Record lubricants and fillers.

[gramophoneshane]

"I have not heard of using WD-40. Does this improve the background static?"

Yes, it does... I started using it years ago whenever I ran across a record that had been played a lot and was noisy... What it does is rejuvenates the shellac, not only in appearance, but also in playability. I use it now to clean all shellac records, Diamond Discs and Amberols, along with Indestructible cylinders. It works great on shellac and celluloid, with no harm done to the originals - it does not dissolve shellac or celluloid.

It removes crud from the grooves and makes those kind of gray, worn records, look great and play better again. It also rejuvenates the black japan paint on phonograph horns... This method always seems to generate a certain level of skepticism, but if you are in doubt, take a record you don't really care about and play it without using the WD-40. Then take the same record, spray it with WD-40, wipe it off and play it again with a steel needle... you will be surprised.

I've always held the opinion that the best thing to do with any shellac record is to wash it to remove dust and dirt, and any other contaminates that weren't on the record when it left the factory.
This method has worked well on most records regardless of their condition, but I have come across some that are simply too worn to play successfully. They either won't play through to the end without wearing the needle prematurely, or will bring the turntable to a halt within 20 secs of starting the record.

Late last night I decided to play a few records and so randomly grabbed about a dozen or so records from my HMV designated shelf to take to the dining room and play.

Most of what I'd grabbed turned out to be droll Red Seal type records, but amongst them was one of my favorite Crummit recordings, "I'm betting the roll on Roamer".
I've got several copies of this disc and the best copy is stored in a record album in one of my uprights, along with copies of other Frank Crummit titles.
This copy however turned out to be by far in the worst condition of them all. I've actually thought a few times about throwing it away because it's so bad even my 4 spring Re-entrant couldn't get through it successfully.
The only reasons it's still here is because I like the song so much, and I thought there might be a chance it could be played on an electric machine, although admittedly I have never tried it.

Anyway, I put the record on my Library Bijour Grand thinking I could help it along by spinning the record with my finger, and not wanting to search through hundreds of records for a better copy or get the album from the other end of the house.
Within 15 secs of starting the record, the machine had come to a complete stop, and I really didn't feel like twirling my finger on the label for the entire duration of the song, so disappointed, I took the disc from the turntable.
Then I suddenly remembered Curt's WD-40 tip, and thought to myself, this record is...toast, so I might as well give it ago and i have nothing to lose.

After its WD-40 treatment it went back on the turntable, and I didn't even bother changing the needle with its 15 seconds wear.
I was amazed when the record played through til the end without not even a slight drop in speed during the course of the song.
There was a drop in sound quality obviously, due to previous damage done within the record grooves, but there was also an audible improvement because the needle actually lasted until the end of the record.

I remember the last time I attempted to play this copy on my Re-entrant.
Apart from slowing on loud passages and notes, the sound quality was dreadful half way through the side, and by the end the needle was so blunt and worn, the recording was fading in and out like it was being played with a Rusty nail.

I was definitely one of the "don't do it" crowd, and while I won't be doing this to many records in my collection, I will do the worst of them and essentially try to make any I've classed as unplayable into playable discs again.

I'll now be playing my previously unplayable Frank Crummit record in future. While it's not perfect, it's certainly good enough to be played and enjoyed now. If I can get similar results from other trashed duplicates without sacrificing too much sound quality I'll be very happy indeed.
I'd much rather be wearing an already worn record, instead of wearing a shiny pristine copy,

[Daithi]

Within 15 secs of starting the record, the machine had come to a complete stop, and I really didn't feel like twirling my finger on the label for the entire duration of the song, so disappointed, I took the disc from the turntable.
Then I suddenly remembered Curt's WD-40 tip, and thought to myself, this record is...toast, so I might as well give it ago and i have nothing to lose.

After its WD-40 treatment it went back on the turntable, and I didn't even bother changing the needle with its 15 seconds wear.
I was amazed when the record played through til the end without not even a slight drop in speed during the course of the song.
There was a drop in sound quality obviously, due to previous damage done within the record grooves, but there was also an audible improvement because the needle actually lasted until the end of the record.

I was definitely one of the "don't do it" crowd, and while I won't be doing this to many records in my collection, I will do the worst of them and essentially try to make any I've classed as unplayable into playable discs again.

