78 Groove Sizes?

[Lah Ca]

Funny thing--just yesterday I was comparing condition of two very late (definitely shellac) 78s, and I encountered something similar. One side, particularly of one copy, had this oily coating that very quickly fouled the stylus, causing mistracking. I wonder if the material of post-WW II disks was changed to incorporate some sort of chemical, maybe a petroleum-based stabilizer or some such, that is now leaching out?

The central foundational core of my collection is my dad's library, and this is all entirely post WWII--it was more or less handed over to me at age 5, much to the detriment of many of the records. I have never seen this greasy issue with any of his old disks.

I know that some people used to use oil spays on their records And I have heard that some dealers would use furniture polish to make their stock look more appealing. Who knows?

I am now going through a full pickup truck load of boxes, and there are records on the same label out of the same Canadian factory in Quebec in the same year-- and one will have the greasy feel and the other will not. Some of the records with the problem are from the 1910s. Who knows?

Cleaning them thoroughly seems to make the problem go away. And they sound better, too.

[Wolfe]

I wonder if the material of post-WW II disks was changed to incorporate some sort of chemical, maybe a petroleum-based stabilizer or some such, that is now leaching out?

I've never seen such a thing with a shellac record.

I'm sure someone applied something to the record, like WD-40, which some people actually advocate for vinyl records.