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Cleaning Your Records


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I just recently bought the MK-III VPI and am looking to make a nice solid cleaning solution I can hopefully continue using for quite awhile. After reading so much information from here and all over the place I think I finally chose my final "recipe" at least for now.

I was going to go with the Kodak Photo-Flo but seeing people say it could possibly cause damage over time I decided to just go with...

 

Triton x-100 4oz bottle (is $16.20 a solid price?)

99% Swan isopropanol alcohol

Reverse Osmosis water

 

If I went with lets say for a 32oz bottle would this be a good mix?

24oz   RO Water

12oz   99% alcohol

2-3 drops of the Triton x-100 (I seen some guy on Amazon say he used 8-20 drops which seemed pretty high?)

 

I have mostly seen a 3 to 1 mix like that and some did a 4 to 1, has anyone seen much of a difference between those two?

 

I was planning to do a second pass with pure RO water but I seen several people say that with a good VPI that is not necessary? I will try both ways myself but I am curious to hear what people that have already done it hundreds of times think.

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Distilled deionized water is more important than RO. 

 

Laura Dearborn states 25% isopropyl. Meaning starting with 99.9999% and 1:4 mix. 

 

Honestly, if you're buying a VPI, buy cleaner. MoFi or Something. I was making it (as you might have read) bc I had access to lab grade chemicals for free. Once you buy everything lab grade, you'll be spending the same just purchasing pre made. 

 

When end I get to my lab, I'll post a link for the world s most expensive water. 

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On 5/27/2016 at 5:30 AM, ajxd said:

Distilled deionized water is more important than RO. 

 

Laura Dearborn states 25% isopropyl. Meaning starting with 99.9999% and 1:4 mix. 

 

Honestly, if you're buying a VPI, buy cleaner. MoFi or Something. I was making it (as you might have read) bc I had access to lab grade chemicals for free. Once you buy everything lab grade, you'll be spending the same just purchasing pre made. 

 

When end I get to my lab, I'll post a link for the world s most expensive water. 

Yeah, I just already have an RO system but most people that said they were using it seemed to just be starting to use it so I was not sure.

 

I did see her 1:4 mix, just so many different recipes out there which is why I wanted to ask here and get something going that people have had a chance to use and get there first hand experience.

 

Is there something wrong with the triton x-100 or swan 99% isopropyl ? Using those along with distilled water would be much cheaper then any quality pre-made cleaner I found, unless I am missing something? It might not be all of the highest possible quality but from what I gathered those ingredients seemed to create a pretty solid cleaner people seemed happy with? plus making my own is kind of forcing me to learn more about it all which I am def. lacking knowledge of something I should know since I have been collecting so long.

 

that is crazy about the rt-pcr water. Just out of curiosity since you brought it up do you know what percentage of the water is actually usable after going through all the filtration's to get it to that level?

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I don't follow your question, what do you mean by what percentage of the water is usable? For the RT-PCR is less filtration and more testing. PCR is the amplification of DNA, so they make sure this water has no other DNAs. I work in metagenomics (bacterial communities) and the water I use is fine, and not thousands of dollars.

 

 

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  • 3 weeks later...

So, I just bought some Gruv Glide yesterday.  I used it on one record so far.  I'm having mixed thoughts.....  on the one hand, this stuff removes a SHIT TON of dirt from the records.  But on the other hand, if you don't use it right, it can re-deposit some of the dirt back to the grooves.  You don't want to use the pad like an Audioquest brush....  don't wipe outwards.

 

The other thing though is that I feel like it chokes off the high end a little bit?  The record I used it on didn't seem quite as bright after I cleaned it.  It really can help with the noise reduction though, but....  I don't know if losing the high end is worth it.  Anybody else have this happen?

 

I could just be not quite using it totally correctly though yet.  The other thing I don't like as well is that to clean the pads of the dirt you have collected, they say just clop them together really quickly....which I guess does work, but.... I don't know.  I wish you could just wash them; I may try vacuuming them off and see what happens.  But man, they really do get tons of dirt off.  

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My biggest problem right now is static electricity and owning a cat.  It feels like every time I take a record out, within .007 seconds a piece of lint or hair will cling to the surface.  If I use a dry MoFi brush, the dust/lint/hair goes away but the static charge brings back other stuff thats in the air/nearby.   

