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Cleaning Your Records


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Not sure what a dude's intentions would be to come into a thread called "cleaning your records," a process that has been proven to improve sonic quality of record playback and prolong said quality over longer periods of time, and stir up shit by proclaiming that it's overrated.

Just plain bad trollin'

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Nope. Besides shenanigans (who can be more of an expert on this subject), as an expert on this topic, you are wrong.

Correct, nothing fixes worn grooves.

Incorrect, cleaning is not overrated. Pressing plates have anti-fungals sprayed on them, which can then be transferred to the record. All new records should be cleaned.

Incorrect, Dawn is not as good as anything. It contains a multitude of different chemicals that do not need to be on your stylus.

TAKE HOME MESSAGE: Cleaning records isn't for your record's health, its for the health of your stylus.

I've given this some more thought, and some internet research, FWIW. No doubt thar new discs could have remenants of the release compounds that are used in pressings, but since these are usually silicone oils, they might actually be more beneficial to leave on the surfaces in the long run. Very slippery and therefore provide lubricant to the grooves. Very unreactive, so wont hurt any of the components of the stylus either.

Antimicrobials? What kind? They'd need to be pretty reactive to affect any of the diamond, cantilever arm (aluminum, or even more exotic/less reactive) or the glue, where present, which holds them together. From what I can tell, the glues are proprietary, so its difficult to assess their chemical resistance, but its likely pretty high.

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I've given this some more thought, and some internet research, FWIW. No doubt thar new discs could have remenants of the release compounds that are used in pressings, but since these are usually silicone oils, they might actually be more beneficial to leave on the surfaces in the long run. Very slippery and therefore provide lubricant to the grooves. Very unreactive, so wont hurt any of the components of the stylus either.

 

I can see the possible lubrication benefit and there were treatments around in the 80's that purported to do exactly this but the problem with any contaminant in the grooves is that it will interfere with the diamonds ability to track the groove walls where the music is contained. It will also stick to the stylus and cantilever and then cross contaminate other records

 

This is a mechanical process that relies on solid contact between the diamond and the groove wall to give it's best and anything that gets in the way of that will not be to the benefit of sound quality so dirt, release agents, mould and anything else for that matter is bad.

 

I also out of interest googled images of worn stylus and they are few and far between because the damage on a real diamond stylus is very difficult to see but to explain why it happens again think of the mechanics at play here, you are correct a PVC groove is not as hard as a diamond but that groove lined with dust particles is an abrasive and when it rotates at 33 rpm for hours it will eventually like very fine sandpaper polish away some the diamonds shape and it's this polishing effect changing the shape of the diamond that causes the sound issue. So again we are back to the reliance in the mechanical process of contact between the diamond and the groove wall which is changed by the worn stylus.

 

You are correct that worn grooves are easier to produce than worn styli but your styli is the constant as you don't change that but you do change your records so over time a record played over and over will wear as will a diamond that plays lots and lots of records. A good quality diamond should give 5000 plus before you should even consider looking at it but the manufacturers quote figures like 1000 hours not only because they want you to buy a new one but because most people don't keep their records or equipment clean enough and the wear time is increased exponentially.

 

A phonograph cartridge is an extremely accurate transducer so anything you do to impede that transducers ability to move correctly within it's coils is not going to make things better and what's needed here in reality is not Chemistry but Physics

 

The moral here keep your records and you equipment clean it's not rocket science. Also if you want to know how it works when discussing mechanical things talk to a bloody engineer

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  • 1 month later...

I've spent the last hour+ searching through this thread and other sites and doing some research but I still have a few questions. I want to wet clean my records but never have before. I'm interested in trying the MoFi brush, and the Phoenix cleaner was recommended to me. Would spraying with the Phoenix cleaner, scrubbing with the MoFi brush and then drying with the microfiber cloth be a good solution?

 

Should I use the MoFi cleaning solution instead? And I saw someone say not to use microfiber cloths, is there something else you suggest? Or a specific type you suggest?

 

Any help is appreciated, thanks!

 

P.S. I'm not interested in picking up a spin clean or vacuum based solution at the moment ;)

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Agreed with the vacuum. I have a spin clean and hate it. While it does clean the noise up a bit, it introduces a ton of noise during silent parts of the music (due to residue left over from the solution and/or clothes). Going to grab a vacuum cleaner soon.

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drying your record with a cloth isn't going to do much other than deposit fibers (or micro fibers) while leaving behind most of the gunk after the cleaning solution evaporates.

  

Wet clean only with a vacuum.

  

Agreed with the vacuum. I have a spin clean and hate it. While it does clean the noise up a bit, it introduces a ton of noise during silent parts of the music (due to residue left over from the solution and/or clothes). Going to grab a vacuum cleaner soon.

Thanks for the feedback guys! But say I have an older record that sounds good on side A but side B has quite a bit of surface noise. I don't have a cleaning machine right now and won't be able to get one any time soon (gotta save up), what method would you recommend to clean it? There's gotta be something that's worth doing to try to clean it up, right?

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particularly with an older record or one that is otherwise dirtier than average, you're just going to make things worse with a non-vacuum cleaning.

Your best bet might be to find a record shop that has a vacuum machine and see if they will clean it for you for a few bucks (maybe along with a larger purchase).

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Do you have to use a solution when vacuum/RCMing records?  Does the solution get more of the deeper gunk out?  The only reason I ask is I just ordered a Record Doctor and feel like the solution may start to get expensive after a while.  Thanks!

 

You should use a cleaning solution.  Trying to use an RCM without the cleaning fluid is going to do little to nothing.  

 

That said, a bottle of cleaning fluid is going to go a very long way.  You just need to apply  a small amount to spread into the grooves.

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You should use a cleaning solution.  Trying to use an RCM without the cleaning fluid is going to do little to nothing.  

 

That said, a bottle of cleaning fluid is going to go a very long way.  You just need to apply  a small amount to spread into the grooves.

 

Thank you!  That's kind of what I figured.  I'm looking forward to doing some deep cleaning especially on those old record store/thrift store gems.  I've been avoiding subjecting my needle to some of those.

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Cleaning solution is not that expensive, relatively speaking. A $20-30 bottle will last for literally thousands of records when used properly. Think how much you spend on the albums themselves, and it should start to make sense.

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