[MaxCast]

I received a spin clean for Christmas so I had my first go at cleaning.  This was my regimen for used, ugly, garage sale records I have collected.  Figured I couldn't hurt them.

First, I grab a 12 oz. can of Miller Lite.  Apply to lips frequently.
I cut some metal coat hangers to hold two lps.

In the laundry tub I put in warm water and soap and used a big paint brush as Wayner suggests.  Brush both sides, rinse with tap water and hang for a minute.  Thinking of trimming the bristles short so they are firmer and stay perpendicular to the grooves better.

I then place the lp in the spin clean and rotate three times in each direction.  I'm using the cleaner that comes with the spin clean.  Prop the lp up for a minute to drain then wipe both sides with the clothes that came with the spin clean to get 80% dry.  Hang lp on hanger for final dry.

Before I play I also do a few revs with the old discwasher brush from my youth and zerostat it too.

I do about 10 records at a time and you can get a good rotation going to keep the process moving along.

Don't expect to turn a used lp into a CD.  I would like to see what a vac on the final step would be like.  Maybe I'll take an Engelbert Humperdink lp and hit it with the shop vac and see.

[Old timer]

You'd be surprised how much cleaner your records will sound if you try a decent enzyme cleaner and an ultra pure water rinse.

[Wayner]

I received a spin clean for Christmas so I had my first go at cleaning.  This was my regimen for used, ugly, garage sale records I have collected.  Figured I couldn't hurt them.

First, I grab a 12 oz. can of Miller Lite.  Apply to lips frequently.
I cut some metal coat hangers to hold two lps.

In the laundry tub I put in warm water and soap and used a big paint brush as Wayner suggests.  Brush both sides, rinse with tap water and hang for a minute.  Thinking of trimming the bristles short so they are firmer and stay perpendicular to the grooves better.

I then place the lp in the spin clean and rotate three times in each direction.  I'm using the cleaner that comes with the spin clean.  Prop the lp up for a minute to drain then wipe both sides with the clothes that came with the spin clean to get 80% dry.  Hang lp on hanger for final dry.

Before I play I also do a few revs with the old discwasher brush from my youth and zerostat it too.

I do about 10 records at a time and you can get a good rotation going to keep the process moving along.

Don't expect to turn a used lp into a CD.  I would like to see what a vac on the final step would be like.  Maybe I'll take an Engelbert Humperdink lp and hit it with the shop vac and see.

Awesome! I'm listening to Pat Matheny right now (No Left Turn) and he was fetched out of the used bin. It is a quiet as a CD with only a very occasional "pop". Cleaned in the laundry tub, kept clean with the Discwasher brush and my water/alcohol solution. I also concur with step one, but I use Budweiser (Select).

Happy New Year!!!

Wayner

[TONEPUB]

If you've got a Spin Clean, why bother with all the other stuff?

Skip the warm water and dish soap, that's always going to cause trouble later on, with residue, etc.

[Wayner]

If you've got a Spin Clean, why bother with all the other stuff?

Skip the warm water and dish soap, that's always going to cause trouble later on, with residue, etc.

No it's not. I've been washing my records in the laundry tub for 40 years and it hasn't had one side effect, other then some RCM company losing a sale.

Wayner

[neobop]

Don't expect to turn a used lp into a CD.  I would like to see what a vac on the final step would be like.  Maybe I'll take an Engelbert Humperdink lp and hit it with the shop vac and see.

Good start.

"Don't expect to turn a used lp into a CD"
Why would you want to do that? 

Seriously, watch out for shop vacs. The vacuum is too strong. You might want to try a regular vac with a modified corner attachment. You plug the end and cut an 1/8" slit to suck up the fluid. Put velvet or something soft around the slit to prevent scratching. Like this:
http://www.teresaudio.com/haven/cleaner/cleaner.html

[madog99]

I've been using an old junk table to hand spin and wash , use a Michel clamp to hold the record and spin , at the moment using NG pure solution with a VPI brush to spread the fluid . 5 or 10 turns in each direction and maybe a 30 second soak on real bad ones . then the little shop vac with modified crevice tool to lift off the fluid. I then use the DI water rinse with a 2nd crevice tool to dry it off . Then into a new fresh new poly sleeve. I have found that this works great on new LP's ,kills the static too and gets rid of those pops and ticks that seem to be pretty common on new pressings.
Also for anyone looking for an easy solution for the crevice tool pads , Nitty Gritty sell stick on felt strips for their machines so that is what I am using

[MaxCast]

You'd be surprised how much cleaner your records will sound if you try a decent enzyme cleaner and an ultra pure water rinse.

To be clear tap water was used for the brush scrub then rinse.  I used distilled in the spin clean so I figured I was good.
When you speak of enzyme cleaner, what step in my process would you be referring to?

[MaxCast]

Good start.

"Don't expect to turn a used lp into a CD"
Why would you want to do that? 

Seriously, watch out for shop vacs. The vacuum is too strong. You might want to try a regular vac with a modified corner attachment. You plug the end and cut an 1/8" slit to suck up the fluid. Put velvet or something soft around the slit to prevent scratching. Like this:
http://www.teresaudio.com/haven/cleaner/cleaner.html

I thought that would get a vinyl response 
I did not get a chance to try a vac.  I would start with a Glen Campbell type record.  Maybe try my way then wet brush it again then vac it, see if it gets quieter.

[MaxCast]

I've been using an old junk table to hand spin and wash , use a Michel clamp to hold the record and spin , at the moment using NG pure solution with a VPI brush to spread the fluid . 5 or 10 turns in each direction and maybe a 30 second soak on real bad ones . then the little shop vac with modified crevice tool to lift off the fluid. I then use the DI water rinse with a 2nd crevice tool to dry it off . Then into a new fresh new poly sleeve. I have found that this works great on new LP's ,kills the static too and gets rid of those pops and ticks that seem to be pretty common on new pressings.
Also for anyone looking for an easy solution for the crevice tool pads , Nitty Gritty sell stick on felt strips for their machines so that is what I am using

Good to know about cleaning new albums so well.  I am surprised at how well I kept my 50 or so lps from my youth.  I picked up a new Chicken Foot lp and only hit it with the discwasher brush.  quiet but still had some nicks and pops.
I have a couple spare crevice tools from vacs of yore waiting for a purpose.  I'll have to look for some velvet, etc.

[MaxCast]

I don't mean to get into a debate on cleaners but I am puzzeled if "scrubbing" a lp with dish soap, rince, then giving it a vac, then spinning it in an audiophile solution and vacing it again will leave an etch.

Anywho, I sat through a demo at AKfest 2010.  The demo played an SACD then an lp of the same material.  I was truly amazed at how quiet the lp was.  For most of the time if I didn't see the woofers ready to pop out of the enclosure I didn't know which was which...until that one nic came through.
I don't ever suspect to have that kind of tt but I hope to get cleaner lps.

[Photon46]

Lots of bottled cleaners are nothing more then someone's idea of a record cleaner.

Wayner, I'm not sure what commercial products you'd consign to this category, but a great deal of chemistry knowledge goes into the formulation of a good record cleaning fluid. For those that care, this link to a long Audiogon discussion about these matters written by a chemist is enlightening:
forum.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/fr.pl?eanlg&1124989009&read&keyw&zzrecord=cleaning=fluid
It is interesting that the author states that many commercial record cleaning fluids utilize "common pedestrian" surfactants and detergents and do not avail themselves of better choices available. For those that like to mix their own record cleaning solutions, the surfactant/detergent Triton X-114 is a better choice than the commonly used Kodak Photoflo. You can buy it here in small, affordable quantities: www.museumservicescorporation.com/scat/d.html

[JohnR]

Sorry, just getting back to looking into this...  Good recommendations, thanks all  Will actually try something today or tomorrow.