Hi: I spoke to the Mapleshade Records owner recently and we spoke at length about this subject. He sells their CD treatment called "Optrix" for enhancing sound on the CD surface. He mentioned that they clean a CD with lukewarm tap water, mild dish soap, and a non-scratching cloth or wipe. That is is all that's needed--nothing more. Though the CD cleaners available have isopropol alcohol in them they are mostly water anyway and are really a waste of money. I have tried straight iso on CD's myself and they sounded harsh and many mistracked after that. I've read on many audio websites the laser light should not reflect off the CD too much or it will end up sounding too bright or just plain bad. From my own experience, the soap and water/water rinse and careful wiping with a 3M microfiber lens cloth works nicely and reduces the dust, dirt and fingerprints to nil. Anything on the CD gets in the way of the laser light I'd imagine. Alcohol seemed to or it created a bad light surface area. But washing it off with soap and water got that shiny, harshness of the alcohol to go away. I hope that my experiment will help you!
Isopropyl alcohol and CD crazing?
Someone who works in the plastic industry told me that isopropyl alcohol dries out the petrochemicals in polycarbonate, thus predisposing to crazing.
What do you guys think of this CD(CD-R?) cleaning protocol:
1) intial clean with dish soap (someone recomended Ivory liquid) and warm water.
2) quick rinse (30 seconds?) of the read side only with a dilute (10%) solution of isopropyl alcohol to remove any subtle residue.
3) final rinse with distilled water (my faucet has a Pur water filter; do you think this will work equally well).
4) no further exposures to isopropyl alcohol.
Do you think I will still run a significant risk of crazing? Also, would this crazing, if present, be visible if I look at the CD surface under a strong light?
Any insights would be greatly appreciated!
What do you guys think of this CD(CD-R?) cleaning protocol:
1) intial clean with dish soap (someone recomended Ivory liquid) and warm water.
2) quick rinse (30 seconds?) of the read side only with a dilute (10%) solution of isopropyl alcohol to remove any subtle residue.
3) final rinse with distilled water (my faucet has a Pur water filter; do you think this will work equally well).
4) no further exposures to isopropyl alcohol.
Do you think I will still run a significant risk of crazing? Also, would this crazing, if present, be visible if I look at the CD surface under a strong light?
Any insights would be greatly appreciated!
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