I have a quantity of Last All Purpose Record Cleaner and Last Record Preservative on hand. I’ve used them for some time on my LPs. Recently I purchased some 78 LPs. Is it safe and appropriate to use your products on 78’s? If not, can you suggest an alternative cleaning method for them?
Yes, both LAST All-Purpose Record Cleaner and Record Preservative are safe and effective for use on 78 rpm shellac records. That said, because the record material, stylus loading, and cartridge/stylus compliance are all vastly different from 33 rpm vinyl records, the audio benefits and performance expectations will be quite different. On 78’s, the Preservative treatment will not penetrate as far into the surface of the record and will not have the energy damping effect observed with vinyl records. However it will decrease the surface noise of most 78’s and will allow the stylus tip to do its work at a lower operating temperature. The net result will be better s/n ratio and lower distortion.
The All-Purpose Record Cleaner will function as a superb cleaner for the records. There may be many years accumulation of dust and air-born debris on the surface of the records, so your applicators may need cleaning with a soapy solution, more often than experienced with vinyl LP’s.
Thank you for your query, Walter Davies
