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The BEST way to clean & preserve vinyl


DizRotus

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The best way to clean & preserve vinyl is to keep it clean in the first place.

Second, if you're going to use any kind of alcohol DO NOT use so-called ispropyl alcohol, especially if it says it's a %. These products are often sold as rubbing alcohol and have various lubricants (contaminants) in them. I use a highly purified alcohol/water mixture. As it turns out, something like Smirnoff Silver (100 proof) is perfect. Its triple distilled 50/50 alcohol/water content is perfect for cleaning records. I use it with a regular old fashion Discwasher brush.

The alcohol will remove the vinyl's natural inherent lubricants. To compensate for this, after the record has thoroughly dried, I apply Gruv Glide according the manufacturer's directions. I've used this product for 30+ years and have experienced absolutely no detrimental effects when applied CORRECTLY. It in fact, reduces drag, improves tracking, lowers distortion & noise, & makes the vinyl static free so it's less prone to attract contamination in the future, both on the record and on the stylus.

For reference:

Turntable 1: Thorens TD-126 MKiii, SME III arm, Shure V15 type 5 vmr.

Turntable 2: Linn LP12, Origin Live power supply & DC motor upgrade, Moerch UP4 arm, Decca Jubilee pickup

Audio Research SP6B used as the phono preamp.

Almost everything said by artto is correct.

 

Isopropyl alcohol (91%+) is perfect.  The remaining ~9% is water.  Rubbing alcohol contains lanolin.  Don't use that.  Vodka or grain alcohol, such as Ever-Clear also work, if not consumed by the cook during the preparation.  Isopropyl is less expensive and more readily available.  Grain alcohol is only available in Michigan with a prescription.

 

Substitute "rubbing " for Isopropyl and his comments are correct and apply equally to the Reg Williamson system, with the exceptions being 40+ years of success and cleaning and anti-static are accomplished as a single one time process. I'm not trying to persuade anyone to abandon something that works for them. It's merely presented as something that works for me as described, and has done so since the early 70s.  It takes effort, but the results are worth the effort and expense.

Edited by DizRotus
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Neil,

Thank you and the rest of the members for a very interesting read! Since it has been at least 5 months since you indicated you still have Cyastat, before I start the request process I wanted to inquire if you still have any Cyastat on hand.

 

Thank you,

Mike

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Hello Mike,  

 

Welcome to the forum. Yes, plenty of Cyastat SN.  Please send me a PM and follow the directions in posts #108 and later.

 

Go to:

https://community.klipsch.com/index.php?/topic/155914-bjesus-a-miracleby-dizrotus/?hl=b%26%2339%3Bjesus

for an unsolicited testimonial from Mallette.

Edited by DizRotus
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I never got into this "Proper way to clean vinyl" thing, I recall reading an online article once with various steps, solutions etc seemed to me the process to clean one record could take an hour - myself would rather be lsitening to music. I have used the VPI 16.5 with nice results for some time and awhile back took the plunge and purchased the Audio Desk record cleaner and have never looked back.  Granted I would never put a garage find record through that system would use the VPI first but for most records the system does a excellent job. Yes pricey but it's nice to hit start and walk away.

 

 

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I have been reading thread on and off for some time.

 

While barbaric, I have had some luck with the following.

 

Blowing the records out with an air compressor, even the dirtiest records respond well to this.

 

Followed up by using sparkle plastic window cleaner invented for air force canopies in WW2 using a micro fiber cloth.

 

Some spots require cleaning with diluted alcohol to remove them. I should probably upgrade to grain or Vodka, MOFI sells high grade alcohol for cleaning records so it must be OK.

 

More recently I decided to go even more barbaric and rinsed the record in the sink with warm water, then washed it with very diluted dish soap and my hand, I could feel the grit coming up with my fingers and hand. This was followed up with a quick wipe with an old fashioned record brush velvet and some 50-50 alcohol. I do my best to get the alcohol evaporated quickly. After one play there was still chunks of garbage coming off of some of the records, perhaps cleaning with a micro fiber cloths would have grabbed them. Eventually the filthy Muddy Waters LP sounded good, very very good, the Damaged the Wall Pink Floyd still sounded damaged from the garbage TT it was played on.

 

If I were going whole hog, I would buy the industrial ionizer attachment for my air compressor and blow the records clean with it, the manufacturer informed me that yes they have people or companies that use their product in this way.....cost $500+.

