Record Cleaner Advice?

@pindac,

In the UK/EU you cannot purchase  Liquinox and Tergitol.  Aside from ILFOTOL, for a Tergitol 15-S-9 near equivalent you can purchase  Dehypon LS54  Dehypon – Conservation Resources (UK) Ltd (conservation-resources.co.uk) which is not available in the US.   Dehypon LS54 is a low foaming, high performance nonionic surfactant; and like 15-S-9 is delivered 100% concentrated.  If using at room temperature for hand-cleaning or vacuum-RCM, use it at about 0.025%.  You use Dehypon LS54 at about 1/4 the concentration of Tergitol 15-S-9 (if curious, the critical micelle concentration of Dehypon LS54 is less than 15-S-9, so you can use less).

I have no direct UK/EU substitute for Liquinox.  I have done some searching, but I have yet to find any direct replacement.   However, for the pre-clean step you have any number of alternatives; I choose Liquinox because I knew the product, the company and in the US - its cheap. I have not used this product, but it is clear (so no dye), appears to be formulated for records and is concentrated and the dilution ratio is not bad, Record Machine Cleaning Fluid Concentrate - 250ml by: Amazon.co.uk: Electronics. If you go to the vendor site FAQs – Vinyl Clear it does talk about dust - which implies the cleaner if not rinsed (or subject to final clean) the residue can be a dry powder. So long as you use it only for pre-clean, you should never experience this. A cheaper alternative (if you can find it) could be a hand dishwashing detergent that is not colored (no dyes), un-scented (no fragrance) and are not anti-bacterial. These will tend to have a number of ingredients that have nothing to do with cleaning such as thickeners, but diluted-down into a spray bottle can work as a pre-cleaner.   Most thickened dishwashing detergents are at best 25% active so I recommend diluting to get about a 0.5% solution; add (1000 mL)(0.005)/(0.25) = 20 mL/L as a place to start.

@antinn

Neil, do you know of any videos or can you describe the best technique for using the Ronxs arc lighter (or any similar unit) once the record is spinning on the platter?  I did see one warning about keeping it away from the cartridge, which is sort of a no-brainer.  What would you think about moving it back and forth between the label and record edge for a couple revolutions?  How close to the record surface does it need to be to be effective?

Update: I have my Liquinox and Tergitol mixtures ready.  Waiting on the HW-17, drying rack and MOFI inner sleeves.  (I went for a used HW-17 because of the vacuum power and the fact that I can just move the built-in cleaning wand aside when I'm manually scrubbing, then employ if for a final rinse.)

Thanks again for your tireless guidance.  Your willingness to help the rest of the community by sharing your extensive knowledge is admirable and greatly appreciated.

@keegiam,

VPI HW17 - nice score.  As far as Ronxs device - there are no video's, two options - while the platter is not turning - energize the unit and circle around the record for a couple of rotations (few secs) about 1" above the record.  Otherwise with the platter rotating (but not playing) energize the unit about 1" above the record and move back&forth between outer & inner groove. Don't over think this.

@antinn


 Thank You for your guidance.
I will be putting this to good use.

With that bread slicing rack....seems like too many chances to scrap a record against those long dividers? Thanks, I'll pass and stick with my tried and true regular dish rack using clean dish towels as a buffer.