Re: [ARSCLIST] Record cleaning fluid recommendations?

[David Seubert <seubert@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

The Library of Congress recipe for their record cleaning solution is listed
on their web page. http://www.loc.gov/preserv/care/record.html (You'll have
to scroll down a bit).

The one problem is that the Triton XL-80N surfactant is very difficult to
get in small quantities. DuPont only sells it in 55 gallon drums, but you
can find it through resellers if you are persistent. It works well and it's
been tested by their chemists. It's worth the effort of cooking up a batch.

David

At 08:09 AM 12/16/2003 -0500, you wrote:
> Ask the Preservation people at the Library of Congress who run tests and
> keep them secret.
>
> Steven Smolian
>
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "John Ross" <johnross@xxxxxxxxxxx>
> To: <ARSCLIST@xxxxxxxxxxxx>
> Sent: Monday, December 15, 2003 4:31 PM
> Subject: Re: [ARSCLIST] Record cleaning fluid recommendations?
>
>
> > Has anybody actually done any systematic research about the relative
> > effectiveness of various commercial and home-brew record cleaning
> mixtures?
> > It seems as if all of the suggestions posted to this thread have been
> > anecdotal reports based on relatively limited experience.
> >
> > I understand that many on this list have extensive experience cleaning and
> > preserving sounds from LPs and other media. I don't intend to belittle
> this
> > expertise. But it's entirely possible that more than one mixture will
> > produce equally effective results, within the requirement that they do not
> > do any damage to the media.  Seems like most people will stop
> experimenting
> > after they find a product that appears to meet their needs.
> >
> > And it's also possible that some common methods are in fact potentially
> > destructive. Or that the difference between different mixtures might be
> > below the noise threshold of many playback chains.
> >
> > I would like to see a study that compares the subjective and/or measured
> > reduction in surface noise after treatment with different mixtures, and
> > using different techniques. Of course, it's true that every LP has a
> > different amount and type of crud in its grooves before cleaning, so the
> > starting point will be somewhat different on each one, but using a
> > reasonable sampling of records from collections and thrift stores ought to
> > produce some kind of useful averages.
> >
> > Does anything like this exist in print or online? If not, would it be
> > productive to organize some formal standards for testing?
> >
> > John Ross
> > Northwest Folklife
> > Seattle
> >
> >
> >
> >
> > At 11:09 AM 12-15-2003 -0600, you wrote:
> > >With all due respect, you're recommending products based upon price
> rather
> > >than the quality of the cleaning.  I'm confident that a superior & safer
> > >level of cleaning is available at a reasonable price & its unfortunate
> that
> > >you have not had an opportunity to hear the results of using these
> materials.