Thanks Rich,
I wondered about benzine (naptha) as it was widely used for many years as a
solvent. It evaporates quickly as well. My guess is that benzine was used.
Ether was even more flammable than benzine or alcohol... or they problably
would have been passed out sleeping on the job.
Bruce
----- Original Message -----
From: "Rich" <rich-m...@octoxol.com>
To: "Antique Phonograph List" <phono-l@oldcrank.org>
Sent: Tuesday, October 27, 2009 11:45 AM
Subject: Re: [Phono-L] Waxing DD
In the Blue Amberol book there is a description of the manufacturing
process. The last rinse leaves a slight lubricant on the cylinder. It
will be all gone by now even if the cylinder being examined is NOS.
Stearin is soluable in ether and benzene. Benzine was very popular in
years gone by as the solvent of choice for many things.
Bruce Mercer wrote:
DD were "waxed" starting in about 1920 with stearin. Stearin is a
triglyceride and is found in heavy fats, animal and plant, palm oil being
one. It is insoluable in water and somewhat soluable in alcohol. It's
basically a hardener. I'm guessing it was mixed with alcohol for the DD.
Obviously this wouldn't have been done with BA. I have my doubts as to
anyone 'seeing' it on a cylinder, if indeed it was ever used on a
cylinder. I've opened unopened boxes of DD from the factory and you can
tell nothing visually different from a mint copy that's been played and
taken care of in a machine. (The use of stearin is discussed in Ron
Dethlefson's book, Edison Diamond Discs Re-Creations Record & Artists
1910-1929. DIAMON DISC RECORD PRODUCTION. PAGE 151.
The only proper thing to clean DD is denatured alcohol as it has almost
no water content. As for a light coating after that type of cleaning, I
have experimented with different brands. It has a small effect on worn
records, taking a very little of the hiss away and hiding grey grooves
for the unscrupulous that may want to put lipstick on a pig and put it on
ebay. It would be interesting to know the exact procedure used in using
stearin, as it was used for a wear retardant.
My .02
Bruce M.
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