DizRotus Posted February 15, 2015 Author Share Posted February 15, 2015 (edited) 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 February 28, 2015 by DizRotus 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DizRotus Posted February 28, 2015 Author Share Posted February 28, 2015 Bump for lordsummit Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DizRotus Posted March 8, 2015 Author Share Posted March 8, 2015 (edited) Bump for easy access prior to Hope Pilgrimage. If you're genuinely interested, read the beginning posts, skip to post #68 and keep reading. Edited August 24, 2015 by DizRotus Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
windwardkeys Posted August 24, 2015 Share Posted August 24, 2015 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 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DizRotus Posted August 24, 2015 Author Share Posted August 24, 2015 (edited) 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 August 24, 2015 by DizRotus Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deadlift Posted August 28, 2015 Share Posted August 28, 2015 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. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bubo Posted August 31, 2015 Share Posted August 31, 2015 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. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
artto Posted September 4, 2015 Share Posted September 4, 2015 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. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AllenTacey Posted September 6, 2015 Share Posted September 6, 2015 CC's are used on the side of medical bottles, needles etc.. For instance I use 72 cc's or 72 IU's (International Units) of Lantus. Hope this helps! Diabetics such as I immediately recognize CC's 5 cc is about >|-|< (space between arrows) in an 1/8 inch wide syringe. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fini Posted September 11, 2015 Share Posted September 11, 2015 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. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators Travis In Austin Posted October 16, 2015 Moderators Share Posted October 16, 2015 Glad to see you Fini,I am guessing with that multistep process the number one priority is a crisp, clean record, tje music be dammed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jmczaja Posted February 14, 2016 Share Posted February 14, 2016 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.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DizRotus Posted February 14, 2016 Author Share Posted February 14, 2016 Welcome to the forum Jay. The Cyastat SN should arrive next week. Please confirm delivery. Thank you for the donation to American Cancer Society. Neil Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rivervalleymgb Posted February 20, 2016 Share Posted February 20, 2016 Question: The Elvanol should be dissolved in a glass-only double boiler? Typing this from memory, so I could be wrong. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DizRotus Posted February 20, 2016 Author Share Posted February 20, 2016 I've always used a glass vase in a saucepan of boiling water, but an orthodox metal double boiler should work fine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jmczaja Posted February 21, 2016 Share Posted February 21, 2016 (edited) 