Don't waste money on ultrasonic RCMs

lewm

Cleeds, It’s simple.  Alcohol will remove that which is soluble in alcohol. Oily deposits from fingertips, etc, are not so soluble in water alone, but they are more easily removed with dilute alcohol.  Can you imagine that there might be fingerprints on second-hand LPs?  That’s not too difficult to imagine.

Of course. But since I've gone the ultrasonic cleaning route, I've found no need for solvents.

This was supposed to be funny.  I forgot - nothing is funny in audio.  

+1 chayro. But, in "our" defense, we are, ah, nerds? So, any statement is subject to scrutiny. 

out here on the interwebs it's a fine line between tongue-in-cheek and trolling 

There are some record cleaning fluids on the market that contain some percentage of alcohol.   People that insist on using undiluted alcohol on their vinyl records do so at the risk of damaging them over time.

DO NOT use alcohol on older 78's.  You will ruin them. 

The RCM generally isn't the issue.  It's the cleaning fluid used and the failure to adequately remove the fluid and contaminants from the record surface.

A few sources that should be reviewed and contemplated:

https://forum.audiogon.com/discussions/a-very-long-primer-on-record-cleaning-fluids

The above is VERY long - but worth the time to read.

This one is from wikipedia:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conservation_and_restoration_of_vinyl_discs

Library of Congress:

http://www.loc.gov/preservation/care/record.html

People wanna always take shortcuts.  Methinks Mr. Tang's method of applying WD40 is just another shortcut along the lines of using wood glue.

At the very least, get yourself a Spin Clean if you can't afford a RCM
ultrasonic or otherwise.   I personally use a Okki Nokki along with Audio Intelligent Vinyl Solutions products and I'm very happy with it and the results I obtain.

Bottomline:  It's your choice.  It's your record collection.  It's your money.