Carbon Fiber Brush with Milty Gun?

There is no aspect of the vinyl ritual about which I can't learn something new. Yes, I think you're supposed to zap the LP before mounting it on the platter, but I never bother to do that. So, if the spindle is soaking up ions, perhaps I am achieving nothing. Occasionally, you can hear a crackle through the speaker, if the gun is held too close to the cartridge (which happened to me just last night). But I perceive no evidence that the cartridge can be damaged by the gun.

If I can find the reference to support the notion that the gun should be held away from the LP surface whilst releasing the trigger, at the end of the de-static process, I will post it here. Suffice to say I did not make it up off the top of my head, but that does not make it right, necessarily.

07-24-15: Lewm
If I can find the reference to support the notion that the gun should be held away from the LP surface whilst releasing the trigger, at the end of the de-static process, I will post it here. Suffice to say I did not make it up off the top of my head....

If I recall correctly, that was recommended in the instructions that came with the original Discwasher version of the Zerostat, ca. 1980. The theory apparently was that it is best to conclude the process with a spray of positive ions, rather than negative ions. I have no idea as to the validity of that theory, but FWIW I've always done it that way.

07-24-15: Moonglum
Indeed Margot, I would think the ion "stream" would find the platter spindle to be the most attractive target.

I've always performed the process on the turntable. However, as I indicated in one of Margot's other threads, I do not follow the instructions that were cited above of zapping from a position centered above the spindle, at a distance of about 12 inches. Instead, as some of the others indicated they also do I zap from three different locations, trisecting the record, with those locations being around the middle of the groove area. In other words, closer to the outer edge of the record than to the spindle. And I do that from a distance of about 6 or 7 inches. I would expect that protocol to minimize any perturbations the spindle may inflict on the ion stream. Also, at each of the three locations I squeeze and release the trigger three times (with the final release being done with the gun aimed elsewhere).

Regarding the original question, I rarely use a brush. Just my Nitty Gritty cleaning machine on occasion, good quality Mobile Fidelity record sleeves, and LAST stylus cleaner carefully applied to the tip of the stylus (using a small flashlight to assure adequate visibility) before and after playing each side of a record.

Best regards,
-- Al

Margot, I have two old Zerostats with original boxes/instructions. One is a red gun, the other one white. They have similar instructions. I'll paraphrase -

1. Hold gun about 12" from stationary LP on platter.
2. Visualize equilateral triangle (12, 4, & 8) points.
3. Slowly squeeze trigger for about 2 seconds, then release trigger for about 2 seconds at each of the three points.
4. Then point at the center of the record and squeeze a 4th time, now point away toward the floor while releasing.

Two discussion points are made about this procedure then allowing for easier cleaning with a brush or discwasher. Based upon that I would say zap your record first, then sweep. If the Zerostat functioned properly the static charge on the record will have been reduced allowing easier removal of dirt/dust particles.

Well, clearly this is more of an art than a science. :) But I love the precision we are all striving for! Thanks, guys. Great thread. Enjoy the weekend... Hope it involves shooting some vinyl! cheers, Margot

Whart is clearly the most sensible guy here :D :D
...although I'd be even more concerned about the phono stage input when there are high voltages floating around.

Having said this, cantilevers must be soaking up static discharges from LPs that have a real tendency to build up charge. Despite this, phono stages always manage to smile through it. ;^)
Like the others I cannot recall any extreme practical circumstance where failure occurred but it could be the case that a zerostat-type event may have happened to someone and they never attributed or discovered the cause?