First, your expectations are not unrealistic... even for a Dolt! I have 3,000+ LP's and the vast majority have only a handful of clicks or pops. Most have virtually none. That said, my cleaning regimen is more complex, slow and costly than what you've tried. Still, I guarantee you can meet or exceed your expectations if you're willing to work at it.
CAUSES
IME, there are two root causes of clicks and pops when playing LPs:
1. Hard-edged contaminants in the grooves which cause the stylus to make sudden transients.
2. Vinyl damage caused by a poorly tracking stylus and/or the stylus dragging stuff against the groovewalls.
CURES
There's no cure for #2 except to replace the record (and clean it thoroughly before playing it).
#1 is what you bought a RCM for but in my opinion you're using an ineffective solution. You don't need to be a chemist. You need to pay companies which have employed chemists to produce solutions that work.
IME, the most effective solutions for reducing clicks/pops are based on enzymes. No non-enzymatic solution I've tried (and there are many) can match a good enzyme solution in this respect. I've tried enzyme-based solutions from Buggtussel (least effective), MoFi and AIVS (most effective). Haven't tried the Walker.
You also need to rinse with very pure water, preferably more than once, vacuuming after each step of course.
You'll get other suggestions (including steaming, which is a farce IME). My recommendation is to contact AIVS and try some of their solutions.
Good luck!
Doug
P.S. Many users have reported mold buildup in stored VPI record cleaning solution. That alone is enough to convince me it's not something I want to use.
P.P.S. I didn't mention static as a cause of clicks and pops. IME static is a VERY distant third (at most) as a cause.
P.P.P.S. Despite what you may think, if you played your records over the years without having the grooves perfectly clean beforehand (via effective fluids and vacuuming) then you didn't take good care of them. Harsh, but true. See #2 above.
CAUSES
IME, there are two root causes of clicks and pops when playing LPs:
1. Hard-edged contaminants in the grooves which cause the stylus to make sudden transients.
2. Vinyl damage caused by a poorly tracking stylus and/or the stylus dragging stuff against the groovewalls.
CURES
There's no cure for #2 except to replace the record (and clean it thoroughly before playing it).
#1 is what you bought a RCM for but in my opinion you're using an ineffective solution. You don't need to be a chemist. You need to pay companies which have employed chemists to produce solutions that work.
IME, the most effective solutions for reducing clicks/pops are based on enzymes. No non-enzymatic solution I've tried (and there are many) can match a good enzyme solution in this respect. I've tried enzyme-based solutions from Buggtussel (least effective), MoFi and AIVS (most effective). Haven't tried the Walker.
You also need to rinse with very pure water, preferably more than once, vacuuming after each step of course.
You'll get other suggestions (including steaming, which is a farce IME). My recommendation is to contact AIVS and try some of their solutions.
Good luck!
Doug
P.S. Many users have reported mold buildup in stored VPI record cleaning solution. That alone is enough to convince me it's not something I want to use.
P.P.S. I didn't mention static as a cause of clicks and pops. IME static is a VERY distant third (at most) as a cause.
P.P.P.S. Despite what you may think, if you played your records over the years without having the grooves perfectly clean beforehand (via effective fluids and vacuuming) then you didn't take good care of them. Harsh, but true. See #2 above.
