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

Totally, especially on some LP's with squeaky clean looking vinyl but terrible crackle (not groove damage), I believe another user verified the same findings several months ago, you can see his results in the thread below.


http://www.stevehoffman.tv/forums/archive/index.php/t-103427.html

 

What are you using for an ultrasonic cleaner? How effective do you think it is?

Thanx

 

I bought it off ebay for about 275 dollars, it fits half the record and I spin it, I think it is very effective at getting material my RCM cannot get, it has saved a few LP's I thought were crackle dead that is for sure

 

I really need to get a cleaning machine, but for now I have three cleaning solutions I use, depending on the vinyl: Vinylzyme, Disc Doctor and pure Ivory dishwashing liquid. I use a camel hair artist's paintbrush to work the VinylZyme or the Ivory around, and I use the cleaning brushes that come with the DD solution if I use that one.

After cleaning (I sometimes clean up to three times, using one or all three different solutions), I'll rinse under warm water in the sink, then use the second Disc Doctor brush dipped in distilled water to separate any residue that might have gotten on the record from the tap water. Unless a record is just shot, this usually works. At the very least it can make an awful record listenable.

 

What brand do you have?

 

I can report that I have had continued success with the ultrasonic bath. Mine is an old Olympus, used to clean endoscopes. However it's not proved to be a one-stop solution, the be and end all of cleaning methods. I am still looking for a priming solution, like Vinylzyme to loosen up the dirt chemically, before the ultrasonic waves take care of the rest. I fitted a powerful portable Dirtdevil vacuum cleaner with an old carbon record brush (with shortened bristles) as a nozzle and pick up excess fluid this way.

I am not saying this is better than a RCM, but I had all the stuff at my disposal so I tried to formulate a cleaning cycle with the tools at hand, following info off the web.

EDIT: Has anyone tried L'Art du Son btw? At what step do you use it in your cleaning algorithm? What do think are it's major advantages vs. other liquids?

 

This is mine

http://cgi.ebay.com/INDUSTRIAL-6-5-...ryZ92907QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

 

Yes the ultrasonic alone wont do the trick, but combined with an inexpeisive nitty gritty and some elbow grease it is a pretty formidable package

 

I picked up a basic Nitty Gritty machine a few weeks ago and although I don't have it down to an art yet I have been applying the fluid that came with it and running the brush that came with it about 4 revolutions then vacuum dry. It makes a world of difference than what I was doing which was spraying cleaner and wiping with a micro-fiber cloth. So far, I don't see the need to add any steps but I might try a few mentioned.

 

Yup. Strongly agree to your strongly agree. What really gets me is people who profess this or that to be true when they have never experienced it for themselves. I have learned a long time ago until I have actually tried something I keep an open mind. And you don't have to wait till Steve or any other guru to tell you that some tweaks work or not. For me, a RCM not merely gets LPs quieter but it actually improves the sound.

 

Yeah, I've used a Nitty Gritty before.

 

I've tried them. No better than a dry cleaning with the Hunt brush--which is pretty dang good, actually. Most pops, ticks, etc., that are not due to surface dust are damage to the groove and no amount of cleaning fluid and no amount of revolutions around a cleaning machine will get rid of that.

 

Okey doke.

 

I absolutely disagree. I actually find the procedure to be a big pain in the neck (it's a huge buzzkill when I come home from a record show with a pile of new vinyl when I realize all the cleaning I have to do!) and believe me, I wouldn't bother with it if I didn't get results from it.

 

The Nitty Gritty is an OK machine but I think that the VPI is better.

 

In my experience, a dry cleaning doesn't work as well as the cleaning solutions I've used. I haven't used a machine yet, just all by hand, but I've heard dramatic improvements before and after.

 

I used to use very "clean" detergent (Octagon Crystal White, very similar to Woolite) and tap water with a camel's hair brush. This actually worked pretty well at getting 90% of the crud off of records, and I'd still recommend this method to someone with a very limited budget.

