One of the responses to the "clean it with wood glue" posting tells the whole story:
"When I worked in mastering at Sony Studios, we'd use clear Ivory liquid, a sable brush, and warm
running water. Worked like a charm, and if it didn't, we'd put the disc on a VPI vac, custom-made to
fit 16" lacquers."
(I'm assuming a real-deal Sony veteran posted this, which may be a rash assumption on the interwebs)
I agree with this "wash it like a fragile plate" method and it's worked just fine for me in numerous
cases. This is my go-to method for shellac records, substituting a clean, soft sponge for the sable
brush. For LPs, I do prefer the VPI machine's own brush-scrub system only because it's easier and
less messy. There's a universe of solutions you can use, from Duane's and other somewhat costly ones
to home-brew near-zero-cost ones. Some work better than others, plenty of debate, opinions, snake
oil, etc flying around about that (which I'm not addressing here). My experience is that soaping
action and thorough rinsing are key to loosening and washing away grime, and a vacuum system like
the VPI and others does very much help especially with LPs' smaller grooves (the velvet "lips"
collect and dislodge what grime is left and the vacuum then removes it and the liquid). For
wide-groove 78's, I usually just wash in the sink, rinse with well water (tap water in my house) and
dry with a "cham-wow" type cloth. I don't get much grime off my 78 stylii, so I figure this is doing
the job pretty well.
Bottom line, I would never use wood glue or any similar "sticky goo" dirt-removal process. But I
can't say it absolutely doesn't work nor that it's bad for the disk, since I've never done it. I
figure, here's a method (wet-scrubbing) that definitely does work and doesn't create any audible
problems in my experience, so why mess with something else?
By the way, the "slop sink" MO has gotten a little less sloppy:
http://store.acousticsounds.com/d/58982/Spin-Clean-Record_Washer_System-Record_Cleaning_Machine
and you can use the fluid of your choice in this device. I still like the VPI vacuum for LPs
especially, but this little, inexpensive device is a very good system for most people casually using
LPs. Sold by numerous other retailers, so not shilling for Acoustic Sounds, although I've had good
retail experiences with them in the past. YMMV.
-- Tom Fine
----- Original Message -----
From: "Jeremy Smith" <[log in to unmask]>
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Thursday, April 01, 2010 9:08 AM
Subject: [ARSCLIST] Clean LPs with wood glue?
> Maybe not the most time efficient, or archivally sound practice, but something I hadn't heard of
> before....
>
> http://lifehacker.com/5495614/use-wood-glue-to-clean-and-restore-old-lps
>
> --
> Jeremy Smith
> Verizon-Du Bois Metadata Specialist
> Special Collections and University Archives
> University of Massachusetts-Amherst
> 154 Hicks Way
> Amherst MA 01003
> http://www.library.umass.edu/spcoll/
>
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