Re: [ARSCLIST] Metal Parts

[Doug Pomeroy <pomeroyaudio@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

All the Victor/Bluebird, and Decca parts I have transferred (fathers, 
mothers and stampers)
have been nickel-plated copper, the nickel being the recorded surface.

(The film Command Performance says Victor also employed a final plating of 
platinum(!),
but I find that more than a little hard to believe.)

My experience with parts from the 20's, 30's and 40's is that the nickel 
rarely shows any signs
of tarnish. In any case, I use Noxon metal polish and a suitable soft brush, 
followed by distilled
water and drying with lint-free paper towels. My tests have shown this 
treatment does not degrade
the surface in any audible way.

At the Sony Studios they are doing the same.

Doug Pomeroy





> From: Michael Shoshani <mshoshani@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
> Reply-To: Michael Shoshani <mshoshani@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
> To: ARSCLIST@xxxxxxxxxxxx
> Subject: Re: [ARSCLIST] Metal Parts
> Date: Thu, 15 Sep 2005 17:42:11 -0500
>
> Kurt Nauck <nauck@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:
>
> >Greetings All
> >
> >What is the preferred method of cleaning and storing metal parts?
> >
> >I would think that alcohol would be a safe and effective cleaning agent.
>
> I believe record companies actually cleaned them with naphtha. Victor
> stored them vertically in large envelopes, or so they showed in the
> promo film "Command Performance"
>
> >Should anything be applied to keep them from corroding (gun oil, 
> perhaps)?
>
> Weren't fathers and stampers usually copper with a nickel backing?
> Gun oil might work; you need something to keep the copper from turning
> green, but removable so that the recording itself is accessible. I
> don't remember what mothers and matrices were made from, or whether
> those are susceptible to corrosion...
>
> Michael Shoshani
> Chicago IL

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