I now use the Disc Doctor method (no vacuum) and I'm completely satisfied with it. I originally bought it to clean many decades worth of grime off of 78s (to my knowledge, DD is the only record cleaning fluid that was designed to be compatible with shellac, Edison Diamond Discs, and styrene 45s.). Even gets nasty cigarette somke residue off of records (you should see the color of the stuff that comes off sometimes.) It worked so well that I bought the LP brushes and have been using this method ever since.

 

I am not saying the stylus will clean the lp. Just the few specks of dust seems to not matter. I do not have any problems with noise on records. The dynamic range of the music captivates me. Noise if any does not matter. Now some used lps that have noise that seems to occur with the dynamic range.....those never seem to improved with a cleaning machine. Those lps were badly broken in with someones stylus. Who knows what those lps from the 60's and 70's were played on.

After months and maybe years between plays, I want that friction to come from the stylus.

I call my turntable a Naim because it is a Linn with all the electronics replaced by Naim. Armageddon One and Armageddon Two.

 

Nitty Gritty 2.5 FI, VPI concentrate, and time...

An accidental discovery. I was cleaning a record and forgot about it, spinning on the NG 2.5FI. I realized this cleaned the record better than any of the more involved methods I had tried.

I like the 2.5 FI because you can pump and rewet the cleaning pad as the record spins. The model that cleans both sides simultaneously would be neat, but is way more expensive. The only VPI I would consider, given my methods, is the one that scrubs and cleans, at over $1000. Sheesh, it's just a (probably used, probably cheap) record.

I use the VPI concentrate, which mixes a gallon. I add alcohol to 10%, to speed drying and evaporation. This seems to work fine. NG, DD and RRL solutions worked no better, and are more expensive to ship, since they are pre-mixed. I've also used DD brushes in conjucntion with my NG, and they didn't make any difference.

Steps: Wet the pad and run the record through about 10-20 spins and then vacuum the surface dust off. Brush the pad, rewet and spin for 3 minutes. Look at the surface to make sure fluid completely covers the surface, and pump some more cleaner if necessary. When the surface is uniformly wet, let her spin for awhile (3 minutes seems to do the trick - no big deal if you walk away and forget awhile). Check the surface as it spins, you might need to pump a little more fluid. That's it. Done. As clean as it's gonna get, from my experience. I sometimes (but rarely) do another 3 minute clean if I think it might be useful.

I then put the record in a new, lined sleeve, with a mark to know this one has been cleaned. I tried some other methods for the first 200 records I cleaned, but since then I've cleaned about 400 more using this method and never looked back. About 10 minutes per record.

How do these guys clean records manually without wetting and ruining the label?

 

Hey, if wet cleaning works really well for you guys, great! I don't doubt you've gotten good results.

I keep my records very clean to begin with, so I freely admit that my records just aren't dirty enough for wet cleaning vs. dry cleaning to produce a different result for me. Like I said before, though, I do purchase the occasional dirty album that needs a wet cleaning.

 

A lot of these guys just let the label get wet. Not me, though. The rare times I do a wet cleaning, I use a lint free cloth (like some kinds of cloth diapers, some kinds of thin rags, etc., but not a towel, obviously) to apply the cleaning solution, scrubbing with the groove. For wash off, I do it in the sink with the water coming out of the faucet pretty slowly, being very careful not to get the label wet. I am not worried about "contaminants," etc. being present in the tap water. The tap water is not hard in my area, and dries clear, without calcium or iron deposits.

 

Tenacity...

Oh, and welcome to the forum, desertrat58

Steve

 

I use a CD spindle "cakebox" container, covered with a clean cloth, as a raised platform for LP cleaning. And I am careful not to slop liquid on the label.

 

Dare I post the Elmer's Glue method I tried once? It actually worked better than anything else I tried, and the LP sounds great now (KeithH has heard it too, and seen the "evidence" ). I'd only recommend it for real "problem" records though, as a last resort. But it does work.

 

I'd love to see it.