Using your record-cleaning machine CORRECTLY

[Guest Haywood Yablome]

There you go, Mr Allanh.

All set-up for you.

You certainly have a shitload of lps at your back and hence , assumingly, the record-cleaning expertise.

I am eager to learn but, please, hopefully the right way does not involve going it with more than two brushes....cos I'm not uop to it.

[Sidney Crosley]

I just run my Dyson over a bunch of records on the floor. That's the correct way, right?

[Guest Haywood Yablome]

There is a one hour lecture on record cleaning and record cleaning machines on youtube or sumwheres.

Beefwhore I was recently banned from Canuck Audio Forum for using the word "mucker" ( which - were the mods to actually look-up - is an Irish/Brit colloquialism for "friend") I posted this regards the viddy:

"That bloke should have been a politician - Saying in 20,000 words wot could be said in 200. Going ON AND ON AND ON as if mere continual flapping of lips makes one a professional whose advise all are welcome to take.

When he starts off the lecture with that ski-ing/record groove-anorl analogy (which takes all of 3 minutes) , you know your in for a right corn-holing.

Only thing I learned from that viddy was its recommended to hand-brush the record in BOTH directions.

Anyways, what I wanted to comment:

he is obviously pushing the record cleaning fluid product with the fancy French name - Art de Son, or summart loikes. He states that isopropanol -isopropyl alcohol which we all use- is bad for vinyl; eats at the esters (or summart). But then - to give him credit - he DOES say the obvious: that , of course, it takes PROLONGED CONTACT with vinyl for the alcohol to take even miniscule "bite" into the actual chemical composition of vinyl.With record-cleaning proceedure being all of actual max 5 minutes solution surface contact time, the point is moot/misleading AND SHOULD NEVER HAVE BEEN BROUGHT UP.

But at the very end the shilling starts once more and AGAIN the badboy-isopropanol is mentioned, as if to reinforce the implied threat to your vinyl.

I've been using isopropyl alcohol for decades.

That is not to say this product - apparently developed after much research by a French female chemist - is not superior. I've never used it, so cannot comment.

That is why I am asking you gearheads.

Bloke claims the solution makes for dramatic audible improvements (assuming - AND THIS IS A BIG LOOPHOLE -that your system is halfway "decent".

Decent probs meaning big, big money, right?"

[ajxd]

I do believe this topic is covered extensively in other threads. Please use the search function.

 

/thread

[Guest Haywood Yablome]

Ajxd: putting "record-cleaning machine" or "RCM" in the search function gets you NUFFINK.

[ajxd]

threadreopen

 

Remove the hyphen.

 

/thread

[Guest Haywood Yablome]

Removing hyphen gives one the same result, Jimmeh.

............................

Allanh said something to the effect that my record machine technique was possibly in question.

As I have never had a manual to go with the machine, I am intrigued - not that I think there is much technique to be gleaned here.

But what I WOULD like to know - and what never comes up in these discussions - is: when scrubbing the record prior to putting it on the RCM, how vigerously does one do so.

[ajxd]

You sure?

 

Here's my method-

 

1. Brush off record using anti-static brush, typically on RCM platter, while running motor.
2. Run vacuum one pass of record.
3. Add 4mL of record cleaning fluid on record while motor is running.
4. Use MoFi Felt brush to spread fluid evenly 1-2 passes.
5. Stop motor, scrub record with MoFi felt brush 2 passes clock wise, 2 passes counter clock wise. I scrub enough to produce a light foam/froth.
6. Turn motor on, turn on vacuum for 2-3 passes to make sure all fluid removed.

For reference, I use a VPI 16.5 RCM, and lab grade fluids.

[xxsilence]

Your search skills are...lacking.. Try searching this forum for "cleaning machine" (yes, using the quotes so it finds an exact phrase match).

 

And voila.

 

http://boards.vinylcollective.com/topic/75550-cleaning-your-records/#entry1240353

[heypeterman]

There you go, Mr Allanh. All set-up for you. You certainly have a shitload of lps at your back and hence , assumingly, the record-cleaning expertise. I am eager to learn but, please, hopefully the right way does not involve going it with more than two brushes....cos I'm not uop to it.

 

Fact: allenh is the nicest person on the internet. You, sir, get a downvote for starting a thread and slighting him.

[xxsilence]

You sure?

 

Here's my method-

 

1. Brush off record using anti-static brush, typically on RCM platter, while running motor.

2. Run vacuum one pass of record.

3. Add 4mL of record cleaning fluid on record while motor is running.

4. Use MoFi Felt brush to spread fluid evenly 1-2 passes.

5. Stop motor, scrub record with MoFi felt brush 2 passes clock wise, 2 passes counter clock wise. I scrub enough to produce a light foam/froth.

6. Turn motor on, turn on vacuum for 2-3 passes to make sure all fluid removed.

For reference, I use a VPI 16.5 RCM, and lab grade fluids.

 

Since we're on the topic, should I invest the $20 on the MoFi brush versus what I've been using on my RCM, in the old school discwasher brush (think it's from the 80s, so at least not the new made-in-china crap)?

[ajxd]

Or "record cleaning machine" with 15 results.

