The art of cleaning a record. What do you use, special techniques, etc.?

I'm with mikey as well, slightly modified method, basically the same different goo...

However I too am a big fan of LAST and have excellent luck with it...

What a number of posters need to keep in mind, is that because you are stepping up to one of the worlds finest turntables, it will be capable of resolving much more detail than the SL1200, rega p3 and MMF-5 crowd
will ever hear, so you have to take a little bit more care in the ritual, but
you will really benefit from the cleaning process....

Get ready for another whole dimension of analog...

 

I forgot to add that only on rare occasions do I need to vacuum the record twice: a few times I've seemed to only loosen up the dirt, quite audible on playback. The record needed a second cleaning.

Totally independent of my findings, the operator of Circle Sky Records advised me that some records need the Nitty Gritty, then one play, then another round on the Nitty Gritty to get it finally clean. He does the one play at 78rpm on a cheap portable with the sound "off" just to knock junk out of the grooves.

My McCartney 'Chaos' albums, Brendan Benson's 'Alternative To Love' and Jason Falkner's 'Can You Still Feel' all three required a clean, a play, and another clean to get "factory junk" out of the grooves. I bought them sealed.

 

I built a simple DIY vac system consisting of an old cheap belt (removed) drive TT and a 1 HP Shop Vac and modified the crevice tool. I use RRL cleaning products to loosen and suspend the grime, followed by a good vac. After the lp is completely dry I insert it in a new inner sleeve and then only use a carbon fibre brush before each play. For a long time I used the DIY fluid using alcohol, distilled water and a drop or two of Dawn liquid followed by a rinse with distilled water. The RRL fluids blow the homebrew away.

For those that haven't given Vac cleaning with modern day commercial fluids a try, I think you are missing out on an inexpensive very noticeable improvement.

I have bought lps that have been previously treated with LAST and it seems like an excellent product. I am not sure what it breaks down to costing per lp, but if it is relatively cheap, it would be a good idea for your better records.

 

Beyond the Calotherm record cleaning cloth which is good enough for me, never go in for the handwash, bathwash, dishwasher methods!

Clapped hands on a Dylan 1996 boot LP earlier this year (the one with the excellent William Stout kangaroo cover) and that's going to go to one of the shops in north London with a record cleaning machine as they're cheap, cheerful and a small independant, hence get my support every time. Apart from that, I tend to look after LPs as best I can.

Loved the argument with early CD a quarter of a century ago - "it will last forever" it went in the mags. My take was "er, so does vinyl if you don't panel beat it to death"!

Proof of the pudding is in the eating and even more so when you land something that's a good 40-odd years old that's obviously been loved and still sounds great.

 

Years ago, one of my poorer writers told me of his el-cheapo recording cleaning method. He used a little Down To Earth dishwashing liquid mixed up with lots of water. The mixture was stored in a sprayer bottle for easy application. Once on the record a cut-down shaving brush was used, following the grooves. Rinse thoroughly under the tap, mop off with lint-free tissues or cloth and leave to air dry thoroughly (a plastic dish rack can be useful for this).

These days I use a Nitty Gritty 1.5fi and NG's own fluid. I'm not convinced that it's a lot better than the cheaper manual method, but I'm lazy, so the machine wins out.

Cleaned records go into a new plastic inner sleeve - and that's an essential step that's often overlooked.

 

And THIS is how you cleaned records 30 years ago... from the people that brought you Mr. Microphone and Pocket Fisherman!

 

I clean records with the Disc Doctor/VPI 16.5 combo. I use lots of distilled water to make sure that the DD fluid is completely rinsed off of the record. After cleaning, I put the record into a new rice paper sleeve.

 

I have a VPI 16.5. I use VPI cleaning fluid and do what Michael Fremer does. Once I clean a record and put it into a rice paper sleeve I rarely ever have to clean it again.

