Cleaning vinyl - am I using this thing right???


I have owned a VPI 16.5 for a couple of years, but only in the past two months have I been (re)immersed in vinyl. Now I'm wondering just how to get rid of all that junk in the grooves. I spin each side in the 16.5 with a few drops of RR Vinyl Wash, then use the VPI brush to spread the drops out and hopefully disloge the junk. Then I run two revolutions with the vaccuum on and repeat for the other side.

The problem is that there are STILL pretty fair ticks and pops, and sometimes I can actually see the junk. It just doesn't get the junk out (and neither does the Hunt fibre brush). I *thought* I was using the VPI per directions - is there some other secret handshake necessary to get these things cleaner?
blw
I use the Zerostat to what seems to be good effect. I live where dryness and static are a problem and removing an LP from the jacket will sometimes make the hairs on my arm jump to immediate attention. I find that using the Zerostat eliminates this effectively. The directions claim the introduction of positive ions when sqeezing the trigger and negative (cancelling) ions on the release of the trigger. Beyond me to interpret the technicalities, but it works for me. Squeeze and release have to be done S L O W L Y , though.

Sean, I called the device I use for protecting the labels a Groovemaster because this is what the guy I bought it from MANY years ago told me it was called. I always figured it was made my Stanton (it doesn't have a label) but have been unable to find any info that such a product is still available. It is basically two pieces of round wood with a knob on each end. One piece has a threaded stud while the other has an accepting nut countersunk into the wood. Each piece has an o-ring partially set into a round groove and are glued in place. One simply slides the stud through the spindle hole and tightens down the two pieces to effect a seal between the o-rings and the runout groove area. A friend of mine made his using mine as a pattern. In his case, he used two blocks of clear acrylic. Tapped one piece to hold the threaded stud and used a router and drill to drill a hole passing through the other and a countersink hole where he used epoxy to hold the accepting nut in place. Then he carefully used glee to affix his o-rings. He claims he has had to re-glue the o-rings a time or two but the device works well for him. Hope that helps.
I use the same regimen as "4yanx", and it always works very well for me. A VPI cleaning followed by Gruv-Glide treatment sounds the best. And I can definitely say I hear an improvement with the Gruv-Glide.

I have taken 2 of the same records and done direct A/B comparisons with and without Gruv-Glide. The record "with" the treatment has always had improvement.(fyi for 4yanx)

Hope this helps, Best Regards,
hififile
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4yanx: Thanks for the info. It doesn't sound like something that would be to hard to make. I've got some ideas spinning in my head and will have to see where they go : )

Marakanetz: Are you saying that you don't think that the Zerostat does anything to a record ? Sean
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Sean, yes.
anywha you would use liquid to clean records.
a professional cleaning liquid has an antistatic effect and nothing else i believe is needed on that belalf. so why zerostat?