Cleaning Your Records

[jtcohenour]

I was thinking of buying a spinclean and had heard great stuff about if (considering the price).

[Ent]

I use In The Groove. Is this a bad way to get rid of small bits of static, dust, etc?

http://www.amazon.com/In-The-Groove-Record-Cleaner/dp/B004MG9YYQ

[shamrocks]

maybe im doing it wrong.  i spinclean as directed, then lay the record on a microfiber cloth and use another microfiber cloth to softly dry the record in a clockwise motion.  turn and repeat.  is it wrong to not rinse?

[dethrock]

I've never rinsed. I do like it says too, 3 spins one way, 3 spins the other. Then i lift it up and let the water drip off for maybe 10 seconds. Then i hold it while drying the one side, flip and dry the other. After that I put it on a microfiber cloth to dry a bit longer, maybe a minute per side. I've definitely never had a record sound worse though.

[shamrocks]

ive just found a lot more static-y noise afterwards.  records that i clean with my brush and D4 dont have any of that noise.  i use an antistatic brush as well on everything

[vinylfilmaholic]

The SpinClean was terrible. Bought it earlier in the year, used it on a lot of 45s (luckily no major ones) and a few of my A records (including the two Adele albums, and an Against Me vinyl) and it made them sound horrible. Added a lot of surface noise and crackle. I immediately shipped it back to Amazon. I'm still pissed about having to look for replacement Adeles. Oh and I forgot, my The Almost "Southern Weather" was ruined too! :-( 

[anthemforadoomed]

Every post makes pretty much every anti-static brush and things that aren't RCM's just sound terrible.

[ForSunday]

Because wood glue or RCM are by far and away the best and most proven methods. Spinclean is OK but don't expect anything major. I used to use cloths and fluids and you basically just make records look cleaner, does nothing to the dirt in the grooves that makes the noise. RCM physically pulls the dirt out.

[jtcohenour]

Thanks for the info.  

[Circasurprise90]

http://projectrepair.blogspot.sg/2012/07/project-diy-vacuum-record-cleaning.html

look at this thing! DIY at its best. I plan on building one similar.

[ajxd]

That's a cool one. But I will say, there are way less complicated DIY versions.

[anthemforadoomed]

That's a cool one. But I will say, there are way less complicated DIY versions.

I'm very interested to see a DIY approach to cleaning records you approve of. Care to share some articles/ links?

[isavedlatin54]

i was looking at this today... anyone have any thoughts on it?

 

http://www.audioadvisor.com/Record-Doctor-V-Record-Cleaning-Machine-US-115v/productinfo/RDV/#.UriCDXlhwds

[thesecrets0308]

Anyone that wants a great cleaner but doesn't have the scratch to put up for a nitty gritty or VPI should seriously consider looking into a KAB EV-1.  I actually think this unit to be BETTER than a nitty gritty just because there is no built-in, PROPRIETARY, vacuum.  Not sure how often a vacuum on a nitty gritty takes a crap, but I like the comfort in knowing that all I need to make sure I can use this EV-1 is my own household vacuum cleaner.  I highly recommend this to anyone.

 

http://www.kabusa.com/ev1.htm

[eight1echo]

Anyone that wants a great cleaner but doesn't have the scratch to put up for a nitty gritty or VPI should seriously consider looking into a KAB EV-1.  I actually think this unit to be BETTER than a nitty gritty just because there is no built-in, PROPRIETARY, vacuum.  Not sure how often a vacuum on a nitty gritty takes a crap, but I like the comfort in knowing that all I need to make sure I can use this EV-1 is my own household vacuum cleaner.  I highly recommend this to anyone.

 

http://www.kabusa.com/ev1.htm

 

The likelihood of me purchasing this would increase if their website didn't look like it was from 1998.

[thesecrets0308]

The likelihood of me purchasing this would increase if their website didn't look like it was from 1998.

 

Haha, it is a pretty basic website.  I believe it's just one guy that makes these man.  It's not like a big company or anything like that.  My brother actually turned me to this.  He got his a couple years ago and, at the time, there was a waiting list because the guy couldn't keep up with the demand.  He's probably found a way to keep them in stock more times than not.  When I ordered mine, I actually emailed him to find out if he indeed had some ready to go and there was only a few left at the time.  Point is, don't let the dull looking website keep you from a great product at a great price.

