Any idea what this goo is on my record?

I may try the steam. I'm pretty sure there is someting on the record because the dead wax is also hazy and it looks like there are liquid marks. Dullness from wear would usually be limited to the grooves.

What about using something stronger, like Windex? I can't see what I have to lose other than a really noisy record.

Could be the owner used wet playing technique - water or water/armour-all solution. Should come off with water and bounty towel.

"Water/Armour-All solution"?!! Played wet?! Good grief! That sounds like something out of the dark ages. What on earth was that supposed to accomplish?

Grimace: Most likely the noise is created by release compounds that have hardened over 50+ years to the likes of concrete. No easy solution to the problem, not even steaming works well enought to remove that "concrete".

One note on Steam Cleaning LPs. Just steaming and micro cloth drying is ok for very clean recordings. But, as the guy that perfected and published the merits of steaming in audio mags long before others got on the bandwagon, be careful going solo without record cleaning fluids. Steam alone is not a cure all however, with the proper technique,the correct brushes, a RCM and rinsing, most(not all) substances can be removed. As noted on the Steaming Thread products such as "last" and "Sound Guard" age leaving a hard impossible to remove "concrete" that sounds just terrible. It is for that reason I dumped every MoFi release I had that was "Lasted" at the factory. Complete waste of good money but 30 years ago who knew.

The best treatment I've found for removing old mold release chemistries (if that's what it is) is not steaming but enzyme-based record cleaning fluids. Buggtussel Vinyl-Zyme is pretty good. AIVS Enzymatic is better. Others like Walker Prelude, which I haven't tried.

With any enzyme fluid you need to let it sit on the record for several minutes, making sure to use enough solution so it doesn't dry out. Brush the fluid around every minute or two to keep the grooves coated with fresh fluid and let the enzymes do their work.

After that you need to remove the fluid, ideally by vacuuming or (distinctly second best) with clean, lint free cloths. Then follow with several rinses with VERY pure water. "Very pure water" means the water provided by AIVS, MoFi, Walker or something similar, not distilled bought from Walmart.

This takes longer than steaming, but it works better IME.