Your Thoughts And Experience With Last Record Preservative.

Agree. IMO the last treatment adds at least a 'few bucks' to my internal 'valuation' of any used LP I am thinking about buying. And the only way I know?.. it has it is the sticker.

And I agree I buy records for me!
Not for some future resale. I do what I want with them. Records are just a means to an end. Music. they have no special meaning.
Maybe I WILL scribble my nickname across all my LPs just for spite in 6" tall letters with a permanent marker.

 

Just don't use Astroglide on them!

 

I had to look it up, lol, man

 

I used it in the 80's as well, thought it reduced static buildup and surface noise.

 

I've used it for a few years. Does it help? Not sure, although I do believe it helps with static issues. But it doesn't seem to hurt. I put the stickers on the sd 2 label, if it hurts resale value - so be it, I don't buy vinyl with resale value in mind.

 

I've only just recently started using LAST myself and I'm curious about your point on drying/buffing with 2nd applicator. The instructions say nothing about this and I thought the 2nd brush was simply for when the other one got dirty or worn. Is the buffing standard practice or did you reach this conclusion yourself? After your post I've started doing the same but I'm not sure yet if it makes any difference.

 

It doesn't leave a residue. However over-application can change the color of the vinyl very slightly. Cleaning the record afterwards can reduce the coloration difference but the Last #2 is chemically bonding with the vinyl, not coating it like Armor all.

 

The Last 2 dries very quickly so I don't think there is any benefit to dry buffing. However, if the applicator brushes get black quickly it means your records have a lot of dirt on them. The effectiveness of the Last 2 is dependent on it bonding with the vinyl surface, not the dirt.

 

Last 2 was reviewed in the very early days of the Larry Archibald era at Stereophile. Their comments (smoother, quieter, more liquid) have been confirmed by everyone else that I have come across, many of whom I'm sure never read that short review. As I understand it, Last 2 reduces friction between the needle and the vinyl surface so there should be an increase in perceived liquidity, continuity or whatever term means the same thing. It is possible that the bonding process "heals" microfractures and the like. Some people object to the Last precisely because of the increased smoothness.

 

It's been so long since I've read the instructions for LAST, I didn't realize I got it wrong. Or maybe those were the instructions in the 1980s. I have one package left over from that time. I'm going to check them now.

And the answer is there is nothing about drying the record with another applicator. I have absolutely no idea where I got the idea to do that. Maybe I came up with it myself. Who knows?

I'll probably keep doing it.. I still do like the idea of buffing a record. I want to rub down all those little mealy bits.

You expect logic when it comes to the mystical voodoo rites that are involved in cleaning a record? I'm surprised I don't dance and chant when I'm prepping an album.

 

I have purchased used records at yard sales/ thrift stores with the LAST sticker applied, and all of them play like new records. LAST is the only "magic potion" in a bottle that actually lives up to its claim. For best results, LAST preservative should be applied to a brand new record. If the record is used, it must be cleaned on a RCM or hand wash/rinse before treatment.

 

These posts just seem to belong together

 

I put it on the inside of the jacket cover. I hope that doesn't ruin the value.

 

Well, the set of posts in this thread has convinced me to pick some of this up. I'll use it for the visibly VG+ LPs that still have lots of Rice Krispies even after thorough cleaning. If this helps reduce that sort of surface noise and allows me to get a decent needledrop out of something I'd considered a loss, I'll be thrilled.

 

For only 2oz in a bottle how many LPs will that cover, and how do you apply it.?

 

Inside of the jacket seems to me to be a wise place to put the sticker.

While I don't think "Last" stickers ruin the value of a record, I don't think they do anything to improve the aesthetics of the artwork, when stuck all over jackets and labels. Well, I guess the stickers serve as excellent advertising for the manufacturer of Last #2 Record Preservative, so it's pretty brilliantly clever in that regard.

Seems like most people who would use Last would also place their vinyl in fresh poly or rice paper inner sleeves. Why not put the sticker on the new inner sleeve? Or perhaps on a plastic outersleeve? Or inside the jacket like Mr Bass?

I fully understand that record owners would want a convenient log of their vinyl maintenance. I write a log of dates when a record is cleaned on the VPI, but only on the new generic poly lined innersleeve that the vinyl goes in. Despite putting the records in new inners, I still save all original inners, they are part of the original package IMO, and preserve the aesthetics of the package as it was first presented. And since I've already spent too much time of my life trying to remove various unwanted stickers from used LP jackets, it's hard to be enthusiastic about applying more on the artwork.

 

It covers about 50 LPs in my experience. Applicator brushes come with the package as well as a dropper to get the fluid from the bottle to the brush.

 

The bottles shown in the ads look more like .5 oz bottles! The old Sound Design spray bottles were much. much larger than that! Back then, you just sprayed the stuff on the record and buffed it in with the felt brush.

 

Killer record!

 

Friction vinyl/needle is one of the biggest problems with vinyl playback. Just imagine the improvements in SQ if the friction could be close to zero. I haven´t specifically tested LAST, but the reports of different improvements indicate that friction is actually reduced. I use another treatment that is reducing friction and the SQ improvements of this are very apparent.

 

So this happened when I looked at Amazon:

 

Hence why I haven't purchased any...to do all my records?!?!?!?
I can't even comprehend how much that would cost!

 

I don't even want it for all my LPs. I'm sure I only have about 50-100 LPs that I'd want to use this on to see if it cuts snap, crackle and pop. But geez. . . .

 

I've been using LAST for over thirty years and I'm picky on which I use it on.

Figure it costs about a buck a record to LAST it. Many records I have are worth spending a buck on. Most aren't.

 

This is the key element of its value, I think - likely why it is called Last. It will afford protection and longevity to record surfaces, as well as perhaps decreasing stylus-groove friction during playback. I plan to begin using it by applying it once on at least my most important records, after ultrasonic cleaning. Then, into new poly-lined inner sleeves.