 

I've bought an air purifier, upped my vacuum/dusting game, and purchased a reusable sticky lint/hair roller (I roll my shirt before I handle records), and when all three are in sync it cuts down on the problem a lot.  It's just annoying to handle records on days when I'm too busy to vacuum and roll all my clothes and see that lint/dust/hair return again and again.

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55 minutes ago, Gumbo72203 said:

So, I just bought some Gruv Glide yesterday.  I used it on one record so far.  I'm having mixed thoughts.....  on the one hand, this stuff removes a SHIT TON of dirt from the records.  But on the other hand, if you don't use it right, it can re-deposit some of the dirt back to the grooves.  You don't want to use the pad like an Audioquest brush....  don't wipe outwards.

 

The other thing though is that I feel like it chokes off the high end a little bit?  The record I used it on didn't seem quite as bright after I cleaned it.  It really can help with the noise reduction though, but....  I don't know if losing the high end is worth it.  Anybody else have this happen?

 

I could just be not quite using it totally correctly though yet.  The other thing I don't like as well is that to clean the pads of the dirt you have collected, they say just clop them together really quickly....which I guess does work, but.... I don't know.  I wish you could just wash them; I may try vacuuming them off and see what happens.  But man, they really do get tons of dirt off.  

Gruv Glide is not meant to be used for cleaning records.

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55 minutes ago, Gumbo72203 said:

So, I just bought some Gruv Glide yesterday.  I used it on one record so far.  I'm having mixed thoughts.....  on the one hand, this stuff removes a SHIT TON of dirt from the records.  But on the other hand, if you don't use it right, it can re-deposit some of the dirt back to the grooves.  You don't want to use the pad like an Audioquest brush....  don't wipe outwards.

 

The other thing though is that I feel like it chokes off the high end a little bit?  The record I used it on didn't seem quite as bright after I cleaned it.  It really can help with the noise reduction though, but....  I don't know if losing the high end is worth it.  Anybody else have this happen?

 

I could just be not quite using it totally correctly though yet.  The other thing I don't like as well is that to clean the pads of the dirt you have collected, they say just clop them together really quickly....which I guess does work, but.... I don't know.  I wish you could just wash them; I may try vacuuming them off and see what happens.  But man, they really do get tons of dirt off.  

Gruv Glide is not meant to be used for cleaning records.

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23 hours ago, Thomas³ said:

I know, it's listed as a cleaner, but it does not really seem to function well as one. I guess if it works for you, go for it.

Yeah dude, I was very surprised.  It pulled TONS of shit off the record.  I was kind of taken aback when I pulled the pad off the first time, it was fucking filthy!  More so, I just needed to do SOMETHING to be able to do a basic dry clean and get the dust/hair/static off my records.  I have cats, so their hairs get drawn out of the air and right to the record, and I don't want to use my hand to pick them off obviously.  It does reduce the surface noise, too.  Kinda surprised by that.  

 

22 hours ago, Freki said:

It's $40 that could've gone towards a proper RCM. That's the real crime.

You aren't incorrect....  but I won't be having the funds for a VPI any time soon, so....  this accomplishes what I wanted it to.  I kind of regret not going for this other thing they had with a microfiber felt brush, because the pads in the Gruv Glide are like round little pillows, so it's hard to get a wide wipe with uniform pressure and contact (if that makes sense).

 

I need to experiment more with the cleaner/lubricant though, because I swear that that first side I used it on, it choked off the high end and took some of the brilliance away.  Kind of like if you were listening underwater, sort of.  It could have been the material, too....   it was the first side of the Deadhorse LP, so there's a lot of cymbals that are played with brushes and mallets, so the attack isn't going to be quite as sharp anyway.   

 

 

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  • 2 weeks later...
1 minute ago, soconfg said:

So I have a spin clean and a squeaky clean vacuum attachment. I am wondering what would be this best way to use both of these to clean my records? 

My guess would be run it through the Spin Clean, Rinse with distilled water to get any remaining fluid off, then vacuum dry.  

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  • 1 month later...

I received my KAB EV-1 yesterday, and decided to test clean a record I know was dirty and didn't care too much about. I only used the solution KAB provides, and while it did really well in cleaning it visually, I now notice some noise on quiet parts of the records similar to the noise my old spin clean left behind. Did I not use enough fluid/too much/push too hard with the brush? I also only cleaned it with fluid, and not a distilled water rinse afterwards, so maybe that's the problem? What did I do wrong?

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