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How Should We Clean A New Record?


Have you ever listened to a new record a month or so after you’ve cleaned it with a record cleaning fluid (RCF)? Listen closely: it sounds unexpectedly noisy doesn’t it? Many think so and, for this reason, have stopped using RCF on new records! Others insist that cleaning them with an RCF is an absolute must to remove the offending mold release. And then there are those who have always felt that dry brushing is all that new records require. Amazingly, EVERYONE IS RIGHT! If you are interested in how these seemingly contradicting choices can all be valid, please read on.

CAN YOU HEAR THE SOUND OF MOLD RELEASE?

A new record is covered with a thin layer of mold release, unquestionably a contaminant with a sonic character. However, this sound is subtle, a thin veil that’s mostly unobtrusive. The Teflon or Silicone mold release actually acts as a lubricant that protects the grooves without significantly obscuring the Vinyl’s sound. Countless times I compared the sound of new records BEFORE and SHORTLY AFTER cleaning with an RCF. Without Vinyl lubricant or preserver, the difference is ever so slight and seems barely worth the effort and the risk of using an RCF. Still, a mold release is a contaminant and a dust magnet; it makes sense to remove it if this can be done safely.

THE NOISE OF RECORD CLEANING FLUIDS ON NEW RECORDS

Can an RCF make a new record noisier? The surprising answer is yes! A small fraction of all RCF ingredients ALWAYS remains on the Vinyl surface as an adsorbed film after vacuuming (see my primer on RCF from last week). Held to the Vinyl surface by intermolecular forces, this film is only several molecules thick (less than 10 nanometers) but grooves can also be quite fine at high frequencies (about 100 nm). Amazingly, many can hear the sound of this adsorbed layer!

But here’s the tricky part. The cleaned record is quiet shortly after cleaning as the adsorbed film after vacuuming is still wet—a WET FILM dampens noise. But days or weeks later, with all the liquid gone, the DRY FILM becomes audible. It is a background noise akin to the sound of a dirty record, but much fainter. You may even think that your cleaned record has been re-contaminated with dust. It hasn’t. It’s the sound of dry surfactant. If you re-wet the Vinyl (by rinsing or re-cleaning), the noise goes away only to return when the record is dry again.

An alcohol-based RCF—diluted with water!—leaves a less objectionable sound on a new record because the adsorbed alcohol evaporates completely under vacuum and leaves no dry film behind as long as no surfactant is used. (Note: Dry adsorption film has nothing to do with solid residue from the distilled water making up the RCF.). But even an alcohol-based RCF still leaves a very faint background noise behind; this suggests problems in addition to dry adsorption film but that’s a complicated story for another time.

WHAT ARE YOUR CLEANING OPTIONS WITH A NEW RECORD?

1. Given the current RCF technology, I recommend the Hippocratic approach: first, do no harm. Use a dry brush on your new records, keep them clean, and stay away from RCFs.

2. But if you must wet-clean a new record—because it’s noisy or you find the sound of mold release objectionable—use an alcohol-based RCF (diluted alcohol; little or no surfactant) which leaves behind little or no dry film. The residual background noise is minimal and inaudible in many systems.

3. If you must use a surfactant cleaner, rinse well with low-residue water. Repeated rinsing is necessary as some adsorbed material always remains on the Vinyl after each rinsing by chemical equilibrium. The record will be quiet, wet or dry. Alas, many of you will find this rinsing ritual very tedious.

4. Alternatively, you can use a RCF with lubricant or preserver. It leaves behind an “oily” film that keeps the adsorbed layer “wet” and noise-free. Just remember that you are now replacing mold-release sound with lubricant/preserver sound, even though that is usually an improvement.

5. Some of you like the effectiveness of enzyme-based RCFs. I have not used them much. Their impressive cleaning action (by chemical breakdown of organic contaminants) is certainly attractive but the concomitant breakdown of the plasticizer, also an organic compound, remains a concern.

CONCLUSION

While nearly all agree that old records benefit from a good cleaning with an RCF, there is no consensus or easy solution for cleaning new records. Since I do not find the veil of the mold release very objectionable, I feel that a dry brush is the safest thing to use on a new record—until better RCFs are developed.

One alternative is to use an alcohol-based RCF which is free of other additives. You may also use surfactant-based RCFs but most will leave a faint background noise when dry (days or weeks later). To minimize this problem, rinse several times with water to remove the surfactant film. You may also use an RCF with a lubricant/preserver that keeps the adsorbed layer “wet”, a trade-off between mold-release and lubricant sound. The long-term effect of such additive is still unclear. (Note: To identify the type of RCF you are using, please refer to my last week’s primer on RCF.)

