Acetate Renovation

[Platters 81]

ive got a George Smith 10" acetate of 6 tracks ("ive had it" + 5 which appear unreleased ballads )....trouble is it isnt in the best of shape (bit hissy and crackly)....is there a way to improve the sound quality..(ive tried soap and water)."skimming" sounds a bad idea on an acetate...?

[Gene-r]

ive got a George Smith 10" acetate of 6 tracks ("ive had it" + 5 which appear unreleased ballads )....trouble is it isnt in the best of shape (bit hissy and crackly)....is there a way to improve the sound quality..(ive tried soap and water)."skimming" sounds a bad idea on an acetate...?

Don't even think about skimming it, or using ANY spirit on it!

I use dilute bleach to get the crap out of some of my records, and it really does work a treat (contrary to cynical belief). I have also used it on acetate, with exactly the same results! Bleach doesn't corrode acetate like spirit does - it gets all ground-in crap out of the grooves, and the resultant sound quality is so much cleaner. If it doesn't clear the noise, then you'll know it's caused by scratches and general wear & tear, in which case there's nothing that can be done to get rid of it.

I'd experiment with a junk acetate first before hitting George Smith with bleach................

Edited January 5, 2007 by Gene-R

[Pete S]

I said a few weeks back but Fairy Active Foam is the best record cleaner I've ever used. Doubt if it would improve your acetate though, once those are worn, they stay that way

[Mike Shawe]

Liquid lighter fuel (ie Ronson) applied with a cloth is also good for cleaning acetate's and doesn't attack them.

It's also worth taking some of the tracking weight off the stylus by turning the balance weight on

the end tone arm anti-clockwise whenever you play slates. By reducing this by a few grammes you can earn yourself quite a few more plays since wear is considerably reduced

Edited January 5, 2007 by mikeshawe

[Platters 81]

thank all for advice......what dilution do u use on the bleach Gene?

[Guest]

Liquid lighter fuel (ie Ronson) applied with a cloth is also good for cleaning acetate's and doesn't attack them.

It's also worth taking some of the tracking weight off the stylus by turning the balance weight on

the end tone arm anti-clockwise whenever you play slates. By reducing this by a few grammes you can earn yourself quite a few more plays since wear is considerably reduced

Spot on Mikeshawe.

Was cleaning some Jimmy Radcliffe 78's Aceatates for processing today and employed, those techniques, and others and

came away with some brilliant results. Tis true though once the acetate wears thin it's F*#cked.

Edited January 6, 2007 by Mangomn2003