@pindac Thank you for posting a link to Neil Antin‘s magnum opus.
@antinn Thank you for responding to clarify specific questions with citations to your book.
Generally speaking, this is a very very confusing topic for beginners such as myself, getting back into vinyl in a serious fashion. I found the organization of Precision Aqueous Cleaning of Vinyl Records, 3rd Edition quite well laid out, easy to read, and well illustrated. What’s more, it cites materials for not only the United States, but Europe, the United Kingdom, as well as Australia. In five chapters it describes the process recommended as a starting-off point, with the what’s and why’s of each step. It’s strongest point, I think, is that it doesn’t hold up one ingredient or the other as a silver bullet, or mandate specific ‘hard rules’ so much as (1) describe the task, (2) list materials, (3) describe precisely how and why procedure is given the way it is, (4) offers ways to check effectiveness. Finally, it is very well documented. Anyone seeking to clean their records would benefit from reading it, in my opinion. It was worth the morning I spent doing so.
Note: Chapter 6 discusses keeping your records clean, and Chapters 7 through 15 delve deeper into the component parts of the cleaning process, starting with the water, and finish examining the method and effectiveness of record cleaning machines, both vacuum and ultrasonic. Appendix B consists of a helpful List of Abbreviations and Acronyms (don’t you wish everyone did).
For my part, I washed my old records by hand with warm water and Fels Naptha Soap and dried them with a cotton towel. [Hey! The process was aqueous, wasn’t it?] Play improved on all but the worst ones. I’ve purchased a Spin Clean, but have yet to use it. I’m thinking I’ll print out chapters 1-6 and start building my kit before I start in on my collection of about 200 LPs and 750 45 RPM records.
@pfmaudio I hope you are able to get some satisfaction from the dealer, and hopefully recover whatever was lost on your recordings. I can certainly understand your reticence to make any more sacrifices for ‘science’ or other’s satisfaction.