Cleaning Records

[andrewlucas]

Any suggested kits or products? Anything...? Just for cleaning dust and fingerprint oil.

[radiatorhums]

Plenty of info in here : http://boards.vinylcollective.com/topic/75550-cleaning-your-records/

 

Personally, for fingerprints and dust I use a vintage Discwasher (the new ones are suppose to be garbage after they were bought by RCA) and Pfan-Stat.  It does an ok job cutting down static too.

[andrewlucas]

Great. Thank you!

[hezagenius]

The sky's the limit as far as cleaning goes.  If you are only planning to purchase new records and handle them properly, the Discwasher should be sufficient.

 

If you are buying used records, that is a whole different world and will require more effort to be done properly.

 

You will also want a carbon fiber brush if you don't already have one.  They are good for removing dust right before playing a record.

[codeine]

Can anyone recommend a good carbon-fiber brush? First one to come up http://www.amazon.com/Carbon-Fiber-Vinyl-Record-Cleaning/dp/B000WKQWMI has poor reviews. Would this one http://www.dak.com/reviews/3306story.cfm be better?

I heard using distilled water can be good. Definitely sounds better than using chems, that's for sure.

[rm]

I give my records an initial cleaning.

I use distilled water mixed with a touch of the blue dish soap. Spray it on lightly and use a painters pad. Then I do it again with only the water to clean and a different pad. You can let dry or I lightly pat the surface with a really soft microfiber cloth. But I also use the discwasher brush before playing.

[Plarocks]

Avoid the Discwasher brush, even for new records. I have ruined a few rare records back in the day with one of those, when I started collecting in the 90s. Fortunately, I was able to replace them.

You have to use a vaccum powered record cleaning machine. Even new records benefit from an initial cleaning right out of the wrapper. They remove the "mold releasing compound" that keeps the record from sticking to the stamper.

You do have to make sure you are using a good velvet covered tube though.

I have not tried the Spin Clean unit yet, I have heard some good things.

[radiatorhums]

Avoid the Discwasher brush, even for new records. I have ruined a few rare records back in the day with one of those, when I started collecting in the 90s. Fortunately, I was able to replace them.

 

I don't think I've ever had my Discwasher damage a new record and I've had mine for 15+ years.  You may have had different experiences with it, I'm not here to dispute that.  I just wanted to state that I have yet to have an issue with using mine.

[toomany45s]

Avoid the Discwasher brush, even for new records. I have ruined a few rare records back in the day with one of those, when I started collecting in the 90s. Fortunately, I was able to replace them.

You have to use a vaccum powered record cleaning machine. Even new records benefit from an initial cleaning right out of the wrapper. They remove the "mold releasing compound" that keeps the record from sticking to the stamper.

You do have to make sure you are using a good velvet covered tube though.

I have not tried the Spin Clean unit yet, I have heard some good things.

Don't use the wood side on the records. That will ruin them every time. 

 

I've had mine since the late 80's which was new old stock of the original walnut handled system of the 70's and I've never had a problem. By the 90's discwasher manufacturing had already changed hands a couple times and significant changes had already been made. 

[rm]

I don't think I've ever had my Discwasher damage a new record and I've had mine for 15+ years. You may have had different experiences with it, I'm not here to dispute that. I just wanted to state that I have yet to have an issue with using mine.

Me either.

Also, I would never say you "have" to use a vacuum. I dj'd in college and I played those records all the time and they all still sound good from just using the discwasher at that time. I actually think it's really hard to scratch vinyl.

[Plarocks]

Well, to each their own.

My Discwasher brush and fluid kind of "stained" some of my frequently played records. Gave them a "cloudy" kind of look, and there was really no "improvement" to the sound.

I found that to really make the records "sound better" and to really get the grit out of the grooves without damaging or staining the vinyl, my VPI 16.5 was the only thing that really "worked" for me.

I even found that new records sound a bit better after a cleaning with the unit, using the right fluid.

For me, it was worth the $455 price tag that it was in the 90's, and it still works great today.