[jamdbz]

This may seem like a silly question, but after cleaning records is it really detrimental to put them back in the same sleeve? I have some new sleeves on the way since I assume it would basically reverse the cleaning but maybe it's not as bad as I think it'd be

[allenh]

This may seem like a silly question, but after cleaning records is it really detrimental to put them back in the same sleeve? I have some new sleeves on the way since I assume it would basically reverse the cleaning but maybe it's not as bad as I think it'd be

Unless you live in a clean room or a lab it's a bit over the top but it depends how much dirt is in your sleeves and how dirty the record was in the first place, generally it's a logical conclusion to come to but all things are relative.

 

If you wash a record and put it back into a sleeve that contians dirt them you are going to speed up the need to clean that record again. So If you pick up a very dirty records 2nd hand then yes I would always change the inner after cleaning but if it's one you've had from new and was only slightly dirty replacing the sleeve for only that reason is a little extravagant.

[thesecrets0308]

This may seem like a silly question, but after cleaning records is it really detrimental to put them back in the same sleeve? I have some new sleeves on the way since I assume it would basically reverse the cleaning but maybe it's not as bad as I think it'd be

 

Here's my process.  Every time I get a record, be it used or new, I clean it and then place it in a new inner sleeve (i use the mofi master inners).  Done.  Clean record in a clean sleeve.  Keep the record clean and the sleeve will stay clean.  Definitely avoid putting a clean record back into one of those paper sleeves that don't have the plastic lining.  Often time there is lots of dust and paper shavings in there.

[russtcb]

Because wood glue or RCM are by far and away the best and most proven methods. Spinclean is OK but don't expect anything major. I used to use cloths and fluids and you basically just make records look cleaner, does nothing to the dirt in the grooves that makes the noise. RCM physically pulls the dirt out.

 

I've tried the wood glue method on a few records and even though there's not really a way to do it wrong, I'm starting to think that somehow I AM doing something wrong haha. It seemed to do next to nothing on the few records I tried it on. 

[allenh]

I've tried the wood glue method on a few records and even though there's not really a way to do it wrong, I'm starting to think that somehow I AM doing something wrong haha. It seemed to do next to nothing on the few records I tried it on. 

 Are you actually letting it dry and taking it back off? Or were the records even dirty in the first place?

[russtcb]

 Are you actually letting it dry and taking it back off? Or were the records even dirty in the first place?

 

Yes to both. I let it dry over the course of 12 hours or so, then peeled it off. These were records with a lot of pops & cracks. When I removed the glue a day or so late and played the records they sounded exactly the same. I was bummed because it seems to work well for many other people.

[allenh]

I'm stumped and yes I'd be a tad miffed too, all I can say is those pops and cracks must be physical damage rather than dirt. The point of the glue method is that it gets deep into the grooves and when you peel it of it takes the dirt with it, but it can only remove dirt not physical damage.

[jamdbz]

Unless you live in a clean room or a lab it's a bit over the top but it depends how much dirt is in your sleeves and how dirty the record was in the first place, generally it's a logical conclusion to come to but all things are relative.

 

If you wash a record and put it back into a sleeve that contians dirt them you are going to speed up the need to clean that record again. So If you pick up a very dirty records 2nd hand then yes I would always change the inner after cleaning but if it's one you've had from new and was only slightly dirty replacing the sleeve for only that reason is a little extravagant.

 

 

Here's my process.  Every time I get a record, be it used or new, I clean it and then place it in a new inner sleeve (i use the mofi master inners).  Done.  Clean record in a clean sleeve.  Keep the record clean and the sleeve will stay clean.  Definitely avoid putting a clean record back into one of those paper sleeves that don't have the plastic lining.  Often time there is lots of dust and paper shavings in there.

 

Thanks for the tips! I think I'll end up replacing most of the inner sleeves. Though some of them aren't in just plain sleeves, it kind of irks me that I might need to just not use them. But I'd rather have a clean, well preserved record in the end.

[vinylfilmaholic]

I used wood glue on records that I cleaned with the Spin Clean that came out worse than ever with that method, and the wood glue worked. It didn't clear ALL of it, but it significantly reduced the surface noise enough to make the records listenable again. I was worried I'd have to re-purchase them.