WD-40 saves vinyl...

["terence p. keegan" <mickelmor@xxxxxxxxx>]

hi

i was looking through old issues of pro sound news,
medialine's sister magazine, and found this
fascinating article. maybe you folks know about this,
or know not to do it and will at least get a laugh.
hey, maybe WD-40 would kill those bugs...

i joined medialine 4 years ago, and couldn't hazard a
guess as to how PSN got a hold of this bizarre story.
it reminds me of the pix from old LP jackets of
rubber-gloved housewives washing records in the
kitchen sink. the last quote of the story makes it
sound like a dry satire, but that brand of sarcasm is
extremely rare in our magazines.

terence keegan
news editor
medialine


WD-40 Saves Old LPs
(Pro Sound News 10/13/1988, page 16)

San Diego, CA--Many radio stations have them in their
archives--old albums containing songs that were at one
time restricted from being played over the airwaves.
To prevent DJs from accidentally playing the
unformatted music, songs that did not coincide with
the station?s music style or programming, adhesive
stickers or tape were strategically placed across
songs. Today, a significant number of stations would
like to resurrect these vintage LP album cuts, but
unfortunately are coming up against a common barrier:
removing the sticker or tape without damaging the
record.

Recently, assistant chief engineer Jack Dobbs of KSON
AM/FM, a San-Diego based country music station,
discovered a simple, effective solution. "A year ago,
we decided to air some formerly unacceptable music on
our oldies shows. It was then that I started
experimenting with various methods for removing
stickers and tape," said Dobbs. "This was no easy feat
as the slightest scratch on the vinyl will destroy the
quality of the music that is essential for airplay."

Dobbs tested several cleaning products before
stumbling onto an effective three-step method using
simply soap water and WD-40. First, apply warm soapy
water to lift the adhesive sticker?s paper off the
glue base. Using a clean cloth, gently wipe away the
loose paper. Second, to remove the glue of the
sticker, spray the glue area with WD-40, soak for a
minute or two, then work the WD-40 into the glue using
a toothbrush or hard nylon or plastic brush. According
to Dobbs this step does not harm the record in any
way, but it is often necessary since old glue is
usually hard and needs to be worked loose. Third, with
a clean cotton cloth, wipe away all WD-40 before
applying warm soapy water into the grooves of the
record using a circular motion. The result: a
previously unusable song and record band has been
resurrected.

"Through my experiments, I discovered something else:
WD-40 not only removes glue, but it cleans and
restores old records," said Dobbs. "It enhances the
quality of the music, reduces unwanted noise, and
revives the clear, crisp sound needed for airplay."


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