[ajxd]

Since we're on the topic, should I invest the $20 on the MoFi brush versus what I've been using on my RCM, in the old school discwasher brush (think it's from the 80s, so at least not the new made-in-china crap)?

 

I like it. Its only $20. But its felt, as I'm sure the Discwasher is too. But the pads are replaceable on the MoFi, which I don't think you can on the Discwasher... Not 100% on that though.

[Guest Haywood Yablome]

I scrub more than 2 passes each way. And most-likely with more vim than you.

(Not that scrubbing of any sort reaches the bottom of the grooves.)

I DO believe that leaving the solution on the disc for 5 minutes prior to scrubbing is important. But I rarely have the patience to do so.

[ajxd]

So what solution and brush do you use?

[Guest Haywood Yablome]

I use standard homebrew of distilled water/isopropyl 99.0, but I suppose I am rather contrary in that I find it no concern to go heavy on the iso - one third mix instead of usual one quarter.

I use 0NE drop surfactant per gallon mix. (ALWAYS used Kodak Photoflow with no probs - and you can blow it out your ass that Triton is preferred - its THE SAME STUFF, FOXSAKES! And i don't care if Kodak itself warns against using it on records.)

How do you feel about one getting one's "distilled" water FREE from the dehumidifier?

[Guest Haywood Yablome]

Oh yes - because a gallon of brew lasts a LONG time, I used to put a drop of pure mercury in there to fight the microbes.

Also, once or twice I put a few milliliters of Windex in the gallon cos I read somewhere about it. no idea what its good for - if anything at all.

The only concern I see with photoflow is that if you put too much in - say 5/6 drops - you get shavings of soap come off your stylus ESPECIALLY IF YOU DONT SUCK-DRY. one drop is no trouble at all.

[ajxd]

You're putting a ton of unnecessary chemicals onto your records. That's probably one issue.

 

Photoflo and Triton-X are not the same. One is a single chemical, the other is a mix of chemicals.

 

Water from your dehumidifier... also a bad idea.

[Guest Haywood Yablome]

Why bad?

Its water pulled out of the atmosphere.

Water of evaporation.

Mineral-free.

[xxsilence]

Why bad?Its water pulled out of the atmosphere.Water of evaporation.Mineral-free.

I thought everyone knows you don't drink the water from a dehumidifier. If it's not clean enough to drink why would you wash your records with it?

"Just as a cold drink collects condensation from the surrounding air, most dehumidifiers use cold metal tubes to turn water vapor from a gas to liquid water. This "condensate" then collects in a bucket or drains out through a hose. According to the Environmental Protection Agency, stagnant condensate can harbor biological contaminants, including mold, mildew and algae, especially if the collection bucket isn't cleaned regularly. Moreover, the condensate can contain lead and other metal residues from the component parts of the dehumidifier. Unlike distilled water, dehumidifier water is never sterilized through boiling."

[Guest Haywood Yablome]

How is distilled water commercially made?

Everything is glass?

..............

About wetting agents: "Triton X-114 is also known as:

octylphenoxypoly (ethoxyethanol). CAS No. is 9036-19-5.

Kodak Photo Flo 200. It says, and I quote:

Contents: octylphenoxypolyethoxyethanol (9036-19-5).

Same stuff. There are no additional chemicals in the product."

.................

Anyways, at these dilutions of 1-3 drops per gallon all this contamination talk is moot and frankly...ridiculous. Put into the equation the fact of extremely limited surface contact time and that most everything (within this tiny exposure time frame) is sucked clean off......no, the sky is not falling, Jimmehs.

[xxsilence]

Dehumidifiers condense the moisture through cold coils, drawing the water out. Distilled water is boiled, then the steam collected in a separate chamber.

[Guest Haywood Yablome]

Yes but industrially is it boiled in gigantic copper kettles, stainless steel, glass?

I agree - certainly steam fractional distillation is preferred, but does the difference really matter for the purpose at hand? And when you get into all these other deals: osmosis, de-ionized fracas...

[xxsilence]

Yeah, it's a huge difference. Are you slow or something?

[Guest Haywood Yablome]

Okay. Let's work this out a bit...........

I assume you're thinking the main contaminant here is copper ion from the coils. (I disregard the idea of biological contaminants altogether - there is NO stagnant water & I am taking the water that drops direct off the coils to the CLEAN plastic pan below, alright? (No dirty rubber tubes involved whatsoever.)

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The mineral that is most detrimental to vinyl comes from certain ph water and certain aged pipelines. It is calcium. This forms salts which scratch the vinyl as the needle passes, etc. Calcium , unlike copper ion, is very much more soluble and hence threatening. Anyways , the idea of copper reacting with vinyl is wild since we are not talking of immediate miscibility of one SOLUTION into another, but of solution WITH A NON-REACTIVE (and generally non-polar) SOLID.If there were reaction at all, it would require long contact time - which just ISN'T THERE in this situation.

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Look here, Jimmeh. No one wants/needs to experience you going into your uptight spiral mode.

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Apologies all for my doing this ........ or -------- thing, but this forum is somehow running all my sentences together without any spacing whatsoever!! This makes understanding somewhat difficult.

I've never come across this problem on any other forum. wtf?