If you are "serious" about collecting vinyl and maintaining a record collection for many decades, I would recommend looking into a good vacuum record cleaning machine. Also remember to follow the instructions for it as well.

[chiefwahoo]

I just got the KAB EV-1 last week. I'd always wanted a VPI or something of the sort but after a lot of research. it seemed like I couldn't go wrong with the KAB for the price. I'm now a believer in the vacuum cleaning process. I can't even believe the difference it made on a few records that were previously destined for the garbage.

 

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

 

Edit: I guess I should clarify that this probably isn't the answer for the OP. But for those that do own/buy a lot of used records, this is a cost effective option. I don't think most people on these forums are candidates for expensive record cleaning machines.

[radiatorhums]

I love how so many of the websites for record cleaning products were probably designed in 1994 and never updated. 

[Plarocks]

Well, the vinyl manufacturing process has not been updated since the 50's....

Unless you consider DMM an update

[shamrocks]

i would not recommend the spinclean unless you are chasing your cleaning step with a water rinsing step (as some people do).  just doing the spinclean and microfiber wipe cause my records to sound terrible.  i was able to use the discwasher and antistatic brush to return them to normal though.  still very surprised, maybe i used too much cleaning fluid?

[moonbeams]

SpinClean.

[chiefwahoo]

i would not recommend the spinclean unless you are chasing your cleaning step with a water rinsing step (as some people do).  just doing the spinclean and microfiber wipe cause my records to sound terrible.  i was able to use the discwasher and antistatic brush to return them to normal though.  still very surprised, maybe i used too much cleaning fluid?

 

I think the problem is that the fluid is still wet down in the grooves and that generates a ton of noise. In time, through evaporation and/or a few plays, it will clear up. Will it leave it in any better positon than before it was cleaned? In my experience, it most certainly will for a dirty record. But for a relatively new/clean record that you just want to make sound as pristine as possible, I gave up on the wetting and towel drying process long ago. 

[bermudanc94]

I found this video and tried this method with some old records just to make sure it worked. It works wonderfully. I have gotten old used records that were covered in dirt and dust and once I cleaned them, they didn't even crackle when played. I've also used it on newer records that I've played a lot and have gotten dusty, etc. Some skipped in certain places and after cleaning them like this they play flawlessly. I do the entire process in my kitchen so I'm not moving them from there to elsewhere like in the video. Very simple process.

 

[schomin]

SpinClean.

[FangsAnalSatan]

 

SpinClean.

 

[smailtronic]

[dethrock]

I have a spin clean and love it. Never had any issues with anything sounding worse after using it.

[hezagenius]

The most important thing to do if you are going the wet cleaning route (Discwasher, SpinClean, vacuum RCM, etc.) is to do a final rinse with just distilled or lab grade water.  There are a lot of impurities that can get left behind when using cleaning fluids like dish soap, Spin Clean fluid or any other commercially bought fluid.  At least one rinse with just water should take care of most of these.  Two rinses for the OCD people like me and you should be golden.  And don't use tap water as a final rinse.  There are lots of things in tap water that will remain behind once the water evaporates.

 

A word of caution when using dish soap - make sure to rinse thoroughly!  A little dish soap goes a looong way when cleaning records and it leaves quite a bit of residue behind.  I used to clean records with a mixture of water, isopropyl alcohol and a few drops of dish soap as a surfactant.  I cleaned them in a plastic tub and then rinsed them under the faucet in the sink.  I would rinse a record for at least 30 seconds on each side and there was still soap residue left.  You can tell by holding the record with 1 hand at the 3:00 position and 1 hand at the 9:00 position and quickly but gently flexing it up and down several times.  The agitation from the flexing would cause little soap bubbles to form along the grooves.  I now use Photo Flo as a surfactant.  This rinses much cleaner.  Triton X-100 is also supposed to be good as a surfactant.

[Abrownmi]

RCA vinyl record care system, works like a charm

[russtcb]

I finally caved and bought a VPI 16.5 about a year and a half ago and I absolutely love it. It took me a while to get over the price, but after having cleaned/improved around 600 LPs with it, I'm very happy I got it.