Can I clean my records manually?

Gadfly and Stltrains,

I'll echo Tbg's experience. I used to clean by hand. I also made and used a DIY vacuum device identical to Gadfly's.

It worked okay but trust me, it doesn't come anywhere close to what a Loricraft can do. It may be expensive, but this is one case where a well designed and well built machine actually does do a better job. An "inconvenient truth" perhaps, but a truth nonetheless.

A couple or four comments on record cleaning.

Manual cleaning works well. I did it for years until I could afford a VPI 16.5. I thought the VPI worked better than my manual cleaning but I would not rule out that another manual cleaning technique would work as well or better. The VPI is certainly easier in use.

I just got my Loricraft and it is clearly better than my 16.5. However it is slower than I am use to at 30-45 seconds to clean a side: do the math: use a cleaner, a rinse, perhaps an enyzme wash, and a final rinse you will spend 3-5 minutes per side cleaning your records. The VPI is much faster, if not as effective. I just might keep the 16.5 (with a good supply of clean wands on hand)for preliminary cleaning of dirty vinyl, and use the loricraft for final and pre play rinsing.

Back in my salad days I used homebrew cleaners (Distilled H2O and isopropyl etoh alone and with various additives). Ultimately I have found that some of the commerically available cleaners do a better job than any homebrew I made. (RRL, L'Art du Son I like, I'm sure there are other good ones as well.) I also have found enzyme cleaners and other speciality products play a constructive role in particular situations. No matter which way you go ultra clean water is essential. American Water Distiller makes a small counter top distiller that I have found quite satisfactory. (I don't have a link at hand so Google for this if interested.) I triple distill and leave out the carbon filter after the first distillation.

One final comment: however you clean vinyl, RCM or manual, you will need a dry cleaning brush. Over on the AA vinyl forum someone suggested the Kinetronics antistatic brushes. I got one (SW 100, a 4 inch brush) and my inital impression is very favorable - it's doing a better job than either my Hunt or Decca brushes. Not unreasonable at 26$. (I have no affiliation with this company of course) Take a look at Kinetronics.com Audioquest also makes an antistatic brush that looks interesting at 20$ but I have not tried this.

However you do it - clean vinyl sounds better than dirty vinyl. Clean vinyl reduces stylus induced vinyl damage. No debate possible on these facts.

Have a truely analog day! (everything goes smoothly)

Cjsmithmd, in the part of Texas where I live, the underground water has a high sodium content. We use a reverse osmosis filter on the water we drink. Some chemist friends say that they use such water as it is purer than distilled water. They thought I was crazy for using store bought water. I have been just using ozed water since when mixing L'art du Son vinyl cleaners.

I do no rinse with either the L'art du Son nor the earlier favorite AudioTop Vinyl.

With the L'art du Son, I thoroughly scrub the records with the Loricraft nylon brush. I copied this from what I saw Loricraft doing at CES. With one scrub and one vacuum, I am at about 2 minutes per side with the Loricraft.

The problem with the AudioTop is that the cleaning fluid evaporates too quickly for the Loricraft..

Dougdeacon,
I think the top end stuff like Loricraft with that little string will beat my DIY method ... but you sure gotta go far to do it, doncha?

I can't go for the big $Ks on this so it is becoming clear that DIY, once you get the hang of it, is the 'best' that you can do unless you get a Monks or Loricraft.

I would love to have one of those things, btw. It would make my life easier, make my records sound better, and increase my geek quotient immensely.

...you sure gotta go far to do it, doncha?

Sad, but true.

I totally agree that a well operated DIY setup should substantially equal the effectiveness of a $500-$1500 VPI. After all, they both rely on the same technology: a felt-covered vacuum slot and a honking big motor (I used a 1HP Shop Vac). It's hard to argue convincingly that either would be more effective than the other.

FWIW, there's a guy on VA who keeps talking about DIY'ing a Loricraft clone. He hasn't actually built it yet but most of it should be easy:

- any old TT with a 78 rpm speed would work.

- any tonearm with tubes added to feed and recover the thread would work.

- the only hard part is driving the tonearm across the record. That requires a motor with a slip-clutch, well beyond my (very rudimentary) mechanical skills.

Contrary to belief in some parts, the thread does not ride "in" the groove and it takes no part in the actual cleaning. Thread is far too thick to fit inside an LP groove. Its only function is to act as a constantly replenishible spacer between vacuum nozzle and record surface. After every pass, a quick twist of the spool supplies a clean few mm of thread for the next pass. Nothing dirty ever touches the record.

I agree with Cjssmithmd BTW. The Loricraft is slower per pass than wand-based machines. But it's much quieter and does a better job so I happily live with that. After all, I can play (some) music and clean records at the same time. Don't try that with my Shop Vac!