Cleaning Rare Disc Records

[phononut]

Hello,
I need to know how to clean rare disc recordings properly-from the 1905 period.I have seen some insructions with Windex and regular detergent.I need to know the proper way that won't damage them.I followed some instructions from an "experenced collector" for cleaning blue amberols with alcohol.Im more or less a newbie so I trusted this guy.I later found out this destroys them!

Thanks for your help
Brad

[schweg]

http://www.78rpm.com/

Advice from Kurt Nauck's webpage.

[schweg]

Here's the text from his advice on cleaning records-

How do I clean my records?

The vast majority of vintage disc records are made of shellac mixed with various fillers, compounds and dyes. Though you can purchase cleaning solutions, brushes and machines that will do a grand job, it is not necessary for the average collector to go to this expense. Unless a record is really filthy or greasy, gently rubbing with a damp terrycloth towel in the direction of the grooves will remove most of the dirt. This should be done on a soft flat surface to prevent cracking the disc, and the towel should be rinsed out frequently if cleaning more than just a few records. Follow the cleaning towel with a fluffy dry one, and let the record air-dry for a few minutes before placing it back in the sleeve. If the record is really dirty, it is generally safe to wash it with soapy water. Use a mild liquid dish-washing detergent, and rinse well before drying. Whatever you do, don’t use alcohol-based cleaners or solutions such as Windex on your records – you might wind up stripping off the surface!

It is important that records are not left immersed in water for any length of time. Some records (Columbias and Edison Diamond Discs, for instance) are laminated over a core that will quickly swell if it gets wet. This causes peeling in the form of lamination cracks and edge separations. Additionally, certain labels can be damaged by water - especially those with porous paper or water-soluble inks.

Wax cylinders may be cleaned with a soft damp cloth, but don’t attempt to remove mold or mildew. These growths eat into the surface of the cylinder itself, and are impossible to remove without also removing the grooves. Mold growth can only be retarded or arrested, not removed. (There is some evidence to suggest that what we refer to as ‘mold’ on a cylinder isn't actually mold at all, but a long-term chemical reaction within the wax. Either way, care and prevention are the same.)

[gramophone78]

Another Canadian...... . Brad, I use a mild dish soap with a warm water and a soft toothbrush. After I finnish. I give it a last rinse with distilled water (leaves no deposits) and let air dry.
Hope that helps. Also, try to avoid wetting the label as much as you can.

[Amberola 1-A]

Brad,

What I do to clean shellac 78s is fill a pan with warm water with a few drops of mild liquid dish soap and with an old washcloth, I sparingly wet the surface of the disc, scrubbing gently in the direction of the groove with the washcloth and then rinse it under the faucet with slightly warm water being careful not to get the label too wet. I use an old soft towel and gently pat it dry and put it aside for about a day so it gets completely dry. Do not play a damp 78!
Don't do this with an Edison disc! Water will cause the wood flour core to swell if it gets through a break in the condensite and cause the surface to possibly delaminate or crack.
For Edison BAs and other celluloid cylinders, I use a much diluted Simple Green. It is non-toxic and will not harm the celluloid surface but cleans it nicely.

Bill

[need4art]

Hi All,
I have posted about Labtone a product that both the Library of Congress and the Smithsonian use to clean records and cylinders. I have been using that product for 4 years now and find that it does an outstanding job. Having talked with conservators at both institutions I can tell you that there are several reasons why this is a much better product than any of those mentioned in the post-but the main reasons are that microscopic examination shows a much better cleaning process and no reside left in the groves of the record.
If the group would like I can repeat the procedure and where to obtain the dry chemical.
Abe

[OrthoFan]

Just to hammer in the point made above, and based on my sad experience when I was a newbie:

Faux Craford.JPG (14.77 KiB) Viewed 2165 times

[bbphonoguy]

If the record is just dusty/dirty, I wipe it gently with a record cleaning brush. This usually does the trick. If the record is exceptionally dusty, I wipe it several times, cleaning the brush after each time. I never use soap unless the record has something oily or greasy that can't be removed any other way.

[WDC]

For wax cylinders I remain with isopropyl alcohol which completely dissolves. The lack of detergent ingredients makes it completely safe as there cannot be residue left.

And a big NO for cleaning any celluloid cylinders with alcohol! Although it appears to work fine, alcohol dissolves camphor which was used as a softening agent in celluloid cylinders (like indestructibles and Blue Amberols). One can actually smell the camphor when applying alcohol to the record surface. In the end you will shorten the lifetime of a cylinder. It will age faster of becoming brittle at an earlier stage. Because of the shrink effect this will eventually lead to a split cylinder one day.

If the group would like I can repeat the procedure and where to obtain the dry chemical.

Have you possibly come by to provide an ingredients list of Labtone? It does sound still interesting but I'd like to know what's in this magic cleaning solution before using it.

Just to hammer in the point made above, and based on my sad experience when I was a newbie

I friend of mine recently started with that and I am still concerned about this method, even it looked like it worked. I know that Windex contains alcohol but the cleaned records still looked and played fine after cleaning. Can you give any details of your bad experience with using Windex? Was there a long-term effect?

[Lenoirstreetguy]

One last thing, distilled water is the thing to use if your water is hard, like it is here. You can end up with more surface noise than when you started if you use tap water. Toronto's water comes out of Lake Ontario which would make one think it would be fairly soft: not so!

Jim