WD40 Record Cleaning?!!

Discussion in 'Audio Hardware' started by andy749, Feb 16, 2018.

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  1. Just Walking

    Just Walking Forum Resident

    Location:
    UK
    I'd have thought this thread was an April 1st joke, except it is mid February :kilroy:
     
    quicksilverbudie likes this.
  2. dbesh2

    dbesh2 New Member

    Location:
    Clovis, CA
    Me too! Nice read to chuckle over first thing in the morning.
    I wonder about polymer get balls.. they come in different shapes and sizes like the ones for cleaning keyboards.
    Why not records, and the stylus < how different is it from Oznow? Similar compound?
    They are washable and cheap.
     
  3. Agitater

    Agitater Forum Resident

    Location:
    Toronto
    The polymer gel compound probably shouldn’t be used on an LP groove. The gel is great for cleaning detritus from hard, non-porous and non-striated surfaces such as digtal camera sensors and phono stylus tips, but LP groove edges might tear off fine bits of the gel that would then get stuck in the groove.
     
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  4. dbesh2

    dbesh2 New Member

    Location:
    Clovis, CA
    I've read elsewhere a complaint about a thin film the first time one used the gel on a record, but it was removed when they did a second application.
    Does sound a bit iffy. On an Amazon review of Oznow, a user stated that the gel used is softer than the 'toy' gel, therefore more safe to use. Not sure
    the toy stuff would be anymore risky than a brush if you are just lightly 'dipping'.
     
  5. moops

    moops Senior Member

    Location:
    Geebung, Australia
    If this is the same WD40 we have here in Australia I woudn't put that stuff anywhere near your Hi-Fi.
     
    Leonthepro likes this.
  6. ralf11

    ralf11 Forum Resident

    Location:
    Earth
    wd40 - Nein!!

    Work some organic chicken fat into the record - by hand! best results if his name was Ernie
     
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  7. Leonthepro

    Leonthepro Skeptically Optimistic

    Location:
    Sweden
    Agreed.
     
  8. Jamstarz

    Jamstarz Member

    Location:
    Uk
    I've used WD40 for a while now and the results are pretty good.I use a lint free cloth with a quick spray of WD40.Then a micro groove carbon brush with a spray of spectacle cleaner.Works for me!

    WD40 is silicon free.Its only fish oil.Spectacle cleaner is alcohol free.


    *disclaimer if my stylus drops off I'll let you guys know!
     
  9. Leonthepro

    Leonthepro Skeptically Optimistic

    Location:
    Sweden
    I dont know why your stylus would drop off. SMH.
     
  10. Agitater

    Agitater Forum Resident

    Location:
    Toronto
    Using WD40 to 'clean' LPs is a mistake. It has always been a mistake. Read the MSDS statement for the product. There is no fish oil in WD40.

    WD40 contains aliphatic hydrocarbons - a highly flammable solvent more familiarly - that does not get along with the compounds used to make LPs. Solvents are corrosive. WD40 also contains petroleum-based oil and a rust inhibitor that may be derived from fish oil (but no fish oil). Note that rust inhibitor compounds, by definition, have high adhesion properties to ensure that they truly protect vulnerable surfaces. You may think you're wiping off all the WD40, but you're not unless you are also following the WD40 treatment with a thorough cleaning using dish washing detergent. But doing that would basically make a WD40 treatment pointless even if the WD40 was beneficial to LPs which it is not.

    Suggesting that WD40 is "only fish oil" is simply wrong. A simple search for the MSDS statement would have told you that. Use WD40 on your LPs all you like, but you will be sorry. It bonds in small amounts to LP vinyl. Allow enough WD40 to build up (because it's a lot harder to clean off than you think), and its solvents will definitely damage any adhesive use to attach a stylus to a cantilever. For certainty, read the MSDS statement here.
     
  11. Big Blue

    Big Blue Forum Resident

    Location:
    Wisconsin
    For that matter, I wouldn’t put fish oil on my records, either...
     
    tin ears, Benzion, Agitater and 2 others like this.
  12. Thoughtships

    Thoughtships Forum Resident

    Location:
    Devon, UK
    Snake Oil is often popular in these parts. ;)
     
    MonkeyLizard, bever70, qwerty and 3 others like this.
  13. Big Blue

    Big Blue Forum Resident

    Location:
    Wisconsin
    You put that on the cables (and the lifters that go with them). ;)
     
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  14. Victor Martell

    Victor Martell Forum Resident

    Lots of folk "wisdom" remains about records - and amazingly is hard to debunk... well, not hard to debunk, but to convince people to... well, stop.

    Now - this is my experience and thinking - I could be wrong an your experience be wonderful - that said, one of the reasons I gave up on used records ( now I get mostly new audiophile pressings or well reviewed mainstream pressings ) is what I saw at my neighbourhood record store.

