Gruv Glide vs Last Preservative

[runninshine]

ANyone have any thoughts on these two products....if so do you recommend one over the other?

[oldtimer]

After more than 20 years of using neither, and suffering no ill effects proven by spinning my vinyl on others superior systems, my answer is no.

[runninshine]

Being in a dry climate I thought it might help with some of the pops on really dry or windy days.

[oldtimer]

One word: Zerostat.

[Charles Turner]

I would recommend using neither. I have been given both over the years and chosen not to use them. I have also passed over records in the used record bin that have the Last sticker indicating they have been treated with the product.

In general, I only use a minimal amount of very mild cleaning product on my records and only use products I believe can easily be removed with a high quality water product.

[JBryan]

I've had both, still have the GG but never found a good use for either. A good record cleaner/machine will make your records sound as nice and quiet as they're gonna get (dirty/moldy records might benefit from a steamer). If you live in a dry climate, a humidifier will prevent a lot of static and a grounded floor mat and Zerostat gun will take care of the rest. Have fun.

[runninshine]

Zerostat gun huh? Why do some of my LPs pop and some dont? I always clean and wipe them down before play.

[oldtimer]

Some pops are in the grooves due to bad pressing or abuse by a previous owner, there is nothing to be done for those.

[Dennie]

Hey Sterling, Check out these record brushes.

I use this one and really like it......

It has Carbon Fibers on the outsides and Velvet in the center and does a good job cleaning and getting rid of static.

For $14 it is hard to beat. They have cheaper ones also that work will for displacing static.

SLEEVE CITY

Dennie

[dtel]

Gruv Glide, is that the stuff Dr Ruth talks about ? [8-)]

[artto]

I used both and I prefer Gruv Glide. Over the last 30 years, properly applied Gruve Glide has shown absolutely no problems on any of my LP's. LAST is another story. I seemed to still get gummy or something after a long period of time, like many products prior to it.

Gruv Glide needs to be applied sparingly. More than directed is not good and will cause problems down the road - like sticking to sleeves and producing more groove noise.

I do use StyLAST stylus lubricant occasionally.

The Gruv Glide records sound cleaner and better to me. I recommend playing the record a few times before applying.

[Travis In Austin]

Being in a dry climate I thought it might help with some of the pops on really dry or windy days.

If you are getting noise from static electricty, whether it be pops or a lot of noise when you pull the record off the platter, than I concur 100 percent with Oldtimer, drop the $80 or so for a Zerostat, lasts forever, and it really, really works. I used Groove Glide 10 or 15 years ago on some records (manufactured in Las Vegas, where it is warm and dry like where you live) and while it does work for awhile, the draw back is that it traps dust and dirt. It is not a cleaner, so whatever pops and click are in your record to begin with, are still going to be there, and the residue is going to build up on your stylus.

If you are getting pops and clicks from other sources such as dirt, etc. that is a whole different topic and there is a lot of great information about that in threads that you can search with terms like record clean, etc. I personally use Disk Doctor with his brushes.

Travis

[Travis In Austin]

An afterthought, what type of sleeves are you using? If you are putting them back into original paper sleeves this could be adding to a static problem in a dry climate. The antistatic sleeves that are available really are just that. Antistatic sleeves and Zerostat should eliminate any and all static problems.

Travis

[artto]

Being in a dry climate I thought it might help with some of the pops on really dry or windy days.

If you are getting noise from static electricty, whether it be pops or a lot of noise when you pull the record off the platter, than I concur 100 percent with Oldtimer, drop the $80 or so for a Zerostat, lasts forever, and it really, really works.

Travis

Uh, not quite. My Zerostat is, ???? 30+ years old. It does not work any more.

And if you are trapping dust or accumulating anything that sticks in the grooves after GruvGlide treatment, then GruvGlide was not applied properly. That is, in fact, the tell-tale sign of improper GruvGlide application.

Long ago when GruvGlide first came out I bought many multiple copies of the limited edition audiophile LP's. I used GruvGlide on one, another was untreated. After 30 years I while attest that the only GruvGlide ones that "went bad" were treated too much, and/or buffed too hard. When applied properly, the treated records sound better and have far less groove noise than the untreated one. No static. No accumulations.

