I still have one full container of the original (banned) First record cleaner. It's my original world class standard for removing mold release and stubborn deposits. Unfortunately it became impossible to continue manufacturing after the EPA began penalizing Freon based products, claimed to damage the ozone layer.
After seeing your post, I read up on FIRSTrv, and it appears to be a non volatile, water based cleaner like Record Research Labs Deep Clean.
If my assumption is correct, FIRSTrv joins the growing ranks of "friendly" water based cleaners that hope to achieve what the original FIRST did.
I've done a lot of testing with both the VPI 17F and my new Odyssey RCM MK5 (German version of Keith Monks) and I've selected Premier as my favored substitute for FIRST. The water based cleaners used alone do not achieve the same results as the original FIRST.
After using Premier I follow with Record Research Deep Clean and Record Research Vinyl Wash and the end results is performance above any previous method.
I'm still experimenting with both the Audio Intelligence and Lloyd Walkers enzyme based record cleaning system, so my experiments are not completely finished but at this point Premier, followed with Record Research is what's required to achieve what the original FIRST did.
The active ingredient in Premier is manufactured by Dupont, one of the creators of Freon:
http://www2.dupont.com/Vertrel/en_US/
I found this interesting quote on the web about Freon:
Perhaps in the future we will find some of these current cleaners are not as safe as we're led to believe. At this time Premier passes all my listening tests with flying colors and the health studies including toxicologic and environmental impact research says its safe for us to use.
That makes me happy because I'm running out of original FIRST and this new method works like a charm.
After seeing your post, I read up on FIRSTrv, and it appears to be a non volatile, water based cleaner like Record Research Labs Deep Clean.
If my assumption is correct, FIRSTrv joins the growing ranks of "friendly" water based cleaners that hope to achieve what the original FIRST did.
I've done a lot of testing with both the VPI 17F and my new Odyssey RCM MK5 (German version of Keith Monks) and I've selected Premier as my favored substitute for FIRST. The water based cleaners used alone do not achieve the same results as the original FIRST.
After using Premier I follow with Record Research Deep Clean and Record Research Vinyl Wash and the end results is performance above any previous method.
I'm still experimenting with both the Audio Intelligence and Lloyd Walkers enzyme based record cleaning system, so my experiments are not completely finished but at this point Premier, followed with Record Research is what's required to achieve what the original FIRST did.
The active ingredient in Premier is manufactured by Dupont, one of the creators of Freon:
http://www2.dupont.com/Vertrel/en_US/
I found this interesting quote on the web about Freon:
Refrigerators from the late 1800s until 1929 used the toxic gases, ammonia (NH3), methyl chloride (CH3Cl), and sulfur dioxide (SO2), as refrigerants. Several fatal accidents occurred in the 1920s because of methyl chloride leakage from refrigerators. People started leaving their refrigerators in their backyards. A collaborative effort began between three American corporations, Frigidaire, General Motors and DuPont to search for a less dangerous method of refrigeration.
Perhaps in the future we will find some of these current cleaners are not as safe as we're led to believe. At this time Premier passes all my listening tests with flying colors and the health studies including toxicologic and environmental impact research says its safe for us to use.
That makes me happy because I'm running out of original FIRST and this new method works like a charm.