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
Damn! I only WISH that static stayed away from me and mine that long. Where I live, there is often static buildup BEFORE the record has played through! I've tried humidifiers, spraying the carpet with clothes softener, grounding the spindle sump on my TT, and various and sundry other approaches. Guess it is something I have to live with. Oh, I had an old Zerostat that lasted nigh on 20 years before I lost it in a move, so I know that they stand up well.
4yanx, y're right! I live in NY where the humidity is always on the high level and statics arn't the issue in my case,
but i still don't wear acrylic clothes giving preference to cotton wool and leather :^)
If static is your main issue, I can highly recommend Gruv-Glide. Nothing I've used (to include zero-stat, LAST, etc.) removes, prevents or neutralizes static as well as Gruv-Glide. We took various field effect meters & the like and measured it in the lab, on records and CD's and found it to render the lowest reading consistantly.

I now use Gruv-Glide on my computer screen, CD's, and my machining equipment. It outdoes Static Guard by a wide margin, and is still economical.
as a satisfied user of Zerostat I take exception to the statement that "it does nothing". These are great little gizmo's & I wouldn't even sell mine for twice what I paid for it >25 years ago; it still works wonders.
On removing static.
A simple carbon fiber brush has always done the trick for me. Put your clean record on the turntable, brush over the surface while touching your other hand to ground (important). Use the top of your preamp (or wherever your turntable ground goes) for a ground. This way you form a conducting path through your body. The carbon fiber brush is a good conductor and you'll be discharging the static build up while taking off surface dust. I've been doing this for over 20 years and never felt the need for a Zerostat. Typically I machine clean my records only once and carbon fiber brush before each play. Its easy and it works.

Anyone know where you can get the Tourmat stuff these days?

John Moschella