Cleaning vinyl...help!

[Emotion Audio]

Right, still getting to grips with this vinyl thing.

First question: Velvet or carbon fibre brush...does it make a difference?

Second questions: I need to do some bulk cleaning on the cheap. I noticed there are several home brew recipes for cleaning solutions, but several slag each other off...anyone have any experience with one that works well?

Third question: Once brew is made, do I just polish on with a lint free cloth? Would prefer not to pay £50 for one of those manual machines.

All help is appreciated.

Cheers,
Jeff

[meninblack]

There are two key steps: first you need to loosen and lift the crap in the grooves. That's what the brush and/or solution will do for you.

Then you need to get the loose crap/dirty solution off the record, normally by rinsing or vacuuming.

Home brew method: work a cleaning sloution into the grooves with a brush, rinse under the tap then allow to dry.

Record cleaning machines are better!

[Borats Baby]

Best bet is to get some "AM" record cleaner in a spray bottle and a good micro fibre cloth.

3 or 4 squirts each side and a rub with the cloth !

I find it very effective !

LINK to spray !

A bit time consuming, but if you don't want to spend forty or fifty quid, about your best bet.

Other option is of course soap and water in the sink, does just as good a job !

Rub each side with the NON scouring side of a washing up sponge and rinse in cold water.

[Borats Baby]

Just thought, also worth mentioning is to go with the groove man !!!!

CD's are cleaned from the inside out, not so with records. Go with a circular motion following the track that the stylus takes !

[montesquieu]

If you are planning to clean LPs before selling .. then DON'T .. or at least declare it before making a listing.

The worst LPs I've bought online, have, without exception (apart from some wrongly-graded Oxfam crap - a regular failing these days), been badly cleaned by some idiot (no offence) who did some cleaing on the cheap before sale, knowing he wasn't going to be the ultimate listener.

[Borats Baby]

montesquieu wrote:

been badly cleaned by some idiot (no offence) who did some cleaing on the cheap before sale, knowing he wasn't going to be the ultimate listener.

But I reckon these "idiots" didn't ask for advice on the wam before taking to them with some glass cleaner and a roll of kitchen towel !

Jeff, you cant go wrong with the cleaner I've mentioned, or soapy water.

Other sprays are out there, but I can't vouch for them as I've never used them !

I can vouch for AM cleaner as I have used it !

[Emotion Audio]

Many thanks, guys.

Rest assured, I'll only be selling the good condition ones, so no cleaning required...the cleaning is for the much abused 70's / 80's fare.

[topoxforddoc]

Jeff,

Buy a cheap Record cleaning machine - an Okki Nokki, Moth or whatever. You will be amazed what happens to even your dirty 70/80s LPs after a proper wash. I even clean my brand new LPs to get rid of the mould release agent used when pressing the vinyl biscuits to make LPs.

My RCM has probably been the best value hi-fi purchase I've ever made.

Charlie
www.charlie-chan.co.uk

[Borats Baby]

topoxforddoc wrote:

Jeff,

Buy a cheap Record cleaning machine - an Okki Nokki, Moth or whatever.

[bigdur]

I'd advise against spraying a cleaner on and wiping it off with a cloth, it wont properly clean the disk and will no doubt leave a load of shite behind too

[Uncle Ants]

Home brew solution, 1 part Isopropyl Alcohol to 3 of distilled water plus a couple of drops of washing up liquid or photographic wetting agent (best). On with a spray bottle (like oven cleaner comes in) gently scrub along the groove with a clean carbon brush. Rinse well with distilled water (it needs quite a lot to flow off the record). Dry with a clean microfibre cloth. Finish drying on a rack.

Cheap, effective .... Time consuming.

[topoxforddoc]

Borats Baby wrote:

topoxforddoc wrote:

Jeff,

Buy a cheap Record cleaning machine - an Okki Nokki, Moth or whatever.

