Precision Aqueous Cleaning of Vinyl Records

@antinn Hi Neil 

I am making an inquiry and I sense there is the best answer on offer from yourself, I hope you can assist with a guideline.

I have a Brush for cleaning LP's (Yukimu ADB-1) that has been quite a expensive purchase. What is really attractive about the Brush is the softness of the fibres and their never having become tangled at such a length.

These Bristles are so soft, I have been trusting with them to run the Stylus through them, which works for my purposes.

The Brush is now well used on cleaned LP's and has never been cleaned, I had once intended to Jet Blast it with distilled water from the Rinse Bottle used for Final Rinse when manual cleaning LP's. 

My inquiry is, should a cleaning solution be used that is the same as used for the LP's, as much of what the Brush ends up being in contact with, is no different to what is to be removed from a LP as part of cleaning.

My main aim is to have a Purified Fibre on the Brush, bit also maintain the very attractive softness of the fibre. Losing the softness would not be a deal breaker for LP cleaning, but it would end its usage for the Stylus.

Note: I have a selection of cleaning methods for the Stylus, the Brush is usually used when a surface noise is detected through picking up a local fluff fibre.  

@pindac, 

Here are the details of your brush - YUKIMU SUPER AUDIO ACCESSORY| Yukimu.  The 'secret' to the brush is the Mitsubishi COREBRID™ B   bristle which is a hollow acrylic bristle filled with carbon making it anti-static.  Other companies such as 2:Anti-Static | Analog Relax and Furutech 圖片 Audio grade IEC connector use the same bristle in their brushes; and they are all expensive.   The Furutech literature specifies the following:  It is possible to wash the brush, however, take care not to entangle the fibers and do not use detergents or bleaches. RINSE WITH FRESH WATER ONLY. After washing, dry in a shaded, well-ventilated area. 

However, unless you have reason to suspect the brush is dirty with oil or grease, no reason to resort to wet cleaning.  Brushing across a rod of Teflon should be fine to remove particles.  Particle articles will want to adhere to the Teflon (lowest on the Triboelectric scale) and the Teflon will do no harm to the bristle, and about a 3/8-inch to 0.5-inch diameter rod of Teflon is generally quite cheap.  Then rinse the Teflon rod with water to remove the particles it picked up and dry.  

Take care

Neil

@antinn Hi Neil Thank You for a very prompt response.

The Teflon is ordered in a 10mm Diameter.

A intense clean of the Brush does appeal, bit the use of Teflon will be put to the Test.

I am also feeling a temptation, do a little Macro Photography on the Rod as a Before and After use capture just to get my eye in again using Macro as well as see what the Particle attraction and collection looks like. 

The last time I did Macro Shoot, was a careful set up on a Cart' Body, where the penetration for the Cantilever to enter the inner of the Cart' was the focal point. The Cantilever was heavily laden with granular type particles and the collection of a variety of particulate at the Armature when viewing images was like a landscape from another world was being observed. 

There was no doubt in my mind the type of contamination seen would cause the Cart' problems, it was easily identified the Cart' was no longer in optimised condition.

It is hard to believe the LP only is responsible, there must be a large proportion of airborne particle being attracted to this point that is where the electrical generation begins.

@pindac,

A very easy method to observe particles on Teflon is with a UV light.  This is the UV light I use (which is addressed in the book):  ALONEFIRE SV003 10W 365nm UV Flashlight Portable USB Rechargeable Woods Lamp Black Light for Pet Urine Detection, Resin Curing, Scorpion, Fishing, Minerals, Cure Glue, Bed Bugs with Battery, Charger - Amazon.com.  

Teflon under UV does not fluoresce and takes on a gray dull appearance while particles and lint fluoresce in intensely whitish-blue making the particles and lint very easy to see.   Also, if you rub the Teflon rod with a piece of white packing sheet-foam, it will charge the Teflon with static that is very negative better attracting particles and lint that generally have a positive charge.  Also, the intent is both to slowly brush the Teflon rod as well as quickly brushing the Teflon rod to knock off particles from the brush all while not risking any damage to the brush.  

@antinn Thank You for the follow up guidance, I am starting to feel very confident the correct approach to look after the equipment that looks after the LP is to be embarked upon