Am I brushing records wrong?


I just cleaned a bunch of my records, using the sink washing (with the GroovMaster) method described by a fellow 'Goner.

When I'm done I place the record on the player for a final dust cleaning with my Audioquest carbon fiber brush. Just looked at the record under the light, and there are dozens to hundreds of tiny little hairs over the record. Brushing them just moves the around, but they're almost impossible to get off. Sometimes they just change the way they're pointing, sometimes the brush goes right over them, making them seem like a scratch, but they're not.

Am I carbon fiber brushing incorrectly? I usually brush with many swipes from the center to the edge while the record spins on the player, attempting to brush the dust off the record. I think the carbon fiber bristles are the little hairs I'm seeing, though, so maybe I shouldn't be brushing.

Incidentally, many of my brand new records still have surface noise, and quite a bit of ticks and pops...I'm pretty disappointed. Maybe if I had an autocleaner it would help, but I'm manually washing with soap/water, then using a stiffer brush to apply Record Research Deep Cleaner, so I was hoping for no noise.
matt8268
Yup most defenitly you must be grounded by touching a peice of equ. that does have a ground for the - ions to excape through that path. As for holding the brush (audioquest) I hold it at a slight tilt say 110 degree`s not the 90 degree`s as most do. I also pull it to the outer edge say after 5 or 6 rotation`s very slowly. With this method I get ALL the dust and lint off and I mean ALL. I have been told it`s not the proper way to pull it back, and also I should hold it at 90 degree`s but sometime`s rule`s can be broke`n with good result`s. David
Matt
Regarding the ticks and pops on new records, I think you shd recheck your cartridge setup, esp VTA, to make sure its tracking properly. If your cart is mis-alined, you could be damaging the grooves.
Matt,

The others have described the proper technique for using a carbon fiber brush. "Hundreds of tiny hairs" on a freshly washed record are almost certainly carbon fibers from your brush. They are indeed very difficult to remove. Try zapping with your ZeroStat gun (you have one, right?) and then blasting with compressed air (you have that, right?).

It may be time for a new carbon fiber brush.
Thanks everyone. I didn't know you're supposed to use static to your advantage to remove dust. The "hairs" are almost certainly carbon fiber bristles. The brush is fairly new, I think my brushing technique has been horribly flawed (sounds like you're not supposed to actually make brushing motions at all).

Follow-up question. I have a Music Hall MMF-7, and I don't think the chassis is metal. Is it? If not, what should I touch?

Haven't gotten into VTA and all that, my cartidge was set up by the table's previous owner. I'm almost afraid to get into all those measurements for fear of screwing it up. I do get great non-ticky/poppy results from my 200 gram Quiex pressings.
Touch, say, the metal cover on an outlet (the cover!) or a light switch - make sure they are metal, not plastic.

Patrick