LAST record preservation is garbage

LAST Record "preserver" is GARBAGE. Do not put any chemicals or liquids other than if you are cleaning your vinyl and even cleaning be very careful.

LAST ALWAYS FAILS - I have a bunch of LAST preserved records I am slowly 'de-lasting' , all "LAST PRESERVED" over a few decades. When using a stylus other than a Spherical / Conical - when you use Line Contact, Shibata, Hyper Elliptical - it PEELS UP THE LAST AND GUMS UP YOUR STYLUS WITH WHITE CRYSTALLINE RAILS THAT LOOK LIKE FIBERGLASS - That will be somewhat friction bad for your precious diamond stylus. AVOID ! It's a real pain and if you play a LAST record vs a NUDE record - you will notice and be able to see with audio tools like a Spectrum analysis meter - that your high end will be MUFFLED with LAST. This stuff is the true definition of snake oil ! AVOID ! I will be posting this in Steve Hoffman forum as well with photos of what LAST GLASS looks like.

Photo of the fibers on carbon brush -

 

No sh** Batman ---- didn't you get the memo???!!!

 

I'm adding evidence of what the crap looks like that peels up - I have not seen anyone post that before. - And yes I got the memo - called LOGIC ! LOL - these are not my 'LAST PRESERVED' Records.. they were aquired 2nd hand . I would never use this garbage. But I'm dealing with the aftermath and thought I would share this to some who don't know what it is . Some are still promoting the crap out of the s**t.

 

Oh, you'll get both sides of the argument / opinion of course......... ............. bottom line is I am not a fan of it either.

But there are most definitely users out there that believe in it and will have a different experience - then there are also those out there that want you to buy it too........ they also don't like reading these kinds of experiences.

Always nice to hear from all sides though.....

 

I've never, ever seen anything remotely like this from my dozens of last preserved records. Since you did not apply this yourself, how do you know for a fact that this is from Last, and not from some other crap that the previous owner might have applied such as Grove Glide?

 

I don't apply anything after a good wash and rinse. I only used Discwasher D4 before, but records never sounded better after I learned to clean them properly, then stop adding stuff.

Applying nothing in between cleanings (and one and done is usually the ticket) the best way to avoid build up overtime, no matter what you apply, it will leave something behind after evaporating.

 

I still don't understand why and how people convince themselves they need LAST in the first place? It seems like a solution looking for a problem. I don't view untreated vinyl as a problem........... so............

I am being genuine and open to being convinced !

 

The end result of a WD40 treated record looks pretty much the same as your photos. I treated one side only of two records. All was fine until the wd40 evaporated. Then the stylus would start pulling the residue out of the grooves. On each treated side there was a noticeable loss of high frequencies and presentation.

 

The whole idea of last made me wince when I first heard of it years ago. Putting a permanent or semi permanent coating on vinyl records is not a good idea.

Using WD 40 is insanity. It contains silicone.

 

Some of us were persuaded to try the stuff by dealers who swore that the stuff made their records last longer. Last was never, ever supposed to coat the record (like Grove Glide or WD40 does) It was claimed to chemically bond to the vinyl, and to make the groves more flexible, so that the stylus moving through the groves would have less of a tendency to produce microscopic cracks in the vinyl during playback than it normally had.

I have no way of proving that it worked as advertised, or whether it was just snake oil. But I can anecdotally state that most of my lasted records seem to be quieter than my unlasted records from 30 years ago.

 

I always appreicate honesty! I've often wondered if that was one of the reasons, if not the main one!

 

To Clarify - This phenomena I have observed from records from several sources, over the past 10 years, and ALL have the LAST stickers applied to the record sleeves
which have this chemical applied. But I can go forth now with the education to help others discern what could be building up in their expensive stylus'.
Thanks for your message , I am happy to give clarification. This is simply the first time I took photos on my most recent testing of a LAST doused disc.
ALSO - the records were all cleaned, even dipped in the ultrasonic before playing. The failure comes in playing the record - appears it does not simply wipe off with normal
cleaning procedure.

 

Claim and reality are 2 different things. It MECHANICALLY semi-bonds to vinyl (coats) . If it changed the molecular structure of the vinyl it would be a caustic
dangerous product and also be extremely risky to add to delicate groove walls which would melt upon contact if it was truly a 'molecular bond' Vinyl is also
NON porous - which means it would need to be primed/altered/sanded before any permanant chemical to be applied properly - hence the phenomena of it peeling off
is very clearly demonstrated. Non Porous means - it doesn't SOAK in. Here's an interesting thread to get you started on the path to science of
Vinyl from Engineering 360 - https://cr4.globalspec.com/thread/88209/Does-Anything-Bond-Vinyl-to-Vinyl

 

Water Displacement 40 is ..er only good for displacing water ! LOL I remember seeing some Chinese man on the youtube promoting that method. way overkill, especially when all you have to do is clean your records.

 

Thanks for noting that - these records were all 'genuine LAST' treated with the stickers on each record the LAST was applied. And some of the guys who I got the records from also mentioned it - I am going to try the WD-40 thing for laughs some time. I will keep your results in mind and see if I can duplicate this as well. Possibly LAST is rebranded WD40?

 

If it's the same stuff I used back in the 80s under a different name, my experience is that it worked well. The records I treated with it still sound great today. No peeling or flaking.

 

Yeah. I used it in the '80s, and my records with LAST from that time are fine.

I can't remember the last (ahem) record I actually used it on. In any event, I've never seen anything like that picture posted by the OP. Yikes.

 

Don't need to warn me twice - bad idea from the start - no friggen way.

 

Rebranded WD40? No. WD40 has an odor very different from LAST, and iirc, LAST appeared to evaporate once applied. I don't think WD40 would act that way.

 

Thanks for that. I have never personally handled LAST - that's why I put that out there.

 

How do you go about the process of “de-lasting” a record?

 

What??? Why would anyone ever do that to begin with?

 

OK.

Point being that LAST is/was quite a bit lighter than WD40.

I don't understand the WD40 thing at all. Why not lay down a coat of 3-in-1 and let your poor stylus plow through that?

 

Me neither. I have been using it since the early 80s. I have a microline styles and is pretty spotless after each play.

 

How will you be removing it?