Cleaning cylinders

[WDC]

AFAIK, the cloudy blueish-grey bloom is lead that is coming out of the wax composition after awhile. The reason for the good mold resistance is likely even caused by an added amount of sulfur or copper. The reduction of softening components was simply necessary to keep the wear at a level to have 4-minute cylinders of merchantable quality.

[hillndalefan]

Edison's last 2-minute cylinders were also made of the same brittle "wax" as the Amberols. The hazy appearance does wipe off well, leaving the record looking nice, but only temporarily. Playing them takes care of this look on the grooves, but the heating system where I live is so inadequate, that I only feel somewhat safe playing them in the Summer [when I'm not using air conditioning]. Therefore, I record them as I play them so I don't have to risk breaking them again. It's frustrating, because some of the most interesting titles were never re-issued as Blue Amberols.

[edisonphonoworks]

Curious norm, About the lead in the wax Amberols and late GM?. The only reference I have heard conserning this was called 'The origins. Of records", printed in a newsletter, from a record collector. I have never came across the post 1908 formula in any research from Edison laboratory notes to confirm this. I do have copies of hand written 1904 October formula by Jonas Aylsworth and D.A. Dodd with two GM formulations, both start out with aluminum brown wax base, but one has carnauba, and pine tar, ceresin, lampblack. Added and the other formula subs ebonite, for carnauba. Zinc and copper are dissolved in sulfuric acid, washed in several changes of boiling water, and added in the wet state. The ebonite formula, the ebonite is first melted, at 360 F the copper powder added, then stearic, and aluminum sodium hydroxide, totally opposite order of the carnauba where stearic is first melted, followed by aluminate of soda ect, as brown wax base made. What I tend to think is the wax formula was used until 1908, and. EBONITE (hard rubber) formula used to make Amberol and late GM records. This would explain the very brittle problem with them. When I melt softer comp GM it has a smell similar to my regular brown wax, while the later stuff has a very acrid strong hydrocarbon oder, with a burnt rubber smell.