"Cleaning" Vinyl Makes It Worse Not Better!


I"m using a spray 'advanced vinyl record cleaning solution' with a cleaning cloth.

It creates GUNK in the grooves which can be fixed by cleaning the needle 5-7 times during playing one side..  It gets into the grooves and fixes the problem.  I'd rather find a better way to clean the discs. Sounds dumb, I know. 

What am I doing wrong?

Please Help!!

klimt

Biggest a bunch of malarkey I’ve ever heard. If you’re using a cleaning solvent that’s leaving a residual simply stop using it. Crud buildup over time on an Lp has always been a nuisance and can seriously effect sound quality. Start with good old Dawn dish soap and a clean soft cloth. After a good soap a dope, rinse it good and dry it with a clean soft cloth. Let your ears be the judge my friend, I am certain you will hear a remarkable difference.

@lewm If you were a smoker in the 1950's (I wasn't) you filled the room with cigarette smoke. Have you ever seen the windows of a smokers car and the stench that it produces. That stench doesn't go away. The same thing happens in a smoke filled room, it eventually smells like an ashtray. I ask you where do you think that smoke goes while playing a record?

My father and mother were both heavy smokers. Our whole house smelled like an ashtray. He would sit 10 feet from his record player and smoke like a chimney. You don't think he tainted his records? You obviously haven't been around much.

@antinn I’m not going to argue with you about chemicals and processes. As I have said repeatedly that your system must work for a few records at a time. You yourself have stated that. It’s when you try to scale that to 20 or more records it becomes a formidable task, even when using US. In the research I did, reading the multitude to threads as I am sure did as well, I was trying to overcome the fear of ruining a record while having the desire to eliminate the noise I had from smoke and other dirt. You were probably still scrapping crud off of submarine oxygen tubes at that time.

I know that you are the de-facto resident expert, as no one has challenged you. But you’re just a guy like me trying to enjoy his records. I’ve written and published technical guides and manuals that were distributed world-wide by The Coca-Cola Company. I have enough humility to not think that is a big deal.

My cartridge, a Sound-Smith Heliios, is a very sensitive and linear device. I went through many different systems and chemicals for cleaning with poor results until I started using the Walker 4-step, then the Rush Paul system. I don’t hear any noise from the older used records. The blacks are blacker and deep. That was my goal and objective. When I used your chemicals either manually or in the US I did not get the same results. Also, I did.not need special assistance amounting to hours to get it right.

I am not criticizing your system. It simply does not work for me. Don’t be so sensitive, show some humility and accept that this boy ain’t gonna buy it.

A good wire brush with acetone. The record won't sound very good if it plays at all, but it will be clean.