I did not measure both sides after treatment. I only measured the one side that was treated. In any case, if you play the side you just treated, you would want to treat the back side if you are then going to play that side, because friction between the vinyl and the mat, especially if a felt mat, might have generated a static charge. But I think the major culprit is us. If you walked up to the TT over a wool carpet, chances are your body is charged up. Then as soon as you touch the LP, that charge is transferred. The other factor is the paper sleeve. As you remove an LP from its sleeve (and even some other types of sleeve could do it) you put a charge on the LP.
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Thanks for your response, but I still don’t know how you use the gun, because you did not mention it. When you are treating the record, and the gun is near to the record, is the trigger depressed or extended? if it’s extended, when do you squeeze it? If it’s depressed, when do you release it and how slowly?I got my method years ago either from a Zerostat instruction sheet or from a knowledgeable person whom I trusted. I cannot remember which. but I can tell you it works, and that is documented by reading with an electrostatic charge meter, data noted above. There was no need at all to treat the surface 3 times in 3 different locations, as you describe. One shot does it, aiming at the label, starting from about 12 inches away from the LP and moving the gun away very slowly as the trigger is slowly released. The bit about releasing it so slowly so as to avoid the click sound was a part of the original instructions as I recall them.
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What I actually said was just a quote from the Shure Corporation white paper on static charge. They observed that if you neutralize only one side of an LP the charge on the other side will migrate to the treated side. I would have to review that paper to recall under exactly what conditions. Your finding that both sides are discharged by treating only one side is surprising, but I didn't measure the untreated side when I did my experiments, so I am in no position to disagree, apart from quoting from the Shure paper.
I will also say that in my own experiment, using a ES charge meter to monitor results, I only aimed the gun at the label from a distance of about one foot (not 3 different spots), with the trigger fully depressed. (Now my memory is playing tricks; I may have brought the gun to the LP while also depressing the trigger slowly, or not.) Then I gradually released the trigger while also slowly moving the gun away from the LP until at about 3-4 feet I fully released the trigger. This reduced the measured charge on the treated surface from -11kV to around -0.2kV. It is not clear to me how you are using the gun; at what points in relation to the LP surface do you squeeze then release the trigger?
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Most likely you are using the zerostat incorrectly. There's no shame in that. Zapping an LP inside its wrapper or sleeve, whether paper or whatever, is never going to work. One reason your LP may stick to your felt mat is that felt itself is a good donor of negative ions to vinyl. But also, if you remove static charge from the surface of an LP with the LP held in the air OFF the platter while you zap it (the only way it works according to my observation), that takes care of the side you play only. The bottom side that goes against the mat will still be charged up to begin with. The Shure Corporation published a long paper on static charge many decades ago in which they showed that charge migrates from one side of the LP to the other, after you treat one side. Finally, when you are using the zerostat, with the LP in your other hand, pull the trigger all the way back with the gun held away from the LP. Then start with the gun near to the LP and very slowly pull it away while very slowly releasing the trigger, ideally so slowly that there are no "clicking" sounds.
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But it is the act of removing the LP from its paper sleeve that does the most to generate a charge on its surface. So you would have to zap it again, once you removed it from the paper. Which makes it a waste of time to zap it in the sleeve, even if that does work.
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GHD, How many Zerostats did you own, and how did you use them (and why so many)? I found that my Zerostat does not work on an LP mounted on the platter, using my static electricity meter as evidence. However, it does work if you hold the LP in one hand while zapping it with the other. Then too, you have to use the technique of squeezing the trigger as your hand holding the gun approaches the LP and then very gradually releasing the trigger as you very gradually draw the gun away from the LP. Ideally, you don’t want to hear any click until the gun is a good distance from the LP, as you release the trigger. (There must be a Youtube video on this, but it’s very straightforward anyway.)
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newfzx7, I think Raul was simply urging you to go ahead and buy the arc lighter. I don’t think he meant or communicated anything offensive. But if you do buy the arc lighter, keep in mind that it contains a wear-able element that will eventually need to be replaced with new. Unlike the Zerostat (apparently because mine is working after 50 years).
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dweller, IIRC, I bought my Zerostat in 1972, in the UK. So you think I got one of the "strong" ones? I don't recall ever seeing sparks.
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Zerostat is probably better than that arc lighter, and the arc lighter probably generates a small amount of ozone in the vicinity of its user. Probably not enough to be unhealthy, but not great for the environment. I recently bought an electrostatic charge meter off eBay. With that, I was able to prove to myself that after 50 years my Zerostat still works, IF you hold the LP in mid air with one hand while triggering the Zerostat with the other. (Detailed instructions available anywhere crazy audiophiles congregate.) Charge went from -11kV (also proving that negative ions are attracted to vinyl) to less than 1kV after treatment. To generate the charge, I purposefully yanked the LP out of its paper sleeve as rapidly as possible. That sure does it.
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