Article 971 of rec.antiques.radio+phono: Path: news.umbc.edu!eff!news.kei.com!yeshua.marcam.com!usc!howland.reston.ans.net!agate!ames!lll-winken.llnl.gov!taco.cc.ncsu.edu!rrcusson From: rrcusson@eos.ncsu.edu (Robert Randolph Cusson) Newsgroups: rec.antiques.radio+phono Subject: Cleaning dirty 78s Date: 17 Oct 1994 15:08:59 GMT Organization: North Carolina State University, Project Eos Lines: 88 Message-ID: <37u42b$k4k@taco.cc.ncsu.edu> NNTP-Posting-Host: c00313-11pa.eos.ncsu.edu VERY DIRTY 78 CLEANING PROCEDURE -------------------------------- This is the procedure I have used for cleaning over 1000 78s so far. It is the only method that has produced excellent results and damaged no records for me. I read it from a book put out by the Library of Congress on restoring 78s. I get my 78s from flea markets and country dealers who house their 78s un-jacketed in barns where they get coated with muddy rain floodwater and mold, so I can barely play them. Normal sedated "wipe gently in mild detergent" methods don't work for my dirtier records so I occasionally use a horsehair brush, but that involves taking a risk. Never use this "wet" method on Edison discs or other laminated records. Use it on laminated Columbias, Okehs, Velvet Tones, Divas, Harmonys and Clarions at your own risk; it works fine for me with these but could delaminate (ruin) them if they soak too long or are already water damaged. Instantaneous acetate (homemade) recordings are risky too; don't wet them if they're chipping, and never scrub them. In short, I'm just sharing this because it works wonders for me and it stops mold growth, but if you do it the wrong way you could ruin your records, so be careful, and don't flame me for this post. If anyone has any suggestions on how to simplify this (i.e. make it faster) or other ways to remove thick films of mud and mold from delicate 78s, please share them! NEED: Kodak Fotoflo 200 solution (found at local camera shop) 2 bins (about 5" deep, 15"x20", I use old 70's phono dust covers) rubber gloves drying racks (two wire record racks from 1950s-1970s) small fan washrag scrub brush or short paint brush (natural stiff bristles; I use 1.5" x 4" horsehair brush & trimmed bristles to 1/4" long) 5 plastic record separators (10" square plastic sheets) old newspaper SETUP: 1. Put 1 part fotoflo to 200 water in soaking & cleaning bins. Purists should use distilled water. Leave washrag in soaking bin to the side. 2. Put fan in front of two record holders, turn on low 4. put newspaper under everything PROCEDURE: 1. Put 5 fairly clean records in the soak bin and wait 3 minutes. Put a separator between each record to keep labels from bleeding on each other. 2. Pull a record out of the soak bin into the wash bin and wash 1/4 of it at a time: do 4 heavy-handed "back-and-fourth" strokes on one quarter of the side, turn 1/4 turn, repeat 3 more times. Repeat for side 2. Go more gently or use washrag instead of brush on warped or cracked or mostly clean records; go heavier on flat but very dirty records. 3. Place the record in soak bin and lightly wipe each side underwater with the rag to remove loose dirt. Hold it above the bin to let it drip 3 seconds and place it on a drying rack. 3. Get another record from your collection, put a separator on top of it, and stick it at the bottom of the soak bin pile. Pull the record off the top of the soak bin pile and set the separator to the side for future use. 4. Repeat from step 2. This way the records should rotate through the soak bin so by the time you wash them the dirt is loose. The Fotoflo solution evaporates quicker than water and leaves no film so no drying with a towel is necessary. After both racks fill up, the records in the first rack should be dry, so gently wipe off any drops at the bottom and put them in their jackets so you can reuse that rack. Hope this helps someone. - Bobby rrcusson@eos.ncsu.edu