    Mind you - I am very happy to have one of the best record stores in my city about 4 blocks from my house. BUT, one time, I saw one of the clerks cleaning a huge stack of records with lighter fluid. Argh. Maybe it was just that one clerk, maybe they clean them all like that. However, since that is something I cannot control, I decided to just not bother... But that explained how a few (not all of them, mind you again) records I got from them were just hopeless in spite of cosmetically looking fine. For all I know, some other stores might use WD40.

    Thought of talking to the clerk, but decided against it - sometimes folk "wisdom" is so ingrained, it would be a waste of time - plus not sure people like to be told how to do their job, no matter how wrong they do it ! :D

    Of course, this is in general - I do make some exceptions, and in those cases it's because I tested the record on the store turntables and it was perfect. Why not test them all? well... sure, that would be one way! :D Not saying I am 100% right or that I hold the universal truth - just saying that decided not to bother. YMMV.

    BUT WD40??? Come on... :D - My guess is that people think that anything that will make the record shiny (lighter fluid, WD40) is actually cleaning it.

    v
     
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  15. Leonthepro

    Leonthepro Skeptically Optimistic

    Location:
    Sweden
    The thing is, its not our job to debunk beliefs and claims, its the believers who need to justify their claims not just to us, but to themselves as well.

    Im lucky to know exactly what my local store owner does to his records, its either nothing, which is preferred, or using an RCM which I do anyway.

    I know one guy in another store who once told me, "180 gram records always sound better anyway, no need to buy old and thin originals". Rarely go there anymore.
     
    Last edited: Sep 12, 2019
    nosliw likes this.
  16. Thoughtships

    Thoughtships Forum Resident

    Location:
    Devon, UK
    So a 4Kg LP would sound awesome!

    :)
     
    tin ears and VinylSoul like this.
  17. Agitater

    Agitater Forum Resident

    Location:
    Toronto
    I disagree.

    If you’ve ever wondered how misinformation spreads, the failure to speak up by individuals who know better (either because they’re better educated about a particular subject in the first place, or because they took some time to research authoritative sources about the subject) is one of the reasons.
     
    bever70, Just Walking and tin ears like this.
  18. Leonthepro

    Leonthepro Skeptically Optimistic

    Location:
    Sweden
    It is not the experts fault that some spread misinformation and that people then accept it without justification. Scientists job is not to debunk Pseudosciences, most likely its already been done anyways.
     
  19. Leonthepro

    Leonthepro Skeptically Optimistic

    Location:
    Sweden
    According to him, I guess so.
     
  20. BayouTiger

    BayouTiger Forum Resident

    While I generally agree, wood glue does actually work and is safe when done properly. Of course, afterward it needs to still be cleaned properly.

    If WD40 works than I can imagine how well Boeshield T-9 would work! It is generally superior to WD-40 in every other usage!!! :):):)
     
  21. Agitater

    Agitater Forum Resident

    Location:
    Toronto
    Debunking pseudo-science is precisely one of the jobs of reputable scientists. That so many bits of pseudo-science and outright lies and scams have already been debunked doesn’t make them go away, and doesn’t stop some people from either repeating old ones or inventing new ones.
     
    Just Walking likes this.
  22. Leonthepro

    Leonthepro Skeptically Optimistic

    Location:
    Sweden
    The burden of proof lies on the believer, if you want to talk about what one morally aught to do thats something else. Scientists main motives are not to debunk pseudo sciences though, they may dismiss claims when asked if they are correct or educate, but they are not payed to sit and look for false claims to respond to. Its a wild goose chase otherwise.
     
  23. Dennis0675

    Dennis0675 Hyperactive!

    Location:
    Ohio
    It works but it’s not practical. I’ve been to a friendshouse that refuses to spend the money on a RCM and will have several lp’s drying in his listening room at any given moment. It’s a hassle, takes forever, exposes the lp’s to the risk of damage from being out of the sleeve and still needs to be wet washed when it’s over. If I were cleaning one record every week and was in no hurry to play it, wood glue is fine. If you come home with a stack of records you’d like to play in the next week, not so much.

    RCM or Spin clean, used as directed with the recommended fluids. Anything else is a fools errand.
     
    nosliw, Victor Martell and Leonthepro like this.
  24. BayouTiger

    BayouTiger Forum Resident

    Certainly not for daily use, just a tool to bring to life an otherwise unsalvageable LP. I have recovered a few with it. It does have the advantage that it costs next to nothing, but I am not going to be ditching my AudioDeske any time soon!
     
    Dennis0675 likes this.
  25. Dennis0675

    Dennis0675 Hyperactive!

    Location:
    Ohio
    It's that "cost next to nothing" part that really gets people in the ditch, hence this thread.
     
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