[starkiller]

Well, the Denon Dp-52F sounds pretty nice, especially since its been since 1992 that there have been sounds of vinyl in the house   Anyway, since I have to start buying selected albums and since the vast majority of them will not be in the same shape as i kept my previous 4,000+ albums, I have decided upon a 3-prong approach to vinyl and stylus cleaning.

1.  Spin clean---for all those newly purchased albums.
2.  Trusty Discwasher D4 brush w/fluid prior to playing any album
3.  Using the MOFi #9 stylus cleaner before playing any album also.

Sound reasonable??




s

[Stu Pitt]

I've never used a liquid stylus cleaner, but I'm pretty sure you shouldn't use it that often.  Be very careful of how much you use, because the fluid has been known to work its way into the cartridge if you use too much.  Hearing about that scared me into buying a Zero Dust cleaner.  Others will be more helpful in regards to liquid stylus cleaner use.

Not to get you to spend more money, but may I suggest steam cleaning somewhere in there?  Get a handheld steamer and give your albums a blast.  You may be able to pick one up for $30 or so.  And unlike anything else in the hifi world, you can actually use it for other things too.

I wouldn't advise wet cleaning with anything without either vacuum cleaning or air drying for a significant amout of time (basically overnight).  I saw some stuff somewhere where they had waveforms and compared wet and dry records.  Not to mention nothing good can come from fluids getting into your cartridge.

Everyone has a different cleaning regimen that they've come up with through trial and error.  Mine is as follows -

Hit them with steam on an old turntable thats spinning
Apply liquid cleaner
Stop turntable, and scrub album with carbon fiber brush in both directions
Turn TT on and blast with steam again
Vacuum off with KAB EV-1

It sounds OCD (then again, everything vinyl is OCD), but it works far better than everything else I've done.  I recently got a bunch of albums that sat in an attic for about 30 years.  Just touching about 4 albums left my fingers black.  They looked like I just got done reading a freshly printed newspaper. 

After all that - not a pop or click.  I had some vinyl that I cleaned without a vacuum and steamer that had a ton of pops and clicks.  After cleaning the way I do now, not a single hiccup.

Just some thoughts. 

[Photon46]

The use of liquid stylus cleaner seems to generate a lot of divided opinions. All I can say is I've used Last stylus cleaner for pretty much every lp I've played for many years and never had any deleterious effects. Cartridges used were Goldring 1042, Grado Sonata Reference, and Garrott Optim FGS. Precautions are to wipe back to front with a well drained brush so that I don't slop a lot of fluid around. The Last formula evaporates incredibly quickly. The caveat seems to be that there are a few moving coils around with glued styli that can be adversely affected. Not sure which models these are though.

[Wayner]

First I would say it is good that you recognize the need to clean LPs. That said, there are many approaches to the subject, but here goes mine.

Used records get washed in the laundry tub. That's right, label and all. I squirt a bit of dishwashing detergent into the tub, fill it up with about 2 inches of soapy water and submerse the record into the water, then pulling it out filled with soap subs on both sides. I then use a 2 1/2" horse hair paint brush and with a circular motion with the paint brush, brush the groove. When I'm done with doing that to both sides, I rinse it with tap water and set the LP on an unfolded (old) bath towel. I use another bath towel to dry both sides with a circular motion. Set aside to dry the label. flipping once after about 1/2 hour.

Before each use, I spray my Discwasher D4 brush with some of my home made solution from a mist bottle (to get the bristles damp) and brush the side I'm going to listen to, with the record spinning. I use the same formula to occasionally clean off my stylus. I always clean the stylus before each play with a small brush (Audio Technics gives you one with each cartridge) to keep the stylus clean. I spray the stylus cleaning brush with the fluid, not directly onto the stylus, when I want to wet clean the stylus. Otherwise, I dry clean it using a back to front motion. This will keep you from damaging your stylus. Never clean from a front to backward motion. You can also use an electric shaver brush, keeping away from the coils if you have an open structured MC cartridge.

The results will be spectacular, records are shinny, almost zero surface noise, and the cost is almost free.

The spray formula is 3 parts reverse osmosis water, one part 99% isopropyl alcohol. You can get the alcohol from your local drug store, tho they may have to order it.

Wayner 

[jazdoc]

I think you should consider a Loricraft RCM.  I have tried many different cleaning fluids and prefer the Audio Intelligent 3-Step Solution.  While the cost appears prohibitive, it pales when compared to your software investment.  IMO, your software is your most important (and often irreplacable) component.

[etcarroll]

Wayner -

Just stopped in a flea market, and walked out with 25 old classical lps, many appear in almost new condition to eye, but lots of 'noise', even after applying a discwasher brush with d4 solution.

So, next step may be your procedure, but I have to ask, where do you get a horsehair brush, aren't they pretty much all nylon bristles these days?

First I would say it is good that you recognize the need to clean LPs. That said, there are many approaches to the subject, but here goes mine.

Used records get washed in the laundry tub. That's right, label and all. I squirt a bit of dishwashing detergent into the tub, fill it up with about 2 inches of soapy water and submerse the record into the water, then pulling it out filled with soap subs on both sides. I then use a 2 1/2" horse hair paint brush and with a circular motion with the paint brush, brush the groove. When I'm done with doing that to both sides, I rinse it with tap water and set the LP on an unfolded (old) bath towel. I use another bath towel to dry both sides with a circular motion. Set aside to dry the label. flipping once after about 1/2 hour.

Before each use, I spray my Discwasher D4 brush with some of my home made solution from a mist bottle (to get the bristles damp) and brush the side I'm going to listen to, with the record spinning. I use the same formula to occasionally clean off my stylus. I always clean the stylus before each play with a small brush (Audio Technics gives you one with each cartridge) to keep the stylus clean. I spray the stylus cleaning brush with the fluid, not directly onto the stylus, when I want to wet clean the stylus. Otherwise, I dry clean it using a back to front motion. This will keep you from damaging your stylus. Never clean from a front to backward motion. You can also use an electric shaver brush, keeping away from the coils if you have an open structured MC cartridge.

The results will be spectacular, records are shinny, almost zero surface noise, and the cost is almost free.

The spray formula is 3 parts reverse osmosis water, one part 99% isopropyl alcohol. You can get the alcohol from your local drug store, tho they may have to order it.

Wayner 

[Stu Pitt]

I think you can get them in art supplies stores.  I'm pretty sure I've seen them in places like AC Moore and Michael's.  I've seen them as paint brushes. 

[etcarroll]

I think you can get them in art supplies stores.  I'm pretty sure I've seen them in places like AC Moore and Michael's.  I've seen them as paint brushes.

Thanks Stu, as for your method, what kind of device is used to generate the steam?

[Stu Pitt]

I use a Scunci (brand name) hand held steamer.  It was about $30 if I recall correctly, maybe a few bucks less.

I was given about 5 crates of vinyl from a friend.  They sat in his attic for about 25 years.  They were covered in dust and mold, and smelled like some inscense too.  After using my regimen, all the albums play pretty much flawlessly.   It's amazing how good they sound.

There's a YouTube video that I took a lot of it from.  Search vinyl record vacuum cleaning and/or steam cleaning.  There's a guy who uses a steamer and VPI vacuum machine.  I don't use the exact method he does, and I use a KAB vac instead of the more expensive VPI. 

[Stu Pitt]

YouTube search vinyl record clean with steam. 

[etcarroll]

So I tried Wayner's method of 'in the tub of soapy water, brush, towel dry' to a 50 year old Columbia lp I bought at a flea market, definate improvement, though still a little noisy. Guess some trial and error on how much to brush.