RE: [AV Media Matters] Cleaning discs

[lanyap@inlink.com]

With all due respect & with no desire to drag around old business, this
report was in no way an evaluation of the "best" way to clean acetates.  It
simply represented an approach used by one institution to satisfy a
contract they undertook.  As such they had no interest in making
comparisons with our methods or materials, nor was it deemed appropriate at
the time for us to be allowed to comment on the results.

Our efforts over the past 20 years have reached a different conclusion and
anyone interested can make the comparison themselves rather than take our
word for it.  Clean acetates or lacquers for that matter as described &
then re-clean them with our system.  The difference is audible.  On the
other hand, cleaning with their approach after using ours will no afford
audible improvements.

The chemistry applied in the Georgia State lacks thoroughness & is highly
questionable in the long term due to the difficulty of rinsing the surfaces
free of carbonate & hydroxide salts & the potential harm such materials can
cause.

The fact that I got my Master's Degree in organic chemistry from the
University of  Georgia is not the basis of our bias against this study ;>)
.  We simply do not believe that cleaning formulations based upon
components that do not clean thoroughly, do not rinse well & are reactive
with the matrix & support are the approach that should be taken for archive
quality cleaning.

Regards,

Duane Goldman

At 09:44 AM 11/28/00 -0800, Bob Savage wrote:
>
>There is an article about cleaning "acetate discs" in an old issue of ARSC
>Journal, (by the folks at Georgia State, I believe), which found that the
>best thing was Kodak Lens Cleaner (a solution of Ammonium Carbonate).
>
>Best,
>
>Bob Savage
>Media Preservation Unit
>Stanford University Libraries
>bsavage@stanford.edu
>
>-----Original Message-----
>From: C Linstead [mailto:Cheryl.Linstead@gems7.gov.bc.ca]
>Sent: Saturday, November 25, 2000 7:40 PM
>To: AV Media Matters
>Subject: [AV Media Matters] Cleaning discs
>
>A question on appropriate cleaning methods:
>
>We are in the process of recording the content of phonograph discs on CDR.
>The discs are cellulose nitrate. The placticizer has migrated out and has
>broken down into palmitic acid. It looks waxy, but under a microscope it
>looks crystalline.
>
>By what method should the disc be cleaned of this residue?
>
>Any direct or linked information, on or off list, is greatly appreciated.
>
>Thanks!
>Cheryl.
>
>Cheryl Linstead
>Audio-Visual Records Curator, BC Archives
>Information, Science and Technology Agency
>Phone: (250) 387-2959  /  Fax: (250) 387-2072
>Cheryl.Linstead@gems7.gov.bc.ca
>http://www.bcarchives.gov.bc.ca/index.htm
--
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