OK, for everyone that offered practical ideas for a solution, thank you! I appreciate that. My problem is somewhere in the mechanical-chemical range and pragmatic ideas are welcome.
For the various people that assumed that I don't clean my records, I actually never play one I haven't cleaned unless I cut the shrink wrap right beforehand. And sometimes I clean even new records first.
The cantilever tip around the diamond looks like a snowball with just the tip of the diamond peaking through. Dipping it into ME's (my usual cleaning method) with alcohol, or water, or even vinegar (why not?) were all equally ineffective. An Audio-Technica tacky thing was ineffective, as was a Discwasher stylus brush I got in the 1970s, both dry and with alcohol on it.
Going forward I will explore solvents and possibly ultrasonic cleaning, perhaps with that Flux HiFi gadget. Fortunately I also have the JICO replacement for the original VN-35E stylus (not SAS). It will work until I fix the SAS.
For the various people that assumed that I don't clean my records, I actually never play one I haven't cleaned unless I cut the shrink wrap right beforehand. And sometimes I clean even new records first.
The cantilever tip around the diamond looks like a snowball with just the tip of the diamond peaking through. Dipping it into ME's (my usual cleaning method) with alcohol, or water, or even vinegar (why not?) were all equally ineffective. An Audio-Technica tacky thing was ineffective, as was a Discwasher stylus brush I got in the 1970s, both dry and with alcohol on it.
Going forward I will explore solvents and possibly ultrasonic cleaning, perhaps with that Flux HiFi gadget. Fortunately I also have the JICO replacement for the original VN-35E stylus (not SAS). It will work until I fix the SAS.