I'll now be playing my previously unplayable Frank Crummit record in future. While it's not perfect, it's certainly good enough to be played and enjoyed now. If I can get similar results from other trashed duplicates without sacrificing too much sound quality I'll be very happy indeed.
I'd much rather be wearing an already worn record, instead of wearing a shiny pristine copy,

A very interesing and persuasive account Shane, thanks.. ....

[AudioFeline]

The WD40 would be acting as a lubricant, and it's understandable how this could assist playback.
I'm still wary of using the product though. Is there another alternative - a pure lubricant that doesn't have any other damaging chemicals, that also wouldn't leave a deposit that would accumulate in the groove/stylus?

[CarlosV]

The WD40 would be acting as a lubricant, and it's understandable how this could assist playback.
I'm still wary of using the product though. Is there another alternative - a pure lubricant that doesn't have any other damaging chemicals, that also wouldn't leave a deposit that would accumulate in the groove/stylus?

There are people that advertise the use of shellac powder. I once bought some and tried on a worn record. The result was ... a worn record that looked a little lighter than before (shellac powder is yellowish). No improvement in sound whatsoever.

In the twenties and thirties there were products for sale to improve record sound. I have a little can made by French Pathé, it is some kind of dark wax, completely hardened today, so I never tried it. Contemporary literature also recommended the use of paraphin, just rubbing a candle over the grooves. I tried it once as well on a worn record, and did not notice any improvement, and the wax was dully dragged out of the record grooves by the needle when I played it. The late Pepiatt (EMGColonel)posted thousands of you tube videos playing old records, and in some of them he used to apply wax on his discs.

Out of curiosity after following this thread, I tried the WD40 on a relatively worn record. I did not notice any improvement in sound, and moreover the WD40 did not dry out, leaving an oily layer that will attract dust and seep through the paper sleeve.

In summary, until the miracle record rejuvenator shows up, I will stick with my procedure of cleaning the records and play them without any addictives. And throwing out the very worn ones.

[Daithi]

In summary, until the miracle record rejuvenator shows up, I will stick with my procedure of cleaning the records and play them without any addictives. And throwing out the very worn ones.

If you save up all your worn out records and send them to me, I'll pay the postage.

[AudioFeline]

...Out of curiosity after following this thread, I tried the WD40 on a relatively worn record. I did not notice any improvement in sound, and moreover the WD40 did not dry out, leaving an oily layer that will attract dust and seep through the paper sleeve...

Exactly - another reason why I'm reluctant to use WD40.

[gramophoneshane]

I was also thinking it would seep into the paper sleeve, but after applying and then wiping it off, it didn't happen, or at least not enough for my naked eye to see.
I should imagine that on some microscopic level the paper will absorb some amount of the product, and over time it could very well deteriorate the paper by altering it pH levels, but the way I see it is, I've only done this to a couple discs that by all accounts were what I'd class as unplayable and probably should have been thrown away.
Now however, they can be played so I'll play those rather than continue to wear my good copies.
There will never be a product that can replace the shellac that's been worn away in the grooves, that shellac is gone forever. But what it has done is lubricated the badly worn shellac enough to enable a steel needle to travel over that wear so as to not cause the point of the steel needle to wear prematurely before the end of the recording.
These previously unplayable records are the only records I'd ever try this on. There's no way I'd ever apply any substance to the surface of any record that was in playable condition to start with.

[Orchorsol]

Is there another alternative - a pure lubricant that doesn't have any other damaging chemicals, that also wouldn't leave a deposit that would accumulate in the groove/stylus?

Surely this is an impossible question - adding a lubricant will always be a deposit and some will remain in the groove. Oily materials are bound to accumulate other microscopic debris as well, which may or may not be a problem.

As mentioned before, ibota wax is the closest thing to perfection in my opinion - a tiny amount is highly effective, it isn't sticky, and as a material it's homologous in a way with shellac (exuded by an insect).

[poodling around]

Well, I had trouble with some very old records when using my home made bamboo needles.

So I tried using a stick of bees wax (not the whole thing - just smearing across) on the records and guess what ? I found it works very well !

The improved sound, reduction in drag etc is really very impressive.

Billy Williams sounds better than ever

So for those occasional 'difficult' records when using bamboo needles, I find bees wax is very good.

[edisonplayer]

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

I think the gentleman's name was Ron Kramer,I could be wrong.edisonplayer