Jeff,

400 quid for a new RCM is a pittance compared to the cost of your system. Some people spend that on one cable. My RCM has paid for itself handsomely. Most weeks, I go to my local second hand record store and come back with a number of LPs at 50p each. A quick clean and they're almost all fine. The ones with damaged grooves get consigned to the scrapheap, but over 80% of what I buy gets rejuvenated on my Moth RCM.

Charlie
www.charlie-chan.co.uk

[Emma Royd]

bigdur wrote:

I'd advise against spraying a cleaner on and wiping it off with a cloth, it wont properly clean the disk and will no doubt leave a load of shite behind too

Cannot for the life of me see how this works by spraying a chemical onto the disc,then rubbing excisting shite into the grooves.

[Uncle Ants]

Emma Royd wrote:

bigdur wrote:

I'd advise against spraying a cleaner on and wiping it off with a cloth, it wont properly clean the disk and will no doubt leave a load of shite behind too

Cannot for the life of me see how this works by spraying a chemical onto the disc,then rubbing excisting shite into the grooves.

It doesn't .... that's why it needs to be rinsed off wth distilled before drying.

[Uncle Ants]

topoxforddoc wrote:

400 quid for a new RCM is a pittance compared to the cost of your system.

400 quid is not a pittance relative to the £50 the OP doesn't want to spend.

[Emma Royd]

Uncle Ants wrote:

Emma Royd wrote:

bigdur wrote:

I'd advise against spraying a cleaner on and wiping it off with a cloth, it wont properly clean the disk and will no doubt leave a load of shite behind too

Cannot for the life of me see how this works by spraying a chemical onto the disc,then rubbing excisting shite into the grooves.

It doesn't .... that's why it needs to be rinsed off wth distilled before drying.

Do the instructions state that the disc must be rinsed after spraying?

[Uncle Ants]

I have no idea but you would need to be a bit daft not to. Most of these cleaning fluids do a reasonable job so long as you rinse. Otherwise, you may as well not bother.

[Emma Royd]

Uncle Ants wrote:

I have no idea but you would need to be a bit daft not to. Most of these cleaning fluids do a reasonable job so long as you rinse. Otherwise, you may as well not bother.

Well on the ebay listing it does'nt mention rinsing,so I would'nt touch it.

Agree with you,silly not to rinse,but may as well use washing up liquid/sponge.

[Uncle Ants]

Emma Royd wrote:

Well on the ebay listing it does'nt mention rinsing,so I would'nt touch it.

Agree with you,silly not to rinse,but may as well use washing up liquid/sponge.

You don't need to read the instructions to know that rinsing is required, it's common sense. A cleaning fluid lifts and loosens the dirt, that dirt needs to be removed whatever the nature of the cleaning fluid - you can suck it off or you can rinse it off with something that will leave no residue. What you can't or shouldn't do is leave it on or rub it dry as is.

As to washing up liquid and a sponge - possibly - it depends what contaminents are on the record. The IPA/distilled/surfactant homebrew formula listed above does a better job in general use than soapy water in my experience (it's especially good lifting the greasey, tarry contaminents that smoking leaves behind) and will cost you about a tenner a gallon, if that.

[Emma Royd]

Uncle Ants wrote:

Emma Royd wrote:

Well on the ebay listing it does'nt mention rinsing,so I would'nt touch it.

Agree with you,silly not to rinse,but may as well use washing up liquid/sponge.

You don't need to read the instructions to know that rinsing is required, it's common sense. A cleaning fluid lifts and loosens the dirt, that dirt needs to be removed whatever the nature of the cleaning fluid - you can suck it off or you can rinse it off with something that will leave no residue. What you can't or shouldn't do is leave it on or rub it dry as is.

As to washing up liquid and a sponge - possibly - it depends what contaminents are on the record. The IPA/distilled/surfactant homebrew formula listed above does a better job in general use than soapy water in my experience (it's especially good lifting the greasey, tarry contaminents that smoking leaves behind) and will cost you about a tenner a gallon, if that.

I agree re common sense to rinsing,but if its not in the instructions,it either should be or perhaps they dont deem it necessary,which is odd.