2. analog
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What is your record cleaning regimen?

I am just getting into vinyl, and inheriting records, buying some used and most recently a few new. 

I have only a few hundred records so far, but I have invested in cleaning supplies.

Specifically, I have various pre-set solutions (groovewasher, Tergikleen, distilled water, simple green), a goat hair brush, micro fiber cloths, a baby scalp scrubber and a DeGritter machine (extravagant at this stage, but a huge time saver).

Here is my regime at this point. For any new record, whether inherited or bought, used or new, I wipe it with a dry cloth or the goat hair brush to remove any initial dust. Then I cover the label and spray some solution on it and use the baby scrubber to distribute the liquid around to cover the surface. Then I use a padded microfiber to wipe it off. Then I Degrit.

Btw, I tried WD-40 once, which does work to remove crackles, but subsequent cleanings cause those crackles to come right back, which to me indicates that WD-40 is leaving a residue on the record which I suspect is not helpful in the long run.

Likewise, the goat hair brush is so far disappointing as it seems to shed hair on the record which somewhat defeats its purpose.

Interested in other people's processes and I have a question. I have some older records that have persistent crackles. Will cleaning ultimately make those go away or do I just need to get over it?

I have ordered a record label protector that will allow me to wash in the sink with soap and water in the hopes of getting the ultimate clean.

Any thoughts from the analog folks here would be great.

saulh
rvpiano's avatar
rvpiano
2,659 posts
 

I use the VPI 16.5 machine.
Can anyone tell me how long one should scrub the record before drying? 
‘My records are mostly bought new and are not too dirty.

saulh OP
56 posts
 

Anyone do a long (hours or days) soak with a label protector for persistently crackly records?

Any success?

4krowme's avatar
4krowme
542 posts
 

pindac,

 FINALLY, someone posted a well written and informative paper that first seemed daunting to read all the pages, but it gets to the real scientific proof of cleaning vinyl in a specific way. All too often people just wipe an album with a brush or cloth and consider it to be sufficient. 

 By looking at the microscopic photos of both a stylus and the vinyl itself, maybe it will become clear that this is not like washing your dinner dishes. The results have to affect the removal of debree on the same level as the stylus encounters them.

  It makes me wince when people use products not remotely intended or designed for the purpose at hand. WD-40, Mr. Clean eraser,  Scotch Guard, blue tack, and so much more used in stylus cleaning and the vinyl as well.

drbond
421 posts
 

@whart 

Can you please elucidate the method of point nozzle vacuum cleaning?  What instruments are used, and how is it done? 
Thanks. 

whart's avatar
whart
3,039 posts
 

Sure. No mystery- just one generic name for the type of vacuum arm that the Keith Monks, Loricraft and a few others use:

 

That’s the business end of the nozzle- smaller aperture than the wand or slot type vacuum heads; also note the "string"- apparently no longer employed on some of the newest Monks models. The string acts as a buffer to prevent the nozzle from clinging to the record surface through suction and also gets continually refreshed from a motor driven bobbin on mine- thus the contact point with the record gets renewed constantly and old thread is drawn into the waste jar along with the vacuumed fluid or water.

The original and rebooted Monks machines were very Rube Goldberg but cool--mine, a reboot from around 2010, uses a German dialysis pump, is quiet compared to some RCMs. (The machine uses a Mini windshield washer pump actuator too-very British).

Its chief claim to fame is, I think, that is was the "first" record cleaning machine. If you read about the history of Percy Wilson, the tech editor of the old Gramophone Magazine, and his work on record cleaning, you’ll find that the Monks machine grew out of that work from the mid-60s. And there you have it. It does a very nice job. I had mine refurbished at the time I bought it, used.

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