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Record Cleaning - Cartridge Damage

I have a van den hul Black Beauty cartridge, and was told (can't remember by whom) that I should never use any stylus cleaner that contains alcohol. The reason given was that the alcohol will degrade the rubber that is part of the cartridge's suspension.

I thought this was a little odd, since I would only brush near the stylus itself, but it did cause me to wonder about the following:

I use a Nitty Nritty record cleaning machine with Nitty Gritty's "Pure 2" cleaning fluid. I am told by Nitty Gritty that this contains about 8% alcohol. I know that the machine vacuums off all the fluid, so I don"t see how this would damage the rubber in the cartridge's suspension. But then, I also would not have thought that brushing the stylus with alcohol would have done anything to the rubber in the suspension. Are "fumes" a problem? Is their any possibility of damage here? I clean my records regularly.

Regards,

Paranoid.
jackcob
onhwy61's avatar
onhwy61
5,272 posts
 
The way I heard it the stylus cleaning fluid could migrate up the cantilever to the suspension (capillary action?). Your record cleaning should have no effect on the cartridge. Fumes are a non-issue. BTW, you shouldn't have to clean the same record more than a once or twice. If done correctly the cleaning process has a long-term effect.
gthrush1
241 posts
 
I use the Last fluids to clean and treat my cartridge. I clean it about every other side, though the Last folks actually say to clean every side. Never gave it a second thought...

I clean my records about every ten plays or so using a VPI HW-17F with Nitty Gritty RCM fluid, though I may change brands to the Last RCM fluid. I change the brush and suction tube about every 1,000 sides cleaned.

I wouldn't worry about damage to your cartridge. I think cleaner is better when it comes to vinyl and cartidges...
fatparrot
1,314 posts
 
As far as cleaning the stylus...I was told to NEVER USE a cleaning pad that has those short, dense, thick fibers that look like velvet. One slip or inadvertent backward motion, and the cryin' starts, because you might have just done cantilever or suspension damage! Use an artist's camel hair brush (just cut off the wood handle). Happy Tunes!
chazzbo
1,007 posts
 
Thought a while back I heard that folks at Linn sold a fine grit sandpaper to clean the stylus.To me this makes sense given that it is a diamond.I use most of the LAST products but like others am concenerd that any wet cleaner isn't getting the grime off (think of the heat and pressure at the tip) and worse may do the above damage.Any more thoughts fromanybody else?
lazarus28
339 posts
 
the linn 'sandpaper' is made by 3m. it's green and coarse on one side, not actually sandpaper. from what i understand, most places that carry linn have it. it works quite well.
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