a toothbrush and how long you left the alcohol on. I also learned that you need to get mineral oil on these chips the minute you're done cleaning the stamp off. If not, the will be permanently discolored.

Here are some various photos of chips cleaned by Comet, NonAcetone nail polish remover, Isopropyl & Ethyl alcohol:


The best method BY FAR was Drano Max and an electric toothbrush

I soaked some of these for a day and the stamp started coming off a little with the electric toothbrush. I soaked them another 24 hours and a few came off easily, other's not so much and a few other stamps remained.

After 3 days of soaking, I broke out the electric toothbrush again and went to work. Most of the stamps came off very easily. The Drano Max did NO damage to the chips. I would usually clean of 6-7 at a time, then rinse them off (very very briefly) in warm water. I dried them with a towel and then IMMEDIATELY rubbed them with a small amount of mineral oil. I then set the oiled chips aside until I got about 50 done and took out a microfiber rag and removed the excess mineral oil.

This method was perfect! In fact, I thought it was a great cleaning method with a much shorter soak in the Drano. I just won some Vintage Horseheads from ebay yesterday as some vintage diamond molds last week. I will be using this method for cleaning. No damage was done to the chips. the cross etching on the chips was held intact and no color damage was done at all. I would say it was a very succesful method. All of the old hotstamps are removed, the chips are unbelievably clean and they even smell kinda minty fresh.

Here is a photo of some random samples. The flash has washed them out a bit so a few chip's color looks blotchy... this is just the flash, these things are perfect in every way.


Last thing, I would definitely recommend using an electric toothbrush for any of these or other cleaning methods. You apply less pressure this way and you actualy are easier on the chip. Not to mention you save your arm a lot of work. Let the motor do the work, lightly. This worked best.

[Colquhoun]

These look great, well done. Now to all you would-be hotstamp removers out there....just make sure you use the WIFE'S electric toothbrush..

[JoseRijo]

Hey KofF,
Thanks for your informative post. I'm surprised (shocked?) that the ethyl alcohol damaged the chips in a way that oiling the chips couldn't fix.

Also, from what I could find on the Internets, it looks like Drano Max includes chemicals like sodium hydroxide. It is *not* the same as Oldcycle's Pipe Shield.

[King of the Farm]

Originally Posted by JoseRijo

Hey KofF,
Thanks for your informative post. I'm surprised (shocked?) that the ethyl alcohol damaged the chips in a way that oiling the chips couldn't fix.

Also, from what I could find on the Internets, it looks like Drano Max includes chemicals like sodium hydroxide. It is *not* the same as Oldcycle's Pipe Shield.

Again, The ethyl alcohol had mixed results... I just couldn't get any consistent results with it. And when it was bad, it was really bad. Ethyl alcohol also rubbed off some of the clay... just a little. Keep in mind, these are vintage ASM's that are probably 50 years old.

I did notice there were several Drano Max types at The Home Depot when I picked it up. I was actually looking for pipe shield but realized it's not exactly on the plumbing aisle at home depot (when I was there of course). While looking at the several Drano types, I noticed that this one was the one that contained "natural enzymes" that were labeled as "will not cause damage to your pipes". I had remembered that this was a key point in Old Cycle's info so I figured... Close enough.

Not trying to suggest it's identical... but only comprable and sold for $8 or $10.

[warewulf]

I'm thinking of removing some stamps from some ASM HH's. They're roulette and practically mint.

Any updates? Drano still recommended?