A GOOD dry record cleaning device


I have  tried several “on turntable platter” dry” cleaning brushes. I currently wash my albums (wet clean) with a Spin Clean wash manual system before they are ever played.  I currently use Audio Quests’ new Carbon fiber brush first and then a Big Fudge cleaner with their cleaning solution afterwards before the stylus drops onto vinyl.  (Yes I clean the stylus too). I am not sold the Big Fudge is cleaning the grooves well enough…

Can y’all give me your thoughts and suggestions please for a better cleaner?

3607

I have the Hart brush and it seems to clean better (more stuff visible) than an Audioquest.

I have lots of different "dry" brushes- I’ve always had mixed results- I know some people "mist" them with some IPA and pure water to better pick up the surface detritus but I don’t do that. Most of the brushes can get the dust all lined up nicely, but then it seems like you are pushing the lint, particulates, whatever, sideways across the grooves- something that seems counterproductive to preserving the surface.

Some years ago, I got into using a big bulb air puffer like the Giotto Rocket Blaster. Neil @antinn turned me on to another one, not much pricier (cheapish) which has a Hepa filter intake and it isn’t cumbersome to use. His suggestion of the KinetronicsTiger Cloth to spot clean (not wipe) a piece of lint or sleeve shed is also a good one-- I used to use a piece of silk. The Tiger Cloth is better. Also pretty inexpensive. Both on the Bezos site.

But it also starts with a record that has been wet cleaned on a big Monks, followed by an ultrasonic bath.

However clean the record is after that-- no static either-- dust seems to be an inevitable part of handling records in a normal, not "clean room" environment. I do clean the area around the turntable before every use and use one of those lint rollers periodically to clean the textured mat, which is bonded to the platter.

Back in the day before RCMs (I saw my first Monks in the very early ’70s),Bruce Maier’s Discwasher was kind of brilliant-- convex surface + wetting agent. As Miller said in "Repo Man," you found one in every car (home) back in the day.

I don't believe you should ever touch the surface of an LP with anything.  I use an ultrasonic cleaner to get everything out of the grooves.  Why would you ever use a brush or cloth that could push stuff back into the grooves?  Defies logic IMHO.

Dry brush is like using a dry cloth to clean mud from your car's paintwork. 

Back in the late 70's my friend Les swore that the Pix Off was the best dry record cleaning device. The Pix Off was a sticky roller on a handle that one would apply to a stationary record's surface. Anybody else ever heard of this?