For safer and easier cleaning of new records, we need novel RCFs employing surfactants that are inaudible when dry. This is a difficult but not an impossible demand. RCF manufacturers should look beyond common surfactants (alkylaryl ethoxylates or alkylaryl sulfonates) which belong to an ageing technology. There are exotic surfactants out there that can do the job. Some are (very) expensive but surfactant cost should not be a factor since only a minute amount is ever used in any RCF (typically less than one part in 100, literally pennies per quart of RCF).
justin_time
willster
66 posts
 
Having read through this thread, something from my own record cleaning experience comes to mind. My current cleaning regime includes the use of Vinyl Zyme and L' Art du Son cleaners (though I have used the Microcare products which are environmentally safe plastic cleaners similar to the CFC mentioned).

The difference in wetting the grooves seems to vary, sometimes drastically, from one record to another. Some records seem to bead up the solution no matter what, while other records wet very thoroughly. I had been wondering if this was related to the vinyl formulation. It doesn't seem to be related to whether the record is new or used.

Any thoughts?
justin_time OP
100 posts
 
Willster, a valid diagnosis is nearly impossible without specific information on each and every case. All I can do is give you some general concepts which may help you identify the problem yourself.

Whether the RCF will spread or bead up on a Vinyl surface depends both on the RCF and the Vinyl surface (not the vinyl). The contact angle between the RCF droplet and the surface must be favorable for the liquid droplet to spread. Part of the requirement is for the surface tension of the RCF to be low, the lower the better (pure water has a surface tension of about 60-70 dyne/cm; good surfactants will reduce the surface tension by a factor of three, to around 20 dyne/cm). The other parameter is the wettability of the Vinyl surface.

With different RCFs, you may have different surface tensions which lead to different spreading tendencies. With the same RCF, the surface tension will tend to increase if the RCF is diluted with too much water.

The vinyl itself is pretty much an invariant. The polymer molecular structure is ALWAYS the same, a polyvinylchloride or (—CH2—CHCl—)n. The amount of plasticizer (phthalate ester or 1,2 benzenedicarboxylate) used to soften the vinyl may vary slightly from record to record but this is unlikely to fundamentally change the wettability of the Vinyl surface. The type or amount of mold release (Teflon or silicone product) covering the Vinyl surface is also likely to vary from record to record. This will alter the wettability of the Vinyl surface.

So in a nutshell, either the surface tension varies with different brands of RCF and different levels of dilution or the wettability of the Vinyl surface varies with different types or amounts of mold release. The important thing is you can’t clean what you can’t touch: if your RCF does not completely wet the Vinyl surface, you cannot clean it well. Apply the full-strength RCF a couple of times to ensure intimate contact for better results.
willster
66 posts
 
Justin time wrote "So in a nutshell, either the surface tension varies with different brands of RCF and different levels of dilution or the wettability of the Vinyl surface varies with different types or amounts of mold release."

The RCF is constant in this case so that would leave me to conclude that the mold release or other contaminant on the record surface is to blame. I've seen this effect with relatively old used records as well as newer ones. Mold release must be very durable stuff to last so long.
justin_time OP
100 posts
 
Willster: unless I could get data that tell me otherwise, that would also be the only conclusion I could draw.

The mold release is a lubricant that is applied to the mold; each record may get a different amount as it is pressed. The number of times you play the record--each play removes a small fraction of the mold release--and not chronological age determines the amount of mold release left. Yes, teflon or silicone mold release is extremely stable, chemically. Mechanically, is gets chewed up by friction against the stylus the same way that your engine oil gets broken down by shear and heat.

The other possiblity, though remote, is the various amounts of plasticizer lost due to extremely slow evaporation--remember the white haze on the windshield of early Datsun? That's phthalate deposit--which could affect the wettability of the vinyl surface.

I forgot one other variable: the amount of high-frequency information on the particular record. The more high-frequency info the record has, the more tiny grooves it contains--in the oder of 0.1 micron around 15 kHz--and the harder it is for the RCF to penetrate and wet these tight spaces, everything elese being the same (same RCF, same wettability).

I hope this helps a little more. Cheers.
alephman
107 posts
 
I noticed you neglecled to mention LAST record presevative. I clean my new records with Disc Doctor RCF on a VPI 16.5 After thay I apply Last and I've had records I've played hundreds of times. It fact I have a MoFi copy Of David Bowie's Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars that I've played more times that I can recall. NO wear, no clicks and pops, no loss of fidelity. Oh by the way I use Stylast every play. I took my cartridge to my dealer who still has a stylus microscope and the first words out of lips were"You use Stylast". I've since upgraded to a Benz Ruby 3, but my habits haven't changed. It it true alcohol damages vinyl by removing polymers and other oils and that constant contact will make the vinyl brittle?
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