In person, the chip looked worse than it does in the first picture and now looks better than it does in the second. I also find that handling the chips puts oils back in them that may be leeched out when cleaning (at least the way I clean them). They look great afterward. I made a few cheap mistakes on cleaning when I first started, but I haven't noticed any problems with any chips I have cleaned for years. Of course, my most expensive chips don't make it above John B's low end chips, so it's not as big a deal. I have not cleaned most of my more expensive chips (which are still pretty cheap).

Michael Siskin