Titebond VS Discofilm

[Xaromir]

Greetings! On some records i get a lot of quiet crackling in the background, even though i ALWAYS brush them with a carbon brush before i play, so i guess they are dirty, so i guess it's time to think about cleaning.

I keep seeing people using Titebond and other woodglue to clean their vinyl, but Discofilm does basically the same, i think the price is also comparable, i don't know how much it takes of each to clean a record, but i know the Discofilm can be dissolved by itself and water again, but i'm not sure if i can re-use it. Does anyone have any experience with one or both methods and what the limitations are? I'm sure a 500ml package of Discofilm would last quite long if you could just put it back in the package again and dissolve it without creating issues.

[Xaromir]

Nobody used either of those methods so far?

[kelvinMunson]

Most people use a mix of isopropyl and water, either manually with a brush and microfibre cloths to dry, or in a RCM to clean their vinyl.

This is an extremely effective method; have you read through the numerous threads on here ?

[Xaromir]

I'm somewhat scared of getting the labels wet by accident and maybe ruining them, or scratching the grove with a particle in the cloth, that's my main objection to these methods, this is not an issue with Discofilm, as there always is a thin layer of film between the record and what you apply it with, and i can put it back in it's sleeve and peel it off when i actually want to play it, i think it's the same with Titebond. Well i guess i'm just a little scared of ruining them.

[kelvinMunson]

I'm somewhat scared of getting the labels wet by accident and maybe ruining them, or scratching the grove with a particle in the cloth, that's my main objection to these methods, this is not an issue with Discofilm, as there always is a thin layer of film between the record and what you apply it with, and i can put it back in it's sleeve and peel it off when i actually want to play it, i think it's the same with Titebond. Well i guess i'm just a little scared of ruining them.

Well, it's obviously a judgement you can make.... but I can assure you the majority of members here wet clean and don't damage their records or spoil the labels. Maybe it would be worth looking through some of the relevent threads.

I have personally wet cleaned thousands of records and never damaged one.

[boris of tick fen]

The odd splash of water / IPA doiesn't seem to damage labels. I've not come across discofilm.

Adam

[Xaromir]

The odd splash of water / IPA doiesn't seem to damage labels. I've not come across discofilm.

Adam

Blimey, i actually can't find an english site for it! Well here goes:
It's basically like the woodglue method, though it's a polymer specifically made for that, it dissolves in water and in itself, you just put it on the record, let it dry and pull it off again. I actually cleaned my camera's sensor with it for the past 6 years. Here is a before and after from their homepage:


I think even if that water+iso method works, i may still try and experiment with it once i have a bit more money available. Though i'm surprised that there doesn't seem to be any availability outside of germany, that stuff is around for quite a while and it sure gets my sensor clean, and i imagine it works just as good with what it was intended for. xD

[hezagenius]

In regards to getting the label wet, I used to be fearful that any drop of water would ruin the label. For the vast majority of records, this just is not so.

Now, when I buy a record from a thrift shop or used record store, my cleaning regimen includes doing an initial rinse off in the sink with tap water and I get the labels wet. I then scrub the records in a wash basin (filled with tap water, 91% IPA, and some pure dish soap) using a microfiber sponge in the direction of the grooves and press the sponge onto and off of the label, not scrubbing the label. This seems to really help get any smoke odor off the label. After I rinse in distilled water, dry with microfiber cloth (again pressing the cloth onto the label, not scrubbing it), let air dry, and run through a VPI, the labels look perfect.

If I wanted to clean a really old or valuable record, I may be less inclined to get the label wet, but for all of my records I have cleaned this way, so far all labels look the same after the cleaning as they did before.

[crofk]

So do you have a website for discofilm? or a website to purchase it?

kc

[Xaromir]

So do you have a website for discofilm? or a website to purchase it?

kc

If you are germanly inclined or willing to put up with google translate's quirks there is this one:
http://www.discofilm.eu/
I sometimes ship things to the us and it tends to cost a bit. I think you have to email the guy. If you want to see the product, there is a video about cleaning a sensor with Discofilm, but it's in german, but it shows what it is in a photographic context. Somehow nobody seems to use it for cleaning records anymore. xD
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6s_AxUWFXe4

In regards to getting the label wet [snip]

When i was reading the hair on my neck stood straight up. I never thought a label could survive that. I may try how far i can push it with a sample LP. I now tried to clean one with 1drop of dishsoap a bit of isopropanol, and mostly tabwater (didn't let it dry, wiped it off) and the label got wet and it actually survived and it was like i never got some on it. The cleaning results are not that great, some sports seem cleaner than others, but i guess i'll just keep practicing.

[Alec124c41]

Don't use tapwater. Use distilled water.

Cheers,
Alec

[Xaromir]

I know, chalk and so on, i just tried on a sacrificial record to try out the method, maybe that's why it wasn't that great of a result. I'm getting some distilled water today.

[Dave W]

I assume Discofilm is the same as this stuff?
http://recordrevirginizer.com/orderuk.html

[Alec124c41]

There have been several threads on this topic. PVA glue is a lot cheaper than hat stuff.

Cheers,
Alec