ultrasonic cleaners
sabadabada
5,966 Posts
Okay, I can report back that this is nothing short of a miracle. I used my ultrasonic cleaner for the first time this weekend and, basically, it takes records that I would grade as "good" (lots of surface noise, but no skips or complete washouts) and makes them Excellent. In the past I've used cleaning solutions, rags, dust brushes, groove-glide, and a nitty-gritty and nothing comes close to this. I was truely astounded and my wife got completely sick of me talking about how great it is. Records that were heretofore unlistenable because of the background noise, even records that were visibly scratched up, came out sounding perfet, with absolutely not a speck of dust on the stylus after playing an entire side!I set it up so that I could wash 4 or 5 at a time and used distilled water with about a 1/8 cup of Formula 409. It takes about 30 minutes to wash completely. The one drawback is that the machine appears to concentrate the unltrasonic waves towards the middle of the tank, so the last one or two tracks, closer to the surface, son't get the full effect. I'm not sure whether increasing the time will have any effect, but regardless it still makes an impressive difference.
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Balkowitsch Enterprises, Inc.
Shane Balkowitsch, RN
4419 Centurion Dr.
Bismarck, ND 58504
(800)355-2956 U.S. Toll Free
(701)223-9936 International
[email]sales@balkowitsch.com[/email]
for $420 includes shipping and warranty.
Did using the ultrasonic cleaner leave any residue or hazing affect to the vinyl?
Right on...the reason I asked is because I was recently talking with a friend of mine about ultrasonics. He said he has seen some records cleaned by one and that they had a "hazy" look to them.
Thanks for posting your experiences with yours...I've been seriously thinking of picking one up after reading the original post about these. The way they clean sounds perfect for records.
We must have been on the wrong frequency....
I acidentally wiped an LP with a cloth that had some solvent residue on it, and it left it looking dull and kind of grey. Perhaps they used a solution that was eating the surface of the vinyl a little.
the hazy/film like gloss on cleaned records
is from using the wrong cleaning fluid
most folks use a dash of windex or 409,
some old heads use dawn/ivory, if the "soapier" fluids are used,
a quick bath in a straight h20 ultrasonic should vanquish the haze
the results of ultrasonic are amazing, a must for the tuff barzilian/jamaican grit & grime !
my experiences have lead me to use a variety of cleaning methods, depending on the nature of the problem.
I use distilled water with a generous dash of this fine product here:
Vinyl records are made of PVC (Poly-Vinyl-Chloride) which is very resistant to most chemical substances (be very careful with Styrene, though!). Gas canisters and bottles that contain aggressive acids are made out of PVC.
Digging in Africa, you're frequently confronted with the most extreme challenges when it comes to cleaning records. On rare occasions, I've been using Hydrochloric acid which will eat away any organic substance, be careful though, it eats paper as well as skin and the fumes bleach labels if there is nor proper ventilation, the fumes also will eat your lungs!
I really like lighter fluid for cleaning and use it with shreds I cut out of the fabric that covers the D4 record brush. It is not a good idea to use the complete brush together with lighter fluid because it disolves the glue that holds the fabric in place and glue can end up on the record.
I would always recommend to wipe records with a paper towel soaked in distilled water as a last step to remove any potential residue from other cleaning substances that could clog up your stylus. Especially when using
Elmer's Glue.
There used to be some stuff called "the magic record film" that was sold in Europe up until a few years ago that works just like Elmer's Glue, unfortunately, it is not produced anymore.
How much for that pair of black panties hangin off the shelf?
Please tell me you have a six-pack of Billy Beer stashed somewhere.
did you use a battery powered clock to rotate the record ?
its my wifes bathing suit. We were at the banya last saturday. Do you see the banya hat and the vinyik hanging there also. Its for the Russian Baths. The hat you wear in the sauna because they heat it to about 200 degrees. And the vinyik is that branch hanging in the back. You soak a cluster of Oak or Birch branches in water till they get soft, and then you beat each other with them. The closer the friend, the harder you hit them with it.
They say Rasputin had some wicked orgies in the banya. That birch ish was always too S&M for me.
its too hot. and sex in the banya is bad luck. it awakens the evil banya spirit, or at least that what my wife keeps sayin'
Maybe that's why dude got killed?
and once again, how could we BAN a dude that built something like this?
SABADABA IS THE NEW CHUCK NORRIS
BOW DOWN, PUTAS
You might hate his politics, but you have to admire dude's dedication to the game. I mean, I've tried some hairbrained schitt but this takes the cake.
Tune in next week when Sab builds a expidit out of legos!
Now that would be baller-fucking-rific.
You mean this one? You can still order it. I use this little machine, it's very effective and has a reasonable price: