The Talking Machine Forum — For All Antique Phonographs & Recordings

A filler or lubricant which is organic can perhaps provide a base for mold to grow. So I wonder of all the substsnces used on records, which facilitate the growth of mold and which do not?

RE: AudioFeline: "I would be wary of using WD40. It contains a variety of materials in it, which are unknown how they may react to the playing surface. It may not be noticeable in the short-term, but may do long-term damage or may be noticeable on equipment which is more revealing."

Maybe you didn't see the part where I have been using WD-40 on shellac records, blue Amberols and Indestructible cylinders for 40+ years, with absolutely NO damage. I'm a record collector and take this seriously, I wouldn't recommend something that I didn't believe in... There is nothing in WD-40 that would damage or dissolve shellac or celluloid, in fact it makes worn records sound better... Furniture polish, I agree, absolutely not.

Since you have obviously formed an opinion, without trying it, here is a challenge: take a record that you are not particularly fond of and spray WD-40 on a clean cloth. Wipe the record in a circular pattern with the grooves, then wipe off any excess. Play the record with a steel needle and see if it doesn't clean it and lessen the surface noise...

I saw your post in another thread quite a while ago maybe a year ago regarding the use of WD-40 so I tried it on a few records with great results. You don't need much just a little sprayed on a cloth like you said and then wipe on wipe off. Makes the records look new and play way better. Also noticed the first time I play a record after the WD-40 application some gunk will show up on the needle, but subsequent plays of the same record and there is NO reside on the needle even after multiple plays. One thing to keep in mind is once you "treat" a record with the WD-40 you don't need to do it again for quite a long time any many plays.

Just my experience. Like you said try it on a record and see for yourself. It does work I think.

Back in the 1980's, I bought a lot of cylinder records from a gentleman in Indiana. I can't recall his name right now, but he was a really nice guy. I went to visit him one time, I think he was somewhere north of Indianapolis. He said he kept around 5000 cylinders at any given time. He issued printed catalogues and had prices on each of the records. I would call him and order them and send him a check.

He cleaned all of his Blue Amberols, and possibly others, with cold cream. He wiped it on with his hand and wiped it off with a kleenex. I tried it myself on a number of dirty cylinders. It worked quite well. To the best of my knowledge, none of them were damaged. They're still playing and looking good after 40 years. I'm not advocating this, but I just wanted to bring it up. Has anyone else heard of this?

Harry

Interesting about the cold cream. What brand, variety, time frame? Reason I bring up these points is that Pond's Cleansing Cream, sparingly applied and sprayed with water, used to be the standard lubricant for trombone slides. All the professionals used it---then the day came that, suddenly, Pond's didn't work so well anymore. Panic in the trombone world! Seems the maker had changed the formula and added lanolin, which most definitely will not work on trombone slides (I'm talking about the playing slide, not the tuning slide, where lanolin works well). Fortunately, about that time a new generation of synthetic lubricant formulations was coming on the scene, some of which proved to be very effective for trombone slides. Whew! Great relief in the trombone world! Moral: if you use "cold cream" today, there's no telling whether it will work tomorrow, or whether yesterday's version will be effective in future.

I think cold cream (like Vick's VapoRub), because it contains camphor and may have been intended to replace what evaporated over the decades. Not saying that this works or is recommended, but that is the only reason I could see for cold cream on cylinders. Wild guess

Andreas

alang wrote:I think cold cream (like Vick's VapoRub), because it contains camphor and may have been intended to replace what evaporated over the decades. Not saying that this works or is recommended, but that is the only reason I could see for cold cream on cylinders. Wild guess

Andreas

FYI, "cold cream" doesn't refer to a cream you use when you have a cold like VapoRub. It's a face cream used to moisturize and/or remove makeup.

52089 wrote:

alang wrote:I think cold cream (like Vick's VapoRub), because it contains camphor and may have been intended to replace what evaporated over the decades. Not saying that this works or is recommended, but that is the only reason I could see for cold cream on cylinders. Wild guess

Andreas

FYI, "cold cream" doesn't refer to a cream you use when you have a cold like VapoRub. It's a face cream used to moisturize and/or remove makeup.

Never mind then

Andreas

52089 wrote:

alang wrote:I think cold cream (like Vick's VapoRub), because it contains camphor and may have been intended to replace what evaporated over the decades. Not saying that this works or is recommended, but that is the only reason I could see for cold cream on cylinders. Wild guess

Andreas

FYI, "cold cream" doesn't refer to a cream you use when you have a cold like VapoRub. It's a face cream used to moisturize and/or remove makeup.

Although Noxzema™ does contain camphor, or so my nose tells me...

- Bill

Curt A wrote:RE: AudioFeline: "I would be wary of using WD40. It contains a variety of materials in it, which are unknown how they may react to the playing surface. It may not be noticeable in the short-term, but may do long-term damage or may be noticeable on equipment which is more revealing."

Maybe you didn't see the part where I have been using WD-40 on shellac records, blue Amberols and Indestructible cylinders for 40+ years, with absolutely NO damage....

Since you have obviously formed an opinion, without trying it, ...

Hi Curt. Yes, I readily admit to having formed an opinion without trying it. It's an opinion based on reading many peoples opinions, and ultimately wanting to be conservative in my approach so I don't unintentionally do damage. It's a standard conservation approach.

I do not discount your experience using WD40. I don't know the equipment you are using to play the cylinders, if it's original mechanical equipment it is feasible that something that provides some lubrication may improve the sound.

Chemical damage can occur slowly, so it may not be noticeable immediately. The damage may be subtle, and so may only be revealed when the disks are played using an electronic cartridge.

As I said, I prefer to be conservative and use cleaning methods which are known not to damage.