Ok, so here is what we got going on tonight:
I pulled out 4 LP's, all of whom have known "issues" with noise. All of them have been in my collection since I was a teen/college student. They are:
Beethoven "String Quartet, Op.131" Bernstein/Vienna Philharmonic (DG 2531 077)
Bill Evans "New Jazz Conceptions" (Riverside RLP-223)
Santana "Caravanserai" (Columbia KC 31610)
Al Stewart "Year Of The Cat" (Janus JXS-7022)
The Bill Evans LP was cleaned using the two solutions several days ago and has been played twice since then. Before playing tonight, dry swept with Decca brush while on the table. All the other Lps were cleaned (both sides) tonight prior to playing.
There is no question that these formulai (formulas?) are very effective at reducing surface noise. All of the air and detail is restored to the LPs, and I think the reason we are hearing this is really very simple: CGMCM Clean Grooves Mean Clean Music. This two step process does a very good job of getting deep down into the grooves and lifting the grunge and getting it off the disc, allowing the stylus to track a nice clean groove. My stylus is staying cleaner, and in the case of the Al Stewart LP, I hear stuff again on it that I have not heard since the day the seal was broke on it in 1977. It's not changing whats on the vinyl, but it's cleaning the vinyl to a degree that allows me to listen to the music, and not the dirt and dust and junk that has gotten into the grooves over the years.
The Evans disc sounds just as quiet and good with just a sweep of the dry brush prior to playing.
I have treated/cleaned over 20 LPs so far and as long as long term vinyl degradation does not become an issue, I am convinced of the efficacy of this stuff.