how do you clean old records?

Question

I would like to know a fast and easy way to clean and or take scraches out of old records

Answer 1

I don't think it is possible. Especially if the scratch is more than superficial.

Answer 2

This answer may seem off the wall, "it`s true".
Firsrt wipe off all dust with a clean soft rag.
Use a clean soft rag with a little mayonnaise and wipe gently around the record.
Let it sit for (30) seconds. Then wipe clean with a clean soft rag.
If not up to your satisfaction, repeat the process. If this doesn't` work, your records may be in very poor condition.

Answer 3

You used to be able to get record cleaners in almost any store, but now I just use a soft cloth (like you would use to dry your car off after washing) and if they are really dirty wet the cloth a bit and wipe in line with the grooves, in a circle.

Answer 4

When we were kids, we used alcohol and cotton to clean our records. Don't know how great an idea that is for really old records though. Maybe there is something more gentle now. Got this bit of info for you off the net:

Cleaning LP records


Proprietry cleaning fluids
Discwasher IV is what the Library of Congress recommends.
First cleaning liquid made by Nitty Gritty followed by Disc Doctor. Use different brushes

D4 – Previuously available from Tower Records

Parastic fluid for the round Parastatic roller

QED Record clean (small spray can)

LAST Record preservative

"Genie-a-Bottle" from Acoustic Sounds, Salinas Kansas... Use 2 drops Genie (NOT a household cleanser, but an excellent product mfg specifically for LPs) to 40 oz of a stock solution of 25% ANALYTICAL GRADE Isopropanol and 75% distilled water. Trust me, this is the best and I've tried ' em all... I also clean hundreds of LPs per month and know the difference! Dbk



DIY cleaning fluids
A generally accepted recipe based on suggestions by Laura Dearborn and others is:

3 parts distilled water (triple distilled, de-ionized)
1 part Isopropyl alcohol, 70% commonly available but 91% lab grade preferred.
A few drops of photographic wetting agent – if possible Triton X-100, Triton X-110 or Triton X-115 or Monolan 2000, not Kodak Photoflo which is ‘reputed’ to leave a residue (though used by some). Recommended is 12 drops per gallon or 2-3 drops per litre, though some use up to 8 drops per litre. If you add too much, the fluid gets sudsy on the record.


Variants:

Replace the wetting agent with washing up liquid or windscreen wash fluid (reputedly pure) or industrial glass cleaner e.g Micro (a laboratory-glassware cleaner) or Liquinox

‘’Lately, I've been using straight windshield washer fluid. It's the only mixture I've tried that leaves no static film or visible residue on glass. It definitely cleans’’.

‘’The solution I used to use consists of a quart of distilled water, a pint of 99% isopropanol (from Safeway) and 3 drops of Dawn dishwashing detergent’’. .

‘’Photographic "wetting agent" is soap. I have cleaned and repaired Navy reconnaissance cameras with it. Ivory dishwashing detergent was the usual and natural choice for this as it is the mildest out there. A little Ivory and a lot of distilled H2O will do many good things for you. The Navy spent big bucks on this solution. Then a tech rep spilled the beans and we made our own’’

Use other alcohol types. This issue is controversial. Examples proposed include Denatured alcohol (90% ethyl, 9.5% methyl, .5% pyridine) BUT this is a carcinogen, and ethanol..



After washing the record with this cleaning fluid, rinse with pure distilled water to remove any residue.



Drying records
After cleaning, dry the record in any of the following ways:

Use a soft cotton cloth
Leave to dry in air
Put in a clean dish rack and dry vertically
Hang vertically using something through the center hole
Put it on a clean mat with rubber fingers sticking up, so liquid runs off
Remove liquid with a vacuum cleaning machine.
??? Spin on a high speed power drill?? (mythology)




The Kitchen Sink method
Supplied by Peter Larsen

Utensils

Disc cleaning brushes, preferably those with a lot of hairs.
Allergy safe discwashing liquid
Moderately warm water
Clean and preferably many times used and washed towels
Vinegar, as chemically clean as possible
Alcohol
Method:
1) wash LP's in moderately warm water with a few drops of discwashing liquid
2) rinse under lukewarm tap
3) dry with first towel
4) rinse in slightly acidic water (this is vital! - prevents calcium stains and "pearls off of the surface")
5) dry with second towel
6) rinse with alcohol and a second disc-brush, the purpose of this is not to remove dirt, the record should be clean by now, but to remove water!
7) dry with third towel
8) let record dry completely before returning it to its sleeve

General advice
Handle records carefully to avoid fingerprints
Don’t put them on dusty surfaces
Keep your turntable mat clean by washing it. If you have a felt mat vacuum it instead.
Keep the record inner sleeves clean
Use antistatic sleeves if possible
Use a dust cover on the turntable to keep dust off. Some leave this up while playing because it can be microphonic, others find this is not a problem – depends on the unit.

Dust
Even if the surface of a record appears dust free to the naked eye, dust may have penetrated into the bottom of the grooves. To remove deeper dust, the usual method is a carbon fibre brush, which have been available from various sources (Decca etc.)

An effective roller cleaner is – or was - the Rolling Cleaner by Nagaoka, where the roller surface is sticky and picks up the dust from the disc’s surface. The roller part is washed to clean it.

More effective is - or was – a gunge-like substance called Discofol which is spread on the LP surface, allowed to dry into a rubbery film and then peeled off. There is no obvious source for this. The same principle is used for Camera lens cleaners, though these are expensive (and untried so far on LPs). Reputedly Old Colony Sound Labs used to sell a kit which provides the necessary polymer - you mix it with distilled water and a bit of glycerine (I believe…) to make the solution.

To find more solutions, check the link listed. Hope this helped

Answer 5

I unquestionably have approximately 4 hundred of them that i'm now changing to cd's with a turntable plugged to my pc. All pops, clicks and scratches are bumped off by ability of my sound card (Audigy2). formerly I commence the technique, I sparkling the records by ability of making use of a small volume of dishwashing liquid detergent, and as suggested above, i exploit a rotating circulate and don't wipe them with paper towel for the motives suggested above by ability of RoVale.

Answer 6

With some record cleaner

Answer 7

Ivory Soap.

Answer 8

Shouldn't touch the surface. Use an air brush only to remove dust.

Answer 9

impossible to take scratches out. clean in a mild luke warm sudsy solution of mild soap and water and rinse carefully and blot dry carefully.

Answer 10

i would go to radio shack. i believe they would have a good cleaning kit available.