jeez, i feel almost neanderthal - hardly *any* ritual when i spin winyl, tho to my non-audiophile friends, i'm anal-as-hell! i guess i should show 'em this thread! ;~) but, in my defense, i have records 25+ years old, that are still in good shape.
when i have a dirty record - either i got it used, it *looks* dirty, or i notice ticks-n-pops in the 1st cut, i hand-wash it, w/mild dish soap, luke-warm water & a sponge. then thoroughly rinse & dry w/a soft lint-free towel. this isn't done too often. most times, it's yust cue-n-play. but, i *do* use a keith monks record sweeper for every play - this li'l baby effectively tracks the record in time w/the stylus, keeping dust off the stylus. it also has tiny metallic hairs, & as it is all-metal, w/a grounding wire, static seems not to be an issue. prior to the keith monks record sweeper, i used a watts dust-bug. basically the same results, but not as elegant, & not-as-good static-protection. i also have a zero-stat gun which i occasionally use, but since i installed a *real* dehumidifier in my heating system last year, there's no longer a dry-wintertime static problem chez-sedon...
ok, time to go back to my cave... doug s.