budget cleaning ideas for garage sale records?

Guycom: You can make a simple cleaning mixture/solution using 91% Azeotropic Isopropyl alcohol and water.

I use 9 parts distilled water to 1 part alcohal, but some prefer using twice this amount (20% alcohal in the solution). Other things can be added such as a few drops of Kodack Photo Flow (helps the liquid to reach the bottom of the groove) and/or a drop of mild detergent. I do not find the Photo Flow/detergent necessary, but I also completely submerge LP's (in the solution) when cleaning and use a long bristled brush.

There are different types of Isopropyl/Isopropanol alcohal and the 91% Azeotropic is the one to use (check your local drug and grocery stores for it). Run a search of "azeotropic" @ the audioasylum.com Vinyl Forum for more info.

Other than the cleaning fluid, I would suggest picking up a Groovmaster Label Saver (approx. $30 on Ebay). This item seals off the label portion of an LP with "O" rings so that it may be dipped in liquid, sprayed with liquid, etc., without damage. The Groovmaster also comes with a long bristle brush for wet cleaning.

You might also pick up a carbon fiber brush (for dry cleaning) and a soft brush (for wet/dry daily use). Philips has a carbon fiber brush for $10-$12, but they seem to vary in quality/hardness. I have heard from other owners that their brushes are hard/stiff and scratch vinyl (I own two which are both soft). Maybe research these before buying one as it might be better to spend $25 on a good one than to go through a reject or two @ $10 a pop? I have never had much luck with the Discwasher brush (the nap does not extend far enough into the grooves), but maybe they have changed the design since I used/tried one? My favorite wet/dry brushes are the old style "tube" shaped ones, with long nap, which were popular in the 60's 70's 80's. Pickwick among others manufactured these (I just found a NIB Pickwick on Ebay for $5).

The only other thing that I use is a Water Pik (to sometimes pre-blast LP's and hopefully remove any hard grit). For this I use filtered tap water (guess this choice would depend on how effective the filter is). I also use the Pik to final rinse better LP's, though use double distilled water for this. The Pik is kind of nuts, but we had one on hand that was not getting any use and it does work quite well (just hold it close and @ an angle to the LP and it's not too messy).

If you want to use a warm soapy water solution, try to use the foam that is floating on the top of the water and not the water itself to scrub with. Not only does this have the most cleaning power, it leaves the least residue behind. Keep in mind that the hotter the water is, the better it will clean. Every increase of 15* appr doubles the cleansing / penetration power of water until you reach the point of boiling ( 212* ). At this point, you will be producing steam. Anything above that is overkill and may actually damage your vinyl if you concentrate on one area for any extended amount of time. Obviously, some type of clean water rinse is recommended when using any type of detergent. Sean
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Sean,
Won't the under-boiling temperature hot water create bow-shapes on record?

It won't harm the records if you're not submerging them into the water or exposing them to high heat for an extended period of time. I was suggesting that you literally "scoop" the foaming suds off the top of the HOT soapy water and use those to scrub the records with. You may have to use a small amount of water too, but so long as you don't go crazy, it should not create a problem. If you are going to dip the record in a water / detergent solution, i would suggest using a solution that had a low PH factor. An emulsifier ( water softener with mild detergent action ) should work pretty well.

The fact that some "fanatics" ( and they must be fanatics to even think of such a thing ) have written into Fremer and suggested using a portable steam cleaner on vinyl basically supports my suggestion also. The very high temperature steam will tend to break down the mass majority of "gunk" in the grooves and leave the least amount of residue possible. Obviously, once the steam has been applied, you still need to find a way to safely flush the grit out of the grooves and off the record and then find a way to dry it. Sean
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There's a few DIY vacuum record cleaning machine plans--one of them is in www.enjoythemusic.com. Thank Steve Rochlin, the DJ...