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Best Record Cleaning Fluid

Greetings All,

I’ve spend the last few days searching and reading about record cleaning fluids for my cleaning machine (Okki Nikki).  Wow - there are a lot of options out there.  Many more than I originally thought.  Some real esoteric stuff that costs a pretty penny.  I’m currently going through my entire collection, cleaning it, listening to it and adding it to a Discogs DB.  Want to finally know how many I have and have a list of them.  But doing this has resulted in me going through cleaning fluid rather quickly.

So many options, so many perspectives on what are the best fluids.  What do you all say.  I understand that alcohol is a no-no for fluids, but I can’t find out if some of them include alcohol or not.  Currently using up the fluid that came with the machine, but no where can I read it if has bad ingredients.

The 2-stage or 3-stage cleaning systems are not going to happen.  I did get a bottle of Revolv that I was told was good, and use if for new high quality pressings (as opposed to those I bought in high school).

Anyway, would appreciate some perspectives on good quality record cleaning fluids that don’t bust the bank.  Thanks for keeping the sarcasm in check.

Happy Listening,

pgaulke60
fleschler
2,007 posts
 
I have used the VPI 16.5 for 37 years now.   Back in the 90s I used Torumat fluid with very good results, from Brooks Berdan, where I purchased my analog front end and cleaning machine.  Then an acquaintance Brian made a formula which included drinking alcohol, ethanol.  It was superb.  He passed and since about 2005, I've used Record Doctor.  Sometimes, cleaning the grooves results in a noisier LP due to uncovering gunk which has resulted in damaged grooves.  Overall, I like the Record Doctor using two additional rinses using either RO or distilled water.  

I have 7,000 78s and Record Doctor is recommended for them.  It apparently does not use any type of alcohol.  

I like the Kirmuss idea but don't trust the guy.  MF said it can take 30 minutes per disc to make it absolutely pristine (including multiple passes through the machine and fungus/etc. hand brush removal).
mijostyn's avatar
mijostyn
8,570 posts
 
Right on cleeds. There is a method to handling records. As cleeds relates do not touch the playing surface. ljgerens you are right in regards to oils. They are very fugitive however if you wash your hands before handling the records the transfer of skin oils to the record is minimal if you are handling the record correctly. But if you like wearing clean room gloves and get them cheap why not. I have never worn clean room gloves and you will never find a finger print on any of my records. 
CuCL2 is brown. It absorbs moisture to form the dihydrate which is light blue. To form Malachite or Brochantite, both green, copper is fully oxidized then on exposure to atmospheric contaminants forms these compounds also termed patina.  Chlorine is not involved. The only references I can find in regard to PVC releasing HCL relate this to the PVC being burned like in a house fire. 
ljgerens
155 posts
 
Yes if the copper chloride is perfectly dry it is a yellow-brown color but in the presence of moisture it easily forms the dihydrate which is a green color. This is what you typically see due to moisture in the atmosphere. Copper chloride is always hydrated to some extent on exposure to atmosphere and forms green crystals.

Unstabilized PVC undergoes dehydrohalogenation very readily on exposure to UV or heat. The dehydrohalogenation process releases HCl. I studied this extensively using Photoelectron Spectroscopy as I stated before. The added stabilizers slow down the process but do not completely eliminate it.

The dehydrohalogenation processs takes place at the surface initially (the upper 5 to 10 nanometers) and slowly works its way into the bulk. This initial process which occurs within minutes of UV exposure can only be detected with a surface analysis technique like Photoelectron Spectroscopy or Static Secondary Ion Mass Spectrometry. 

As far as heat, the surface dehydrohalogenation begins to occur at temperatures of 70 to 90 degrees C (160 to 190 F).

The combination of UV and elevated temperatures (greater than 100 degrees F) speeds up the process significantly.
terry9
2,333 posts
 
Several people have written about the importance of rinsing, if you use a surfactant. I agree.

I use a commercial US cleaner. It's better and cheaper than many audiophile alternatives. I also use lab grade surfactant for a whole bunch of reasons, like it actually is what the documentation says it is.

VersaClean from Fisher Scientific, especially formulated for plastics.
audio_d
56 posts
 
back in the 1990s myles astor did a survey of rcf's for sounds like magazine. he examined the chemistry behind the formulations and conducted listening tests. the top fluid was vpi, followed by nitty gritty purifier 2.
you can't go wrong with any of the name fluids like nitty gritty, vpi, mofi, disc doctor etc.
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