Cleaning 45's as opposed to LP's

Breez

I know that there have been threads about cleaning vinyl but it usually only talks about 12" records. Do yall recommend using these same methods on 7" records? I found a small goldmine of 45's a few days ago and most are pretty dirty but not damaged or abused, just dusty and grimey. Help a digger out! What do the yall recommend?

stratasphere

Yeah, you can clean them pretty much the same way you would a 12". Be careful with styrene 45's though. Sometimes they have small cracks you can't see and are super brittle. Make sure to clean those on the platter. I broke one of my Invitations 45s trying to clean it by holding it.

discos_alma

1st and foremost: be extra careful if you are cleaning them by hand. Every digger has broken a rare 45 during the cleaning process, it just comes with the territory!

I would recommend hitting up someone that has a VPI cleaner with the 45 adapter on it. Most good record shops have one and offer to clean them for $1 or $0.50 each. If they are sick 45s, this is a negligible overhead cost.

This is especially important if the "grime" is comprised of larger particles that may actually harm the sound of the music if smeared around the record during cleaning. This is why the VPI is so important - it sucks off all the grime directly instead of moving it around the grooves in an abrasive fashion.

LaserWolf

Don't use cleaners on styrene.
Just water.
And vpi/nitty gritty.

Dante

If they're really dirty, you can clean them first with warm soapy water (distilled). Then, what I always do is put them on the table, let them spin and rub a cotton with isopropyl gently on them. If your TT has 78 RPM it'll be quicker. Then I stop the deck and rub the cotton slightly harder and dry 'em with a soft cloth.

Do not clean styrene 45s holding it in your hands, that's the best advice.