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Koetsu Rosewood - Best/safest way to clean stylus

I have a Koetsu Rosewood Signature and have been cleaning the stylus using LAST (I think that is the brand) liquid with a brush, followed by using the cueing to drop the needle onto a Magic Eraser 4-5 times. I think this works pretty well, but I worry about the liquid... having read about liquid wicking up the cantilever, etc.

Could using liquid damage the cartridge? Could dropping the cueing down onto the Magic Eraser "grab" the needle and damage the suspension as I raise it? It seems like the only safe way to use Magic Eraser because I don't trust my hands to be steady enough to do it any other way.

Is there another cleaning method that has actually been proven (via microscope) to clean the needle safely and be safe for the cartridge?

Thanks
montaldo
uberwaltz's avatar
uberwaltz
13,381 posts
 
Now at Target I see Mr Clean Magic Eraser sheets.

I assume that is the product we are referring to here and that people are using?
stringreen's avatar
stringreen
6,490 posts
 
Magic Eraser or a blob of Blutac on a business card
terry9
2,354 posts
 
I found it useful to cut a small square of Magic Eraser into a wedge shape and glue it to a silver coin. A gold coin would solve the low-cost problem.

If you decide to glue the Magic Eraser to something, make VERY sure that the something, like a coin, is not magnetic. The cartridge magnets are strong and can attract anything magnetic, and that can do damage.
uberwaltz's avatar
uberwaltz
13,381 posts
 
So is my assumption that it is indeed Magic Eraser Sheets we are talking about before I go out to buy some to try correct?
montaldo OP
202 posts
 
Magic Eraser comes in rectangles...  Shaped like a sponge. Be very careful using them. I would not try to use them like sandpaper, moving the Eraser against the stylus. It is extremely porous and will grab onto the needle. I keep the Eraser fixed on the turntable plinth and lower the stylus in and out of it with the cueing. Others have raised earlier in this thread the potential risk of the Eraser grabbing onto the needle when  it is raised, which could pull on the cantilever. I personally am willing to take that risk but I don't think anyone can say for sure that this concern is unfounded. So proceed at your own risk. But many veteran audiophiles use ME and I know it works amazingly well to clean the stylus.
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