I've seen so many pages about cleaning 78s and there seems to be disagreements on water. Many said to avoid it. But i see so many videos using water as part of it and it sounds great. Some say use record cleaner. Other say that disolves the shillac. I just want my vocals to be clearer dagnabbit!
Water will not damage the Shellac unless you leave it in there for days. The reason I would not use Record Cleaner, is because you do not know what is in it. Some record cleaner has Alcohol in it and that will dissolve the Shellac. Ideally you should use distilled or deionised Water but that is over the top as all you want to do is get the dirt out of the groves. A good detergent, like the washing up liquid (Dish soap) I used will get the job done. Remember 78s are brittle and do not like to bend so be gentle with them, but they are not delicate. Normally in use we drag a big lump of metal suspended on a very small rock or steel needle through the grooves. Just treat them with respect. Happy Listening
SWMBO has at least 500+ 78's. We 'clean' them the same way as all the others. For the old/extremely dirty…I “wash” first in my old SpinClean using a 50/50 mix of distilled water and Simple Green, rinse in a second SC filled with distilled water only, and dry with a clean microfiber one side at a time on the counter. Then a deep cycle on the HumminGuru Nova. A new vinyl purchase gets the Nova clean only. “It sounds like bacon smells”, Bonnie Raitt described her vintage 1965 Stratocaster.
So the circular scrubbing does no further damage to the shellac? I've been using very dilute Vulpex because it leaves no residue and if it's good enough for hospitals and museum archives then it's easily good enough for me. I was lucky enough to inherit a music schools collection of 78's that I'm still working through, cleaning and cataloguing them. It's a fun discovery and learning process and I've found Some very strange and unusual records. Thank you for the upload.
In answer to your question the groves are circular so if you scrub across the record you risk damaging the edges of the groove and pressing into the groove. If you do circular all around scrubbing you will at worst do nothing, at best, ease out the crud. Remember the shellac is not very fragile, it is intended to drag a very heavy steel needle through the groove without damaging it so a nylon brush should not be in the same league, as far ad damaging the record is concerned, But I would say be careful it is not worth being "Slap dash" be as gentle as you can but remember it is not "eggshell". Thanks for the feedback.
Useful info, but I did notice you got the label wet. This doesn't have to be a problem, but not all labels respond well to this. Some will get bubbly, others will get discoloration. Also, immersing the record in water can damage the record, because some 78's (most Columbia's, Harmony's and Okeh's) have a cardboard core, and if those get really wet they swell up and cause lamination cracks in the records. Also, you may want to use more towels or cloths. Now you put a dirty record on a cloth, you clean it, and then you put the clean record back on the dirty cloth to dry it, and transferring some dirt back onto the record. Finally, you should NEVER use water to clean Edison Diamond Discs.
None of my 78s had labels that had problems. I take your point, I have to assume not everything needs explaining in the video. My main point was to not use solvents on the records, vinyl would be ok but not shellac. Thanks for your input. And I hope others take notice of what you have said. Sharing is good. Cheers.
Yes. Fairy liquid diluted is a very good solvent for dust and other stuff like old cigarettes smoke. It is kind to the skin. Any spirit or oil will attack the surface and Alcohol will dissolve the shelac. You can not use vinyl record cleaner.
Are Dawn and Fairy the same thing? Both are made by Proctor and Gamble. Fairy is a UK version, Dawn is a USA version. They have the same amount of bubbles. They are the same except for a different name and color.
@@GaryKeepItSimple I was wondering that myself, after reading up on it on Wikipedia. Dawn has been sold here in America for at least 50 years that I know of.
I recently came across a 10" thick 33 rpm microgroove record (very old philips label). it felt like shellac, I suppose there was some shellac 33s and some vynil 78s. I didn't get it though.... feel stupid now
Yes, there were some Vinyl 78s and there were some microgroove Vinyl 78s (small needle). Not sure about 33 shellac. Shellac is noisier than Vinyl but able to stand high-tracking weights. It is very delicate as it chips and cracks easily. I am very aware that it is like valuable fine glass. It must not be dropped.
I've seen so many pages about cleaning 78s and there seems to be disagreements on water. Many said to avoid it. But i see so many videos using water as part of it and it sounds great. Some say use record cleaner. Other say that disolves the shillac. I just want my vocals to be clearer dagnabbit!
