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

one HECK of a ritual

Cleaning a record is a mechanical/chemical process. Like Mikey, I only clean a record once (if its still noisy after a couple plays I do it a second time). Chemical interaction helps loosen the bonds between record surface and dirt, mechanical action breaks the loosened bonds.

I have the cheapest Nitty Gritty RCM there is, completely manual. I only use it to remove the cleaning fluid with dirt in suspension.

I am a big believer in multiple cleaning chemicals. There is no one size fits all cleaner. This is due to simple chemistry: like dissolves like. It takes oily things to dissolve grease, and watery things to dissolve non-oily things. Chemists call these molecules polar and non-polar. Non-polars are oily, polars are watery.

I am a big believer in rinsing. Vacuuming off the dirty cleaning fluid will always leave some dirt/fluid on the surface. Nothing but a pure distilled water rinse will remove (most) of that.

I have four Disk Doctor brushes, and I have nicked the corners to help tell them apart, as I use the same one for the same purpose each time.

First I put down a clean terrycloth washcloth as a working surface, and sit the record (side A first) on the cloth.

Then I apply a liberal amount of DIY fluid -- 1 gallon distilled water and 1 bottle 90% isopropyl. This step is to get the dust, small boulders, and loose debris off, so I use several tsps, scattered across the surface. I very lightly wipe around the record twice with brush #1. Vac off.

Second I apply Disk Doctor fluid -- about a teaspoon worth in a thin finger from the label to the outside of the record. This is the surfactant based cleaner intended to loosen the nonpolar bonds (finger prints, grease, cigarette smoke, etc). This I scrub, using brush #2, in an arc about 1/4 of the record at a time, moving the brush after six (exactly 6!) scrubs so that the next arc overlaps the previous by a few inches. In this method I go around the record twice (exactly 2!) and the result is a lot of grayish/white foam. This I do not vac off, I use lint-free microfibre cloths, and wipe it off instead. I also take the time with the now-damp cloth to polish parts of the record that look finger-printy still.

Third I apply Nitty Gritty Pure II fluid, again a thin finger from label to edge. This is a low surfactant cleaner intended to loosen the polar bonds and help dissolve any residual DD fluid. This time I scrub just once around the record in a similar fashion to previous, using brush #3. Vac off.

Fourth I apply distilled water. I should say the distilled water I use is not drugstore but very highly distilled water from an internet source. It comes in 5 gallon pails and shipping is pricey, but five gallons lasts for years... long enough to forget how much it cost to ship. This I use a fair amount of... a fat finger, maybe 2 or 3 teaspoons worth. With brush #4 I slide this around the record twice. It beads quite a bit and that's OK. Vac off.

Flip the cloth and do side B.

Turn the NG vac on, and slide brushes 1-4 over the lip to clean them.

Put the record in a dish rack that will hold a half dozen records. Let it air dry for at least 1/2 hour, preferably longer.

From start to finish, this takes approximately 5 minutes per record, moving at a leisurely pace. Of course, I listen to music while doing this.

When playing the record, I first give three (exactly 3!) gentle squeezes of the Milty Zerostat while the record turns on the table. I allow the charge to disseminate for a moment while I clean the stylus (Zerodust). Then I use a carbon fibre brush on the record, at the 9 o'clock position, allowing a full rotation before angling the brush in the manner of a snow plow on a truck, and slowly pulling it toward me and off the record.

Sometimes two or three plays is required to remove the last debris. If the record is still noisy after that, I give it a second cleaning. If the record is STILL noisy after that, I figure it's grooves have been damaged.

 

Has anyone done a comparison of RRL and Disc Doctor? Which do you think is better?

 

Comparing apples and oranges.

RRL is a low surfactant cleaner, good for non-grease related cleaning, less good for grease. DD is high surfactant, good for grease, less good for non-grease.

Using both, IMHO, would be better than using just one or the other.

 

I used to clean records 25 years ago on all accounts. I find with my Naim lp player, Troika cartridge and all that the best is to NOT clean or touch the lp. If there is excesive dust, I will use a carbon double edge preener to remove this. But rarely will I do this. The stylus will simply kick the dust aside. If there is beer spilled on the lp....you of course need to do something. But no more do I get caught up in cleaning every lp before play. Best to leave it alone.

 

I can't have dusty records anywhere near my TT at all. I have too many expensive sets being played and/or needle dropped. I need to keep the AP 45rpm LPs, as well as early MFSL 1/2 speeds completely dust free. So expecting the dust to just get kicked out of the grooves does not cut it. I need to know that the dirt and dust went down the sink and out of my life for good, rather than contaminating my platter mat, other records, or contributing to stylus wear.

Since 60% of my vinyl playing is captured to computer HDD for buring & future remote listening, it has to be as good as it can be right then and there the first time.

 

I have used both and find that RRL is better IMO. DD left residue on my records even after repeated rinsing. Some people are bothered by the fact that RRL fluids bead up and think that they are not doing their job of cleaning thier records.They are supposed to work that way. I have found that my LPs cleaned with RRL are quieter and more importantly sound better.

 

lol! Yeah I had it as a kid and it scratched some of my records!~ lol!

 

I use one of these - the best I've ever some across

http://www.keithmonks-rcm.co.uk/record_cleaning_machine_specifications.htm

 

How much are they, if I may ask...?

