Carbon Fiber Brush with Milty Gun?

The last time I read about THE way to use the gun (after the brush, by the way), you squeeze and release a couple of times with the gun about 12 inches over the surface of the LP, taking care not to induce the gun to "click". Then, with the trigger fully depressed, you slowly move the gun away from the LP, point it in a different direction, and THEN slowly release the trigger. Seems to me that if you release the trigger over the LP, you return the LP surface to its original charged state. The net effect would be zero.

Story: I still use an anti-static gun I purchased in England in the 70s. Those were the early years of terrorist attacks and airline hi-jacking. When I tried to carry the gun on board the plane for my flight home, I was detained by security at Heathrow, until I proved to them that the gun could not actually fire bullets.

Moonglum, I do not think an "anti-static" sleeve has powers to dissipate existing charge; I think the term infers that inserting and removing the LP will not per se charge the LP surface.

Dear Lew,
This procedure sounded like they were almost trying to demag the LP! It’s a bit elaborate is it not? I can only point back to the example of discharging kids hair. The process would not have been served by withdrawing or re-directing the gun elsewhere.

Can’t believe Heathrow Security were so backward in the 70s !
(Nearly “everyone” was a “proper” hifi enthusiast back then ;^)

I appreciate your views on the anti-static bags and admit that I have on occasions shared your suspicion,however,
check out these illustrations of product descriptions for Nagaoka & Goldring LP sleeves as quoted from their own advertising :

“Nagaoka have treated their record sleeves using an innovative static prevention process to eliminate static electricity, making this product a must have for vinyl lovers.”

“Using Goldring anti static sleeves neutralizes the static charge thus rendering the record inert and improving the level of noise.”

I’ve always assumed they are similar to (although clearly cheaper and thinner than) the anti-static bags used for sensitive electronic components and printed circuit boards, and that the coating allowed gradual equalisation of the charge?
Kind regards,

Lew.
After scouring the Web for a full 5 minutes I managed to find a photograph of what I believe is an original procedure...(?)

(Scroll down to the second post on this page...)

http://www.audiokarma.org/forums/showthread.php?t=285929&page=3

The discharging process probably isn't quite as precise as we'd like to think i.e. that those displaced positive and negative ions are nailed into position and won't budge when we use conflicting clouds of negative & positive ions. If they're available they probably just randomly grab them then repeat if opposite charge is required. But my gut feeling is not so much based on a complete grasp of science, more on the number "42". :) ;^)
Cheers,

Thanks all for your posts. And really interesting to see these directions, which are so much more extensive than the ones that came with mine. Interesting that they think it is best not to shoot the record on the turntable!

Indeed Margot, I would think the ion "stream" would find the platter spindle to be the most attractive target.

By way of illustration, if you examined an open-reel tape deck rewinding a tape, in complete darkness, you would see very fine miniature "lightnings" i.e. continuous thin filaments of electrical energy literally crawling all over the reels and tape heading for the grounded hub. Same sort of thing as you'd see in a Van der Graaf generator.
If the gun were close enough it would probably produce a spark.