Cleaning Rare Disc Records

[OrthoFan]

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?

What I noticed was a gradual deterioration of the surface after cleaning some records using Windex. This was many years ago, and I no longer remember what the labels or records were. I do remember that after cleaning them, it only took a few plays before the sound quality became garbled, and there was noticeable black grit on the needle point. (I knew, even then, to always use a fresh steel needle.) I asked a collector friend about this and he told me never to use Windex or similar types of cleaners on 78s -- only mild detergent and distilled water, as recommended above. I've followed this advice for the past 30 years, and never had any problems.

OF

[gramophoneshane]

More than likely the ingredience of Windex has changed over the years, and it probably had a higher alcohol content 30 years ago. I still wouldn't use Windex because it still does contain alcohol, and alcohol is the very thing that dissolves shellac.
I look at cleaning records as I do for cleaning my hands. To remove dirt & oils etc, I wash my hands with soap & water, and that's what I use on records too.
The only reason I would ever use any type of solvent on a record, is if there was paint or some other substance on a disc that soap & water wouldn't remove- same as my hands.

[WDC]

Thanks a lot for clarification on the Windex case. I was quite suspicious about that the very first time. Regular dish washing liquid is what I have used over years which never caused any problems. So, I better stick to that method.

[reboot31]

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.

This is what I do with my disc. Never had problems..

[martinola]

I've noticed (or think I have noticed) that after soap & water washing some 78s (mostly scroll Victors) that it increases the graininess of the surface. Anybody else run into that?

-Martin