What is proper application? Use one pad for spraying and wiping record, the other for wiping the other pad only! Two short half-second bursts. Two light wipes of the sprayed pad on the unsprayed pad. Rotate TT platter at 45rpm and gently run the spayed pad over the record. stop the platter and reverse the dirction of rotation so that GruvGlide gets even coverage of the groove in both directions. This also helps reduce any static effect. Treat the label as well.

When you're done the record should look real slick, almost wet, and you should be able to easily feel the reduced drag on any cleaning pad. I simply use the GruvGlide pads for generally wiping the records before play and slap them together to shake off any debris or excess dried GruvGlide.

Record prep:

New, play it few times so the stylus can remove as much as possible any minor "defects" such as flash remaining from pressing. Wipe the record and clean the stylus every play.

Old record, clean with a brush like DiscWasher using Smirnoff Silver. It's perfect. Just the right amount of alcohol and water triple distilled for your cleaning satisfaction. Alcohol tends to remove some of the natural lubricants in the vinyl. So here, GruvGlide can help substantially, as long as the record is in good shape to begin with.

[Travis In Austin]

Uh, not quite. My Zerostat is, ???? 30+ years old. It does not work any more.

And if you are trapping dust or accumulating anything that sticks in the grooves after GruvGlide treatment, then GruvGlide was not applied properly. That is, in fact, the tell-tale sign of improper GruvGlide application.

Art,

You are correct on the limited life, they can and to wear out, but my current zerostat is 10 plus years old and still going strong. You can tell when they start to go just from the amount of static that remains, but they also include that hand checker tip just to be sure.

As far as the dust accumulation, I guess it is like everything else where milage may vary. In the southwest we have more sand type dust, I don't know if that makes a difference or not. But Gruv-glide is tallow quaternary ammonium salt, used in some anti-static dryer cloths, a mixture of animal fat and ammonium salts in a solvent that is evaporates quickly. It is is not applied correctly, as you say, you risk the accumulation of salts in the grove which for sure you don't want. But it still leaves an animal fat based layer (that is what makes the shine you speak of) on your record and while it won't attract dust or dirt, if it lands on there it can stick. It was designed to last at least ten plays, which means it is evaporating/vaporizing with stylus contact or, possibly, is partialy being picked up by the stylus but it is going somewhere and that is what always worried me.

I get the same results with good cleaning, zerostat and anti-static sleeves. I may play around with it again on some records I don't really care about and see what the sound difference is and if any residue comes after proper application. I think it would almost be impossible to tell if it makes any noticible difference on stylus wear, or record wear, since it is going to take a lot of records to get to the point of wear with good clean records and proper tracking weight etc. even without an application of Last or GG. But if it sounds better, than I am all for it. AES actually did a study on playing wet records vs. dry ones, since a lot of folks claimed that playing them wet resutlted in better sound, etc. I can't remember what the paper concluded.

Travis

[runninshine]

Thanks for all of you help guys. Usually I don't have any pops or noise on most of my records but I was reading about the two products and thought you all would have much more experience than me.

[Mallette]

Static is pretty much a non-issue in Houston. I don't clean unless I see something or hear something, though I've been using Swiffers for a year or two as a light couple of turns eliminates most particulates better than anything I've ever seen. No audiophile premium on them and they last quite a while. Of course, they'd create a static charge strong enough to kill a cat in West Texas. But, here in humidity land it simply isn't a problem except on very rare occasions...and then I go outside and enjoy it.

Dave

[thebes]

Cheapskates take note. There may be an alternative to Zerostats and fancy chemical formulas.

I should have in my hands any day now, a product called StopStatic Wipers. I've ordered these after consulting with the StopStatic folks on the best way to eliminate static from vinyl and they recommended the wipers. A simple touch is supposed to discharge all the static, they are washable and claim to last a very long time. No chemicals, no pointing a toy gun at your turntable and yelling "hands up!", and best of all:

$11 bucks a pop, which is basically better than free by audiophile standards.

Hopefully I'll still have some staticy records around when they arrive and will provide a test report based on complete scientific methodology carried out by Thebes-O-Rama Laboratories.

Here's a link:

http://www.stopstatic.com/accessories.html

[Mallette]

Hopefully I'll still have some staticy records around when they arrive and will provide a test report based on complete scientific methodology carried out by Thebes-O-Rama Laboratories.

Rub'em on your cat, Marty. They'll get a charge out of it...

Dave