Anyone Remember the Armor-All On CDs Controversy?

Discussion in 'Audio Hardware' started by Roland Stone, Jun 27, 2004.

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  1. Roland Stone

    Roland Stone Offending Member Thread Starter

    Remember the Armor-All on CDs controversy? Some people were claiming it helped the sound for some reason or other, and then the pendulum swung back and people said whatever you do, don't put it on your CDs! I assume the don't-use-it camp won out, as you never see recommendations to do so anymore.

    What was the reason to not put it on your CDs? Goofing around with a CD in my disposal pile, the Armor All equivalent sure did make it all nice and shinier -- you could even see the refracted light was more delineated.
     
  2. Beatle Terr

    Beatle Terr Super Senior SH Forum Member Musician & Guitarist

    I never heard of this Ron!

    I do know that usually Armor All sort of leave sort of a sticky feel to certain types of surfaces that are porous. On a CD I'd think it would just put a shine to it but if it left a residue could that hurt the life of a CD in the long run?? :confused:
     
  3. Sckott

    Sckott Hand Tighten Only.

    Location:
    South Plymouth, Ma
    I'm not a chemist, but I'll bet Armor All isn't good for the very thin laquer finish on the top of most CDs.... Once that breaks down, you can say goodbye to the aluminum flake...
     
  4. Dave D

    Dave D Done!

    Location:
    Milton, Canada
    I recall running a felt tip magic marker around the rim of a cd supposedly helped the sound. Never tried it.
    Then again, my mom used to put a garlic necklace on me to get rid of worms! :confused:
     
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  5. AudioEnz

    AudioEnz Senior Member

    I remember this well. Many people missed the funniest part of this, though.

    As usual, Stereophile sent a copy of the article to the company involved and offered a space in the manufacturer's comments section. A PR flunkie for Armour All responded with instructions for Stereophile to remove comments such as Armour All looking like bull semen. Stereophile didn't, of course, and also ran the PR flunkie's letter in full. Hilarious!
     
  6. SamS

    SamS Forum Legend

    Location:
    Texas
    I wouldn't put anything on my discs that would fling off in inside the player @500rpm. You'd have greasy CD player guts :shake:
     
  7. BradOlson

    BradOlson Country/Christian Music Maven

    I don't believe these types of stories at all.
     
  8. Lord Hawthorne

    Lord Hawthorne Currently Untitled

    Location:
    Portland, Oregon
    This story began before compact discs. There was a time when nearly every record swap meet had an individual or two who would enhance the visual quality of his vinyl by rubbing Armour-all on it. It didn't improve the playing (in fact it gummed up the needle in no time), and many of the sellers who used it didn't admit to it. There are still record sellers who use it. When compact discs hit the market, somebody somewhere made the allegation that Armour-all was good for your CDs, probably as a satire on its use for deceptive vinyl marketing, and a legend took hold.
    Now do I use the green marker before or after the Armour-all is applied, and do I go clockwise or counter-clockwise?
     
  9. -=Rudy=-

    -=Rudy=- ♪♫♪♫♫♪♪♫♪♪ Staff

    Location:
    US
    Now THIS is a thread hijack...but I hate it when the used car dealers use that gunk all over the interior of a car to make it look better. Yeah, it's all got a nice sheen to it, but it also hides scuff marks and, worse, is slippery. They use something worse than Armor-All though. I do use Armor-All in the car (and on the hood mask), but only the low-gloss variety. It leaves such a film, I would NEVER put it on anything else.
     
  10. Pug

    Pug The Prodigal Snob Returns!

    Location:
    Near Music Direct
    I have to admit, I tried using green rings on my cds.

    Never heard the difference! :rolleyes:

    Sean
     
  11. Clay

    Clay Forum Resident

    Location:
    Saratoga, CA
  12. thegage

    thegage Forum Currency Nerd

    IIRC the suggestion to use ArmorAll was given by Sam Tellig in one of his Stereophile columns. Of course, this was made with the "rigorous" testing procedure of trying some on a couple of CDs and then declaring it a "miracle fluid." The problem with AA, though, is that it has some components in it that may not be very good for CDs or for your player. One of these is silicone, which is what gives the CD (and your dash) its nice shine, but which also migrates to all sorts of places in your player that you don't want it. Also, I haved read that some of the chemicals in AA apparently are detrimental to plastics in that they leach out the plasticizers over time, and can cause things like vinyl to crack faster. A product intended for uses similar to AA, 303 Protectant, states that they don't have the downside of AA, and in fact 303 marketed (and may still) a product specifically for use with CDs.

    John K.
     
  13. YaQuin

    YaQuin Formerly Blue Moon

    Location:
    Madison, WI
    I always thought RAIN-X was better for my cds. :D Just kidding folks.
     
  14. Metralla

    Metralla Joined Jan 13, 2002

    Location:
    San Jose, CA
    Try Lloyd Walker's "Vivid".
     
  15. Grant

    Grant Life is a rock, but the radio rolled me!

    I never bought into all that tweaking stuff.
     
  16. Tony Plachy

    Tony Plachy Senior Member

    Location:
    Pleasantville, NY
    John K., You are right Sam Tellig did start it all.
     
  17. fathom

    fathom Senior Member

    Location:
    Florida
    Funny, in my tests, Rain-X DID improve the sound.
     
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