[78-L] did we ever find consensus as to how to clean these things (Diamond Discs)

[H D Goldman]

Hi Dave,

We & numerous others have demonstrated for years that wetting agents such as photo-flo/water & various alcohol-water mixtures with or without you favorite dish washing liquid do not routinely afford thorough cleaning of disc phonograph recordings regardless of how the fluids are applied or removed.

If this were indeed the case we would not have needed to develop alternative products that afford both safe & thorough cleaning.  While the myth that Diamond Discs cannot be safely cleaned with water-based solutions persists, it is in fact just a myth.

Individuals & institutions throughout the world have safely cleaned 1000's of Diamond Discs with a carefully developed water-based solution.  Of course there as special & easily met precautions that must be taken with Diamond Discs, notably avoiding wetting the spindle area & minimizing contact with the side wall for those discs where this area was not well sealed. 

The collections of Ray Wile, George Copeland & the Yale Historical Sound Recordings offer excellent examples of the saftey & effectiveness of this approach.  

The list of typical contaminants that "naptha" & other flammable hydrocarbons will remove from Diamond Discs is shorter than the list of contaminants it won't remove.  From a safety standpoint, such solvents should not be used for any type of routine cleaning within the home environment. 

Regards,

Duane Goldman


On Nov 27, 2010, at 3:45 PM, 78records at cdbpdx.com wrote:

> Naptha seems to work well for me.  Can't find naptha?  Use ZIPPO lighter fluid, pure naptha. (learned this from a stamp dealer)
> 
> DO NOT USE RONSON or other brand lighter fluids.

> 
> "...did we ever find consensus as to how to clean these things? This record needs a bath, and I recall that Edison's own suggestion of isopropyl alcohol is actually injurious to the record. In fact, getting it wet at all seems like a bad idea, but I would like to clean it up if I can.
> 
> Uncle Dave Lewis
> uncledavelewis at hotmail.com"

H D Goldman Lagniappe Chemicals Ltd. 
PO Box 37066 St. Louis, MO 63141 USA
v/f 314 205 1388 thedoctor at discdoc.com