Water will not damage the Shellac unless you leave it in there for days. The reason I would not use Record Cleaner, is because you do not know what is in it. Some record cleaner has Alcohol in it and that will dissolve the Shellac. Ideally you should use distilled or deionised Water but that is over the top as all you want to do is get the dirt out of the groves. A good detergent, like the washing up liquid (Dish soap) I used will get the job done. Remember 78s are brittle and do not like to bend so be gentle with them, but they are not delicate. Normally in use we drag a big lump of metal suspended on a very small rock or steel needle through the grooves. Just treat them with respect. Happy Listening
SWMBO has at least 500+ 78's. We 'clean' them the same way as all the others.
For the old/extremely dirty…I “wash” first in my old SpinClean using a 50/50 mix of distilled water and Simple Green, rinse in a second SC filled with distilled water only, and dry with a clean microfiber one side at a time on the counter.
Then a deep cycle on the HumminGuru Nova.
A new vinyl purchase gets the Nova clean only.
“It sounds like bacon smells”, Bonnie Raitt described her vintage 1965 Stratocaster.
So the circular scrubbing does no further damage to the shellac? I've been using very dilute Vulpex because it leaves no residue and if it's good enough for hospitals and museum archives then it's easily good enough for me. I was lucky enough to inherit a music schools collection of 78's that I'm still working through, cleaning and cataloguing them. It's a fun discovery and learning process and I've found Some very strange and unusual records. Thank you for the upload.
PS It sounds excellent.
In answer to your question the groves are circular so if you scrub across the record you risk damaging the edges of the groove and pressing into the groove. If you do circular all around scrubbing you will at worst do nothing, at best, ease out the crud. Remember the shellac is not very fragile, it is intended to drag a very heavy steel needle through the groove without damaging it so a nylon brush should not be in the same league, as far ad damaging the record is concerned, But I would say be careful it is not worth being "Slap dash" be as gentle as you can but remember it is not "eggshell". Thanks for the feedback.
PS never clean CDs in a circular scrub. That totally screws them up. lol.
Useful info, but I did notice you got the label wet. This doesn't have to be a problem, but not all labels respond well to this. Some will get bubbly, others will get discoloration. Also, immersing the record in water can damage the record, because some 78's (most Columbia's, Harmony's and Okeh's) have a cardboard core, and if those get really wet they swell up and cause lamination cracks in the records. Also, you may want to use more towels or cloths. Now you put a dirty record on a cloth, you clean it, and then you put the clean record back on the dirty cloth to dry it, and transferring some dirt back onto the record. Finally, you should NEVER use water to clean Edison Diamond Discs.
None of my 78s had labels that had problems. I take your point, I have to assume not everything needs explaining in the video. My main point was to not use solvents on the records, vinyl would be ok but not shellac. Thanks for your input. And I hope others take notice of what you have said. Sharing is good. Cheers.
the cleaning solution is "fairy" liquid?
Yes. Fairy liquid diluted is a very good solvent for dust and other stuff like old cigarettes smoke. It is kind to the skin. Any spirit or oil will attack the surface and Alcohol will dissolve the shelac. You can not use vinyl record cleaner.
@@GaryKeepItSimple I think what the OP is getting at is that "fairy liquid" is an unknown term to him. Perhaps you could explain what it is?
@@ScottGrammer high quality washing up liquid. Or dish soap.
Are Dawn and Fairy the same thing?
Both are made by Proctor and Gamble. Fairy is a UK version, Dawn is a USA version. They have the same amount of bubbles. They are the same except for a different name and color.
@@GaryKeepItSimple I was wondering that myself, after reading up on it on Wikipedia. Dawn has been sold here in America for at least 50 years that I know of.
I recently came across a 10" thick 33 rpm microgroove record (very old philips label). it felt like shellac, I suppose there was some shellac 33s and some vynil 78s. I didn't get it though.... feel stupid now
Yes, there were some Vinyl 78s and there were some microgroove Vinyl 78s (small needle). Not sure about 33 shellac. Shellac is noisier than Vinyl but able to stand high-tracking weights. It is very delicate as it chips and cracks easily. I am very aware that it is like valuable fine glass. It must not be dropped.