[Phono-L] Waxing DD

[Rich]

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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