Cleaning 78S??

[tdat7192]

I am about to receive a batch of 78s from my in-laws. I remember hearing somewhere that typical lp cleanering fluids will damage 78s. Does anyone have any recommendations on cleaning these?
Thank you!

[Damien Taylor]

No alcohol! Honestly I've had good luck with soap and water and rinsed in distilled water. Let to air dry in dish rack, don't wet the label.

[tdat7192]

Thanks for the tips. I will just use a mild soap and rinse with distilled water. Thank you.

[Whitneyville]

Be very, very careful...I'm hunting wabbits. No seriously, 78's were almost all made of shellac, so no alcohol. My 78's are getting seriously fragile as they age too. You can use 100% pure glycerin on the records as you transcribe them to cut surface noise, but they'll need to be washed again, but I've found it worth the extra effort. If you have "soft" water, old P&G real bar soap is very gentle. A soft toothbrush can be used to clean an amazing amount of "gunk" out of the grooves. You'll probably want to find the largest stylus available. I use a 3 mil diamond(looks like an ear-ring) conical.

[tdat7192]

Thanks for the heads up. I knew they were more delicate than 33s but them getting more so with age makes sense.
Ahh now to get the right cart/stylus.
(PS Haven't gotten to see the in-laws yet.)

[dotfret]

Use a shower cleaner spray - look at the label, and buy one that only contains NON-IONIC surfactants. Rinse with tap water, final rinse with distilled water (use a garden spray for that, or it gets expensive).

Washing 78s can lift the surface - most are of laminated construction - do not soak them. If a part of the surface lifts, it usually goes down on drying.

Washing also softens the shellac, so don't play them for 24 hr after they are apparently dry, or you may be faced with picking bits of shellac off the stylus with a craft knife.

[tdat7192]

Thank you for the warnings. I probably would have soaked them, glad that now I won't be doing that.
Fortunately I haven't gotten to them yet so they are still safe.

[paul401]

Hi, I found the micro-fibre type cleaning cloths to be very good for both a "pre-wash" wipe and for drying / wiping after cleaning. From the colour of the cloths after use they certainly seem to remove a lot of dirt. Paul.

[1200y3]

Record cleaner dealers can get special fluids for cleaning 78s. At least see what is available what it is all about. Nitty Gritty sells it and you won't have to use their machine. Other cleaner companys hav some too.

The founder of Linn turntables stated that the best cleaner was the stylus itself. For LPs I have been spraying them down with water and Photoflo and brushing it in with a soft brush while playing it. Then I dry it with a relatively new and amazing cloth they call Microfiber. You can also use a vacuum dryer. After 30 years of this hobby I really like the technique. I don't do it on mint records.

It beats hauling out vacuum cleaners and boxes of cleaning supplies.

I do use a Monks style groove cleaner that will almost suck a hole through the record. They are great for the worst jobs like sticky tape goo.

Brushes for cleaning can be made out of velvet.

78's snap like crackers if handled improperly.

Old Colony sells a mix that you brush on and let dry and then peel off. It is amazing but require tension to pull off. This is the only way to actually pull crap off of the groove walls (a stylus could also).

P.S. I EXPERIMENT WITH RECORDS IN EXTREMELY ROUGH CONDITION
THERE IS A LOT OF FUN, HOPE, AND CHALLENGE.
(Thats right Niel, Bob and everyone else in L.P. pressing land, I still revive your records.)

[tdat7192]

Thank you for the additional advice.

I just picked up the batch of records, lots of Guy Lombardo, Bing Crosby, Xavier Cugat and a ton of names less recognizable.

I will begin the cleaning and post the results.

I may have to pick up the 3 mil 78 stylus, but am going to start with a .7 stylus I have.

[dr0ss]

Microfiber is not a new fabric, it goes back to the 50s (and was used in commercial textiles for clothing and upholstery in the 70s). The kind optimized for cleaning (such as lens cloths) has been around since the early 90s.

The brush-on peel-off substance is probably a PVAc emulsion, and I would be reluctant to use it on a 78.

I notice that nobody has pointed out this site yet.

[1200y3]

Glad to see someone follow up on these opinions and ideas.

Van den Hul's FAQ discusses wet play as well. Regular vs once may be different? It is mostly done for stylus preservation.

Microfiber wasn't popular during the heyday of LPs though, and I'm not sure if regular everyday use is a good idea. It is good if it reaches the groove bottom. It is still my favorite choice for first/one time cleaning of masses of flea market records.

Maybe vacuuming is the only way to go. I do not believe in the natural evaporation, it should stay wet untill it is manually dried. A vucuum is another thing to get in the way.

[dr0ss]

Van den Hul's FAQ discusses wet play as well. Regular vs once may be different? It is mostly done for stylus preservation.

I read Van den Hul's FAQ as recommending against wet play ("Therefore the strong advise is: NEVER start"), and in any event he is (let's be honest here) a bit of a loony.

[pivot]

"18 Q: Can I save my stylus by wet replay ?
A: Yes, you can. But keep in mind that from that moment on you must play that record always wet. Whatever you try to
overcome this, you have to suffer till you change to CD. The reason is that the diamond powder from that late night a
while ago (see 16) and all other dust will dry up on the bottom of the groove after the liquid you used has evaporated.
And when you play dry afterwards, the stylus will help you by pushing the debris even more tightly into both groove walls.
So once a wet player, always a wet player. Therefore the strong advise is: NEVER start, then you also never have to stop."

What I read is "NEVER start, then you also never have to stop."

Seems pretty clear to me - DON'T PLAY WET RECORDS.