 

I did try one of the record cleaning bath tubs at a friends house, on 10 relatively clean looking records the amount of garbage that settled to the bottom and was in solution in the water was appalling. They still required more cleaning once up on the TT.

 

The search continues.

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Smirnoff Silver straight up on a DiscWasher brush.

 

After drying completely treat with GruvGlide according to manufacturer's directions. I've used this stuff for decades and my records are noise free and sound better due to reduced friction. Anyone who has complaints about this product didn't apply it properly.

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Having several years to think about this, plus thousands of hours cleaning the grooves (so to speak), my best advice is to start with 80 grit, then move on to 120, then 320, finally with 1000 grit (3M wet/dry, lubed with Mobil 1 5-40).  Don't wash off the oil, or you'll have to start all over.  You'll be amazed at how those pesky "clicks and pops" are barely noticeable.

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I'm late to the party but wanted to thank everyone for such an informative thread. I've been a vinyl junkie for decades and a habitual DIY kind of guy. For cleaning records I've DIY'd a Loricraft style machine and an Ultrasonic cleaner. Both give results but honestly, not what you would expect and require lots of babysitting.

 

I stumbled across this thread after reading about wood glue (no thanks) and a commercially available product. I knew there had to be a DIY solution, so here I am.

 

I already have some of the ingredients for the mask (photoflo, glycerine, and lab grade isopropyl). I'm placing my order for the Elvanol and have some Cyastat on it's way from the kindness of Neil.

 

I will post more once I have tried this out on some records! Thanks again for a great thread..

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I used a Pyrex measuring cup (easy for measurements) set on top of a few rings from cannning jars in a pot of boiling water..

 

I got my package with Cyastat from DizRotus yesterday afternoon and immediately cooked up a batch of the PVA facial. It took a while for the PVA to fully dissolve and I think i may have been mixing too much because there wound up being lots of air bubbles in the final product. They did eventually dissipate leaving a nice clear syrup!

 

I tried the facial on a pesky LP last night. It's one where the vinyl looked great and without hairline scratches. It would easily be considered NM visually. Unfortunately, it played back very crackly. I've tried cleaning it with my DIY ultrasonic cleaner and while it did help a little, the fact remained that it was a crackly record and not something I'd personally enjoy listening to.

 

The mask was easy to apply using the foam brush that was recommended. The only thing that took a little getting used to was how much of the syrup to apply.

 

So... The results were actually quite striking! Whatever was causing the surface noise / crackles was practically undetectable after removing the mask. I would say the record went from a G+ playback to VG+/NM easily. VERY impressive! I am EXTREMELY pleased with the results and am excited to try it on a few more troublesome records. I have quite a few records that look great but don't play nearly as good as they look.

 

Thanks again Neil for the Cyastat and everyone else for this thread..

 

Let me also add that i am an extremely critical listener and have a very low tolerance for noisy records despite be a collector / listener for decades. So far i'm really pleased with this stuff!! :)

 

I'm going to try and make a video next time i cook up a batch. Perhaps it would be helpful to others but honestly, this stuff is very easy to make.

Edited by jmczaja
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Glad it arrived.  Your results are good.  A video would be great.  

 

I prepared a video once and then proceeded to lose the Flip video camera.  I think it fell off the desk into the trash by accident.

 

Regarding the double boiler, using a glass container allows visualization of the slurry better.  You can see the solid bits that need to be stirred into solution.

Edited by DizRotus
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Well.. We're 2 for 2! :) Just gave a 1st pressing of The Beatles - Revolver UK Parlophone Stereo a facial! Again, this was a record that looked NM but remained crackly/noisy after using both a vacuum style RCM and an ultrasonic machine. I thought that it must have potential groove damage. Peeled the mask off and gave it a listen.. Virtually free of surface noise!!

 

I can not say pleased I am!! I'm completely sold on this stuff.. I'm sure that I'll come across a few records that can not be saved due to actual damage but it's already been a big win!

Edited by jmczaja
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I'm sure that I'll come across a few records that can not be saved due to actual damage but it's already been a big win!

 

In my experience, some records with visible scratches will be improved beyond expectations.  Naturally, deep physical scratches cannot be removed by the facial.  Nonetheless, many records that were unplayable become playable after a PVA facial that includes Cyastat SN. 

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