The method of drying records with a cloth is imperfect to the extent that
you can apply it roughly once, or evaparation of the remaining film of
water
would still cause mineral residus to become audible, which, by the way,
can
only be removed with 96% alcohol. In the disco-antistat washing basin.
This is a narrow plastic vertical tray in a half-circular shape with two
vertical micro brushes on the inside, in which the record is placed
vertically, half-submerged in a cleaning liquid, and then rotated between
the brushes with two shell-like clamps that hold the record by its labels,
pivoted on an axis for stability.
I have tested the basin quite thoroughly, currently I'm using my third,
which has the shape of a Dali object to one side since I tried to dry it
on
the mantel stone above a working gas-heater. Previous ones have become
victim to agressive carbon hydrates, despite my efforts to coat the inside
with slow drying epoxy glue, in order to withstand the malicious effects
of
petrolene or washing benzine.
You can lift out the inside brushes with a pair of tweezers or a clamp,
and
reinsert them along with a piece of iron wire of the right thickness to
push
the brushes closer together. This will increase the force with which your
records shall be scrubbed. Ideally the brushes should just (not) be
touching
in the middle.
Next you have to fill the basin. Not with the disco-antistat fluid. You
need
the basin, not the fluid. I've been pouring boiled down vinegar of 60
degrees centrigrade into it without encoutering any problems. The brushes
do
not dry up by using any chemical, they seem to be very special brushes,
and
the basin doesn't warp at this temperature. Records cannot be safely
washed
above 60 degrees, in fact they start to warp at 55 but pull themselves
straight again as they cool down, unless temperatures have been as high as
70. As described, at roughly 80.0 degrees they turn into flubber.
Now you don't need all that, not least since boiled down vinegar eats away
your skin. You can leave your records to saok for a week at room
temperature
in some plastic tray of the right size using thin chlorine or kitchen
vinegar, or both (in succession). In fact, thick bleach and concentrated
vinegar (>4% acetate) are less effective because many dissolved chemicals,
like soap, need ample water to be actually agressive. Cover the tray
properly and make shure the records remain submerged, or water evaporation
will leave minerals on it.
Soaking however does not dispense you of eventually having to scrub the
records to remove as much of the dust and of the top layer as possible. If
you do this with the back side of a polyester sponge, using liquid soap as
a
lubricant, which is a lot more harmless than for instance drenched kitchen
paper, which is as sharp as a razor, after one minute of circumferant
scrubbing your record will have turned into a giant microscratch. So the
only way to do any real scrubbing without doing any permanent damage is in
a
washing basin like the disco-antistat (becoming antistatic is an undesired
side-effect really, which is flimsily disguised by the name of the
product.)
An added advantage of the basin is that you can use it to have the film of
water-containing detergent that attaches to it when you take it out of the
soaking tray "disappear", including the minerals it holds, into a liquid
that does hardly contain any water, like 96% alcohol, or only destilled
water, like a better quality ammonia. This should leave your records
completely silent on any equipment. There are however a few catches.
First of all alcohol evaporation makes you slightly drunk and ammonia
makes
you gasp for oxygen, so you will have to operate the washing basin the way
you should cut an onion, not hanging your nose right over it but at an
angle
of 30 degrees to the left of right.
Secondly the ammonia dissolves the paint or ink on your lables, which
paint
will then be dripping down onto your tracks when you leave it to dry
vertically, so you will have to dry the record horizontally. This also
spreads any traces of minerals evenly over the record, rather than
gathering
them all in one point at the bottom.
In order to minimize the amount of water hanging onto the record when you
take it out of the basin, you give it one last turn very slowly (2 to 3
minutes) and then very gently lift it out (1 minute). That way it should
be
all but dry, which may in fact, quite invisably, take another half hour.
Turning it slowly is also the best way to actually remove micro particles.
You can dry the record horizontally by placing the shells with which you
rotate it back to back on top of each other.
This doesn't necessarily apply to alcohol, which at 96% evaporates evenly
in
any orientation, but due to the universal concept of civil disobedience
96%
alcohol starts at $10, while an appropriate quality ammonia starts at just
$2. Furthermore you can do at least 50 records with a litre of ammonia and
at the most 20 with a litre of alcohol, due to its rapid evaporation and
contamination, since it actually dissolves anything and becomes unclear
very
quickly. So you should only use the alcohol for records that are as clean
as
you can possibly prepare them for it.
Whether in ammonia or in alcohol, I rotate each record about a hundred
half
turns quickly (25 to each side, then turning the record in the basin) and
1
or 2 turns slowly, to scrub out the micro dust. Takes you about 15 minutes
per record. As to 96% alcohol, the longer you scrub it, the better the
results. I haven't tried soaking techniques with it, because you would
have
to be able to seal off the soaking tray to prevent evaporation.
As to other chemicals, the plastic tray does not stand thinner (toluene)
and
neither does vinyl. Vinyl does stand washing benzine quite well, but the
disco antistat tray is torn to pieces the third or fourth time you use it.
The tray should actually be made of vinyl as well, but you can use it with
roughly all water soluable detergents.
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