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Anyone experienced with Sound Guard?

Recently someone on Vinyl Asylum reported wonderful condition/sonics on some used LPs that had been treated with Sound Guard. I was in the hobby years ago when SG was popular but never tried it. Now my curiosity is up.

Looking through my audio junk stash, I found a SG Record Preservation Kit I must have acquired in trade years ago. This includes a bottle of the SG fluid (80% full) and the blue felt applicator pad. Before I begin experimenting, thought I would ask a few questions.

1. If you have used Sound Guard, what are your impressions of its value?

2. Does anyone have a copy of the application instructions they could scan and E-mail to me? I'm wondering if the fluid should be applied to the record and spread with the pad or applied to the pad then wiped on the record?

3. A note on the bottle refers to the spray pump which I don't have. Anyone still have an old, empty bottle who would be willing to give me their pump?

Thanks for any help.
pryso
chashmal
605 posts
 
A tremendous setback. Residue that attracts dust and adds filth to the grooves. Go with Walker and a VPI and leave the rest alone!!!
xiekitchen
821 posts
 
My friends and I all bought into the stuff in 1979-1981 or so and used it quite a bit... benefit was less static... after 3-5 years or so you would play a disc and there would be this white dust residue building up on your stylus, apparently the stuff would come off. Yes I remember it muted the sound over all just a bit; most if not all of those LP's have been replaced. You would have to wet vac clean them many times to get that gunk off now.
crem1
672 posts
 
I tried SG like all the others and found it to be worthless. Save the brush, ditch the SG.
racamuti's avatar
racamuti
362 posts
 
Most of this kind of stuff has a shelf life anyway, so you shouldn't use it.
dougdeacon
3,338 posts
 
Not on my LP's, like they said ^^^

Optimal LP playback is achieved when the playback stylus traces the identical path as was traced by the cutting stylus. Gunking up the groove surfaces with *anything* necessarily interferes with that goal. One good look at LP grooves and a modern stylus at 200X magnification or better will convince you that *nothing* is too fine to interfere with that interface.

No Sound Guard. No Groove Glide (yuck). No Last. Just use the best available cleaning regimen, which Rushton already described, and a well made, well maintained RCM.

P.S. Don't even save the brush. It's already contaminated with old Sound Guard. Toss the lot.
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