There doesn't seem to be any prices posted on the above web-sight.

 

And what is the difference between the monks and the Loricraft. Seem very similar other than the waste receptacle.

 

Check here ($4950)

http://audio-restoration.com/monks5.php

 

My dad had the manual Nitty Gritty and it improved the sound some. Then I got Disc Doctor and using their manual protocol I get a lot better SOUND but not much change in terms of crackle.

I now have a VPI because I am lazy. But for my favorite records, I'll do the whole DD protocol, but with a second rinse.

Here are my overall findings:

1) Vacuum removal is absolutely inessential. But it leaves your records dry quicker.

2) Rinsing is essential. Read what Duane Goldman says on discdoc.com. It makes sense. Even if you are going to vacuum, rinsing will raise the purity of what's left on the grooves substantially.

3) Cleaning is more important for sound than for surface noise. It sounds more immediate, transparent, and clean.

3a) Most surface noise is due to scratches, often tiny hairlines you can only see in really bright light or the sun, and that can't be removed with cleaning. In fact, the first couple of plays after cleaning can be WORSE as Disc Doctor explains, because the scratch that was filled with dirt is now bare, and it takes a couple of plays for the stylus to polish it.

3b) Many pops are due to little bits of stuck-on debris that can be removed with a fingernail or toothpick.

4) I believe careful handwashing with a small amount of detergent in a large amount of water, plus careful rinsing, is in the ballpark of Disc Doctor and better than the alcohol-based solutions vacuumed off with no rinse cycle. But no one has done the research he has--and his brushes are the best. And if you read his site, it makes sense. So I buy from him.

5)LAST leaves a sonic signature--sounds dry and hi-fi to me. And besides, my albums that are carefully handled and played on a good table since the 80s play cleanly without it. Furthermore, at this point I'd be surprised if any of my (5,000+) records gets played 50 times in my lifetime. The ones I care to play that much I have in multiple formats and copies and I'll only pull out the special vinyl copy when I have time to really listen. I suspect for most collectors the specter of record wear can be put to bed.

6) Stylus cleaning is also useful, though if you only play clean records, maybe not as much. I play lots of records without cleaning--stuff I'm not sure if I'll ever play again. Last stylus cleaner (not Stylast) worked for me, and now I use that gooey thing. Don't use a wet cleaner with a hollow cantilever, however.

 

I'm going to buy a VPI 16.5 to help in the cleaning process. Any suggestions?

 

as I understand it Keith Monks stopped making them for a while so Terry at Loricraft stepped in, now Keith's back, mainly maintaining old ones, (the one I have goes back to the 70's I think)

I think the RRP is about £4k - which is stupid money really, BUT they clean like nothing else on the planet, see the list of users.

 

Standard for this is put the disc on the platter, use the DD fluid, vacuum one revolution (not all the way dry).

Have distilled water in the VPI well and use that to rinse and then vacuum dry.

Or get the DD Quick Wash which requires no rinse.

--Eric

 

If you're asking about cleaning procedures, I would suggest you do a search. Many here have posted in great detail their cleaning process using the 16.5 RCM.

 

I concur 1000 percent.

 

No machine, no wet cleaning except for extremely dirty discs--as in, visible dirt and dust in the groove which discolors the vinyl or heavy duty greasy fingerprints.

I use my Hunt EDA brush which, when used correctly (ie, with a press down and twist of wrist), removes all visible dust from a record. I will use it when I can see visible dust on a record.

I am of the opinion that most commercial bottled cleaners are snake oil, and cleaning machines doubly so.

If I need to do the very, very rare wet wash, I apply a homebrew solution with a lint free cloth, and rinse with tap water, shake water off, and allow to air dry before playing. The home brew solution is tap water, isopropyl alcohol, and a tiny drop of Dawn or other dishwashing detergent.

A lot of this complicated record cleaning activity looks to me more like ritualistic behavior, and less like something that actually yields effective results. Kind of like the wacky things some sports fans do before the big game to "help" their team to win. But heck, if it works for ya, keep on doin' what yer doin'!

 

This was spouted as what to do by Linn years ago, it has been proved wrong many times, a stylus will not clean a record.

BTW what is a Naim LP player????

 

Really? A simple demonstration would set you straight.

 

Have you ever used a record cleaning machine? I was of that opinion until I actually tried one.

 

Stupid question, I guess, but have you ever tried Swiffer-type cloths or those Japanese dusting cloths (the dry ones--I'm sure the wet ones would leave a residue)? They really do seem to be dust magnets, pulling dust out of ribbed surfaces without actually going into the rib grooves. I wonder about static charge, though--maybe Swiffer plus ZeroStat?

 

I strongly agree. Incredible difference between before and after.

Todd

 

I have a multi-pronged approach, I have an old platter mounted on a piece of MDF with a bolt up thru it so the platter can be spun with my finger, I place a Groovmaster over the label of an LP and spray cleaning fluid on the record and spin vigorously with a VPI brush. I then vaccum with my Nitty Gritty, back tot he platter for a distilled water rinse and vacuum. Then I place the groovmaster label protectors on and stick the LP in an ultrasonic cleaner. Once out of the ultrasonic they get vacuumed again and once more for a distilled wash. Then they dry for about an hour.

 

Have you noticed an improvement in sonics even after using the RCM?