[GreatDeals22]

I had previously posted Diamond Chip Cleaner's Patent in another thread.
(here it is again)

Cleaning solution - Google Patents

Since that posting...I bought a small tub of TSP ... TriSodium Phosphate, which is the main cleaning ingredient in Diamond Chip Cleaner. Cost me
$4.50 and that entire tub of TSP would probably clean upwards of 50,000
chips.

TSP is available from your local hardware store.

I used 1 Tablespoon of TSP in 32 oz. of warm water (for better disolving of the TSP) I let the solution cool before putting in the Paulson chips. I mixed up 2 batches of solution and cleaned 1000 chips. After soaking the chips for 15 miutes, I lightly brushed each chip with a soft brush and they came out
beautiful. Rinsed the chips and put them on a towel to dry. Much easier work than using a bit of dish soap and lots of labor.

You'll be surprised at how great a job this cheap alternative to Diamond Cleaner will do. Diamond Cleaner is a great product...it's just expensive if you have a lot of chips to clean.

[Dr Lecterr]

Very nice tip!
I have been using greased lighning and soaking the chips for 5 min before i scrub them in warm dishsoap water. The chips have been turning out nice.

[NoFear]

Greatdeal22,

I have to agree with 100%. This stuff is better then Pipe Shield. I have a been a PS for a long time until you introduce me to TSP. 10-15 min. is all you need.

The only chips I have yet to try on is hot stamp.

NF

[weak]

is this stuff dangerous? any precautions needed when handling it?

[ipgyst]

Here's a link to an MSDS (Material Safety Data Sheet). TSP looks fairly benign.

Sodium Phosphate, Tribasic, 12-Hydrate

[weak]

Originally Posted by ipgyst

Here's a link to an MSDS (Material Safety Data Sheet). TSP looks fairly benign.

Sodium Phosphate, Tribasic, 12-Hydrate

thx for the link. makes me wonder if i want that stuff on my chips:

Inhalation:
Causes irritation to the respiratory tract. Symptoms may include coughing, shortness of breath. Behaves as a moderately strong alkali; intense exposure may result in the destruction of mucous membranes. May cause asthmatic bronchitis, chemical pneumonitis, or pulmonary edema.

Skin Contact:
Causes irritation to skin. Symptoms include redness, itching, and pain. Extent of damage depends on duration of contact. More serious effects may occur if the skin is moist. Aqueous, highly alkaline solutions may produce caustic burns.

Eye Contact:
Causes irritation to eyes, may be severe with possible corneal damage. Aqueous, highly alkaline solutions may produce caustic burns.

[JCTC]

I never used it for chips, but TSP is pretty good at taking oil spots off the garage floor in higher concentrations, and will severely irratate your skin, so I wore gloves. The fumes are bad for you as well. I'm not sure what it's like in lower concentrations as I only used it on the garage floor.

[Double Eagle]

It's a great deck cleaner/brightener.

[GreatDeals22]

When I used the TSP to clean my chips...I did a triple rinse with cold clean water before drying them. I have never heard of any complaints from the people who have used Diamond Chip Cleaner... Same cleaning ingredient.
TriSodium Phosphate.

I did wear gloves for most of the 1000 chips that I cleaned. Took the gloves
off near the last 150 or so because I got water inside one glove. No adverse
reactions to my hands.

1 tablespoon per 32 oz. of water is a petty weak solution. No fumes that I could smell.

It took me 1 hour 15 minutes to clean 1000 chips using TSP. It would
have taken hours to clean the same amount of chips with dish soap and a soft brush. My hands would have looked like hell after spending that amount of time in soapy water.

[jdunford]

Originally Posted by ipgyst

Here's a link to an MSDS (Material Safety Data Sheet). TSP looks fairly benign.

Sodium Phosphate, Tribasic, 12-Hydrate

That's funny. I was just talking about trisodium phosphate in my class 2 hours ago.

Phosphoric acid is a tri-protic acid... trisodium phosphate is the fully un-protonated conjugate base, which is a STRONG BASE! (Hence the "strongly alkaline" comment in section 9, and "reacts violently with water and acids" in section 10 of the MSDS). Dissolving it in water produces a very basic (alkaline) solution (and is exothermic = releases heat). That's why it irritates skin, eyes, lungs, respiratory tract, stomach, etc.

Avoid exposing "TSP" to any acids... unless you want to see a very exothermic neutralization reaction. And you should add acids to bases, whenever possible... so to reduce the probability of something going horribly wrong, add water (or stronger acid) TO a concentrated solution of TSP, not the other way around, or it'll tend to spatter.

Otherwise, it's fairly non-toxic (in terms of accute toxicity).