2. analog
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Dirt on my stylus.....what to do?

I've noticed that I have some dirt and dust (and probably more junk that I can't see)on my stylus. I have tried my stylus brush with a bit of LAST STYLUS CLEANER on the brush (I've been told not to put LAST directly on my stylus) and the dust is still there.
What do you recommend???
rwd
drubin
3,281 posts
 
I'm using the item that MF described and it seems to work quite well. However, I have not tried the alternatives mentioned in this thread.

Someone in these parts said that silly putty will do what the Fremer device does for, obviously, a lot less money. Just gently drop the stylus into it and then lift it out. Voila.
ncarv
983 posts
 
The item Fremer recommended is Zerodust. I have it and it works extremely well with no chance of damage to the stylus or migration of fluid into the cantilever. It's not cheap, but it lasts forever. You can purchase it from amusicdirect.com for $70:

http://www.amusicdirect.com/products/detail.asp?sku=AZEROD

It is a soft gel in a plastic container. Put it on the table and lower the stylus into it. Lift and the dirt is in the gel. There's a magnifying glass attached to the lid so you can see what was removed. The gel can be washed in water.

After getting the Zerodust, I found that extemephono.com has their own version, which is only $24.

http://www.extremephono.com/Stylus_Cleaner.htm

I ordered it for a friend and he is very satisfied with the Exteme Phono version, except that he had some complaints about difficulty in lifting the lid of the case.
marakanetz's avatar
marakanetz
5,473 posts
 
i second to the zerodust a truly wonderful piece.

p.s. don't exersise too much to clean your stylus. it's better to leave it dirty than try to "scrub" it.
sugarbrie
3,854 posts
 
I use the Discwasher brush and fluid also.
sean
6,231 posts
 
I've got and use the Record Research #9 fluid that Albert recommended. I purchased this after talking to Josh at Music Direct. He told me that out of all of the vinyl products that they sell and the others that they have tried out, he likes this the best. However, i must state that this was before they started selling the Zerodust "goo", so i don't know how that fits into the equation.

As to the stylus brush to use, the RR #9 comes with a little brush that reminds me of a smaller and slightly softer bristled version of the Discwasher SC-1 stylus cleaning brush. While i like and use the Discwasher brush for one of my TT's and i think that it is "neat" that it comes with a mirror for better stylus viewing in tough spots ( not all "arms" allow easy viewing of the stylus ), i have always thought that the bristles were a bit TOO stiff. Sean
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