Cleaning Records
pointman
1,042 Posts
What are you using to get the grooves of your records all bright and shiny?So I lost that stupid little brush that comes with the groovy cleaner bags unlimited makes that seems to be the standard. A simple piece of cloth or old T-shirt won't do the trick here, I need some scrub action ideas here people.
Comments
I know it's expensive but isn't it worth $500 to protect a hundred-thousand dollar investment??
The company was good, nice reps. They said they sell a bunch to record collectors, so they know the deal. This is the right size, you dont need it to be 12" across because the entire LP never sits in the tank up to the spindle hole so it only needs to be like 11". But I dont remember paying that much, I thought I paid about $225 or something. I liked the knobs, but you can get digital too. The real bitch is building something to hold the records in the tank. In order for the final tracks to really get a good cleaning, it has to stay in for a while. The sonic waves are directed to a focal point about in the center of the tank, so things at the surface dont get as good a cleaning.
I havent seen one of these in action, but couldnt you rig something like bent coat hangar in a 'U' shape to solve this?
http://photos1.blogger.com/x/blogger/5589/2958/1600/702299/Ultrasonic1.jpg
i dont knolw why that image wont post.
Is that a Kerry sticker I see on your fridge?
that has already been discussed and, as I said earlier, it was only for entertainment purposes.
So over the holidays I bought a used VPI 16 and upgraded it to 16.5. Total damage = around $300. Way, way worth it.
It made me realized a lot of visually VG or VG+ records I have play like crap mainly because of grit deep down in the grooves... especially latin and jamaican records I found at flea markets.
Plus it's satisfying to slip a freshly-cleaned record in a rice paper sleeve and know it won't be sliding around in grime ever again.
I don't think any other cleaning method can get close. Forget that little felt hot dog thing and brushes.
Expensive, but I'm getting a good deal.
It's my first cleaner.. so know idea how it compares to others..
it works fine I paid ca 30 Euros for this
I found an ultasonic cleaner at a flea market a couple months ago...there was some masking tape on it that said "gun parts cleaner"
I was trying to clean an old Latin LP that visually looked NM but played VG - tons of light crackle.
I ran it through the VPI...twice but it didn't seem to help much.
But when I was playing it, I was back-cueing over a particular noisy portion and the more I cued back and forth, the quieter it got. And then I realized: the stylus seemed to be cleaning out the bits of grime that had been causing the crackles - apparently, they were so dug in, even a vacuum cleaning wasn't getting them out.
I actually tried cleaning it twice again, both times, letting the cleaning solution soak in longer, but it still didn't work as well as simply back-cueing until the noise disappeared.
Obviously, this isn't a terribly efficient way to clean a record and I might also be causing damage by all that cueing.
My question: what else can I do to get this dirt out besides cue-cleaning every second of it?
I occasionally use this:
it's made for vinyl car interior. Safe for PVC. You'd be amazed what it picks up after 10-20 seconds. Let sit, wipe with a towel, clean with copious amounts of water/solution and vacuum. It's been
Even then, I still use the method you mentioned occasionally for really tough spots.
Indeed, I have seen the one DJ Diggy Doc Delay foam-cleaning an LP at the store. Looked scary yet effective. I might try this on the b-side, just to see how well it works.
cleaning machine does. basically you can use a vacuum cleaner with microfleece, iso-a?lcohol mixed with water & palmolive and an old turntable, the rest is comfort and less noise.
The glue trick perhaps?
Just tried it for the first time yesterday on a looks-fine-plays-like-sizzling-bacon non-raer 45 yesterday. Very easy process, just takes the time that it takes for the glue to dry.
45 came out squeaky clean. Still plays somewhat sizzly, but I think it might be due to groovewear, in which case nothing will help. I'll try it on another specimen soon.
Apparently, a lot of audiophile type dudes swear by this method:
http://www.audiokarma.org/forums/showthread.php?t=99837
I don't think so. If I buy a collection I don't necessarily know what's been done to the records, I just know what condition they're in when I get them so I can't vouch for their prior treatment anyway.
There's no reason to hide it, though. Most people would be glad to know, though there's always the obsessives that freak out about what solution you use etc.
If a cleaning takes a dirty record that plays noisily and makes it into a shiny record that plays great, hell yeah I'm charging more - that's why I have that shit. Sometimes I put a fair amount of time, effort and resources cleaning and dewarping a record so of course I expect something in return.