 

I only caution the use of the "rice" paper inner sleeve. I've had the plastic react with certain UK vinyl formulations from the seventies. It left a film which cleaned off easily but has given me cause for concern. In all fairness I never had this happen with the "original" MFSL sleeves but specifically with VIP and the new MFSL sleeves.

 

I use the Nitty Gritty Record Master fully manual cleaner for LPs, 45s, and 78s, with the Pure 1 fluid for 78s and the Pure 2 for vinyl. I'm one of those obsessives who cleans new records before first play. Everything gets a new rice paper innersleeve. After that it's maybe just a simple whisk of the record brush (I use the Goldring Exstatic) prior to play.
No big deal. I don't understand all the vinylphobics who claim that this is such a huge time waster.

 

Tommy which sleeves do you recommend?

 

I don't, if a record has a paper inner sleeve and it is clean, I simply blow out with compressed air the sleeve and use it. If it needs to be replaced then I'll use the new MFSL sleeves just be aware of a possible problem.

Again this has only happened with select uk LP's pressed in the seventies. In all my years of record collecting I've never had a problem with an LP stored in a clean paper sleeve.

I'm sure if you slide an album in and out enough you might put fine marks on it, however sometimes it takes me 25 years before I play an album again.

 

I use a VPI HW 17F which is approaching its 20th birthday.

I always clean a record only once, put it in a new rice paper or polylined sleeve, and will only brush or rinse it again if it actually gets visibly dusty. I put Post-It notes on the inside of the poly record cover sleeves (stuck to the poly, not to the covers) to keep track of when the record was cleaned and with what fluids.

My cleaning technique varies depending on the record:

New record -- wash only with RRL (now called Mobile Fidelity) Super Record Wash. I keep RRL Super Record Wash in the reservoir of my RCM. On a new record, I apply the Wash with the RCM's tube/brush; rotate 3 revolutions in each direction with the RCM's brush scrubbing the record; and then vacuum clean and dry in 2 revolutions with a clean vacuum wand. A quick and easy process that involves no manual scrubbing.

Most used records: apply RRL Super Deep Cleaner to the record with a Disc Doctor brush; lightly scrub the record 3 times in each direction with the same brush (the record is not rotated on the RCM during the scrub); vacuum two revolutions; rinse with RRL Super Record Wash using the same technique as for a new record described above BUT with a different vacuum wand than used for removing the Super Deep Cleaner.

Really dirty records: apply Disc Doctor Miracle Record Wash to the record with a Disc Doctor brush; lightly scrub the record 3 times in each direction with the same brush; vacuum two revolutions; then follow with the process described above for most used records (using different brushes for applying and scrubbing the DD and RRL fluids).

If a used record is visibly dusty, I will try to remove most of the dust with an Audioquest brush before applying any fluids.

In rare instances, I will use some clear Glass Plus sprayed directly onto the record surface to remove some really bad crud or gook.

 

I use a VPI 16.5 cleaning machine with Record Research Lab (RRL) fluids; using a Disc Doctor brush to apply the RRL cleaning fluid and using the large Discwasher brush with the RRL record wash fluid for the rinsing phase. Many of the records that I purchase rarely need any deep cleaning, so they are cleaned using only the rinsing phase as mentioned above.



Ed Hurdle
HeavyDistortion

 

I used a kitchen sink water spray to get rid of surface noise on my original 3 albums. Stylus constantly scraped dark matter from the grooves, although most surface nosie was eliminated, but some sibilance remained/ After buying some more LPs, I purchased DD fluid and brushes, and an AcousTech brush. The new batch of records weren't nearly as dirty as my original LPs, so I can't say if DD gets rid of surface noise better than water. Nevertheless, the dirt was cleaned from my original dirty LPs so the stylus no longer scrapes up dark stuff. Just using the brush on a new LP fixed a major skipping problem. In another case, no amount of cleaning got rid of surface noise on two , I assume, defective LPs. DD didn't correct minor sibilance on my original LPs. From my small sample, I am tentatively concluding that cleaning gets rid of dirt and grime to eliminate surface noise if possible, but won't get rid of crackling, which is caused by permanent groove damage, even on brand new LPs.

