How do I clean my Edison Cylinder Records

[edisonphonoworks]

I have never seen a moldy wax Amberol either. Charley Hummel showed me a chemical bottle at Union that he said came from the Edison factory, and was used in cylinder production. I suspect for making wax Amberols, I wrote down what was on the label, on the back of my early buyer badge, I am not at home where I wrote it down, so will try to type it, however, I will probably butcher it. Jaliphan Valeranate, I tried to reference what that was, but have come up with nothing. The wax Amberols, and later Gold Moulded records were made of the same formula, for a spun moulding process. The mould was bell shape and first heated in a steam-heated heater. The mould was put down a chute in a moulding machine, that spun the cylinders down 3 rollers, at several thousand rpm and the machine was slanted downward on an angle. The records came out the end hard enough to retain the shape, but hot and expanded. The moulds were put in a lathe that created the taper and ribs on the inside with water-cooled tools. After this, the records were put in a water-cooled chiller,(water circulating through metal tubes in a box-like affair) that made the compound contract from the mould. After the records were taken out of the mould, lubricated metal cores were inserted into the bore of the records, and they sat on them in a warm room for about two hours. The cores were pressed out with a hand press and ready for boxes.

[Gator Mike]

Hello, all. My father-in-law's restored Amberola 75 and something north of 200 cylinders (all Blue Amberola, if I'm not mistaken) have relocated to my home. I've read this thread, and wonder what y'all think of using a Discwasher record brush to clean the cylinders? You probably know it, that velvet brush with the nice wood grip which was a staple of vinyl LP record care for a long while... The bonus question is whether or not to use the D4 cleaning solution which would be lightly (a few drops) applied to the velvet prior to "sweeping" the record (and the residue brushed off the velvet after each use)? These cylinders have been stored under somewhat humid conditions the last few years - I had to clean some mold from the various wood surfaces of the player. Some have the original cardboard cases/sleeves , others don't. A few of the cores are obviously deteriorated, many look playable.
Anyway, I was glad to find this forum, and I hope to benefit from your collective experience. Thanks, and take care.

[phonograph guy3435]

hi! i have about 28 blue amberol cylinders and when they look super dirty, or skip a lot, wipe them playing direction and then back with a baby wipe. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZfSj7sARof4

that's a video on cleaning them

[VanEpsFan1914]

I'd suggest not using baby wipes as they may leave deposits in the grooves. Blue Amberols are celluloid and can be cleaned with a gentle wipe down with pure water and a microfiber cloth as long as they're dried soon after and the water kept well away from the plaster core.

Dawn dish soap in water works for barn-fresh dirty BA's. @Gator Mike there's no reason why a Discwasher wouldn't help.