LAST is both a preservative and a sound improvement liquid? Work on sibilance?

 

I use a cheap Nitty Gritty RCM. The plastic splindle broke off long ago, but I much prefer my epoxied wood dowel rod replacement spindle.

You need the Zyme! I am really a giant fan of the Bugtessel Vinyl Zyme. Every LP that arrives in my collection gets a good soaking with enzymes.

Then I use the RRL Super Deep Clean
Follow that up with a rinse or two of RRL Super Record Wash


IMHO the enzyme really does a lot to remove junk from the grooves that make pops and clicks, it is my "secret" to quiet vinyl...

 

I am a big fan of vacuum machines. For a long time I have used the Record Doctor, which is basically a rebranded Nitty Gritty manual machine sold by Audio Advisor.

I also keep my old Orbitrac hand-cleaning system around for any pre-cleaning that needs to be done.

I use Disc Doctor "brushes" (they are more like pads) to scrub the records, and I used to use the Disc Doctor fluid, with distilled water for the rinse. However, I switched some time ago to Record Research Labs (RRL) fluids, as I find them less messy and easier to work with. YMMV. (I have some Audio Intelligent fluids on hand, but have yet to try them.)

For records that are already fairly clean (including new ones), I just do one scrub and one vacuum with RRL's Super Vinyl Wash. For soiled, older records, I do three scrub-and-vacuum cycles: the first with RRL's Deep Cleaner (often using a VPI bristle brush in addition to the DD pad to get the fluid deep into the grooves), and then two rinses with the Super Vinyl Wash.

I do this once for each record that comes into the house, before it ever goes near my stylus. I never "wet-clean" a record again, except in rare cases when I feel I didn't do a good enough job the first time, or (like Mr. Fremer) if I ever get a fingerprint smudge onto a record that I need to remove.

Before and after each play, I give the record a light brushing with an Audioquest carbon-fiber brush. Used properly, it works better than anything else I've tried for actually removing dust, and not just leaving it in a straight line on the record.

Clean records go into rice-paper inner sleeves. And because I'm nutty about these things, I affix a small sticky to the sleeve, noting when the record was cleaned and what was used.

 

I've been using a VPI 16.5 for 7+ years with great results. Typically I use VPI solution for VG used items, RR Super Deep Cleaner for the new purchases, and a home grew for the nasty ones. The home brew has a very small % of Spray 'n' Wash and it works great! It brought several of my Grandfathers' LP back to life.
I use two brushes, one for scrubbing and the other for the rinse cycle. For reasons unknown to myself I only use one pickup brush. All brushes supplied by VPI.
All LPs, new or used get cleaned. I clean a LP once unless I see a possibility for improvement on the first clean. This is where the Spray 'n' Wash can really shine.
I new sleeve on all cleaned LPs is a must.

Brian

 

i use the vpi 17, disc doctor fluid, one time for new, mo-fi inner sleeve then the audioquest for each play. i was initially a non-believer in machine cleaning, but have done a 180 based on recent experience w/used LP's.

used LAST many yrs. ago . . . didn't know they still made it! prb a big reason why all my records that were in the attic for 15 yrs. sound so good.

doug

 

Like Michael, I only usually clean the first time around. I use a cheap Wal-Mart lint brush with fluid and then vacuum off with my 20 year old Nitty Gritty. The fluid is home made and is based on Lysol Direct like the SoundStage article online.

 

Anybody ever try Micro Care Cleaner. It sounds like it should work pretty well - as well as those good old cleaners that weren't so good for the ozone .


Cody

 

Cool. Post a review with pics.

 

I too use Discwasher, as nearly all of my pressings were acquired new. I used LAST on many of those, but I stopped using it when I stopped buying new vinyl in the 1980s.

Derek

 

Please tell me where I can find some Direct.
I have been looking now for a couple years.

 

I dunno...I have had mine several years, and I have enough to last me a while. Don't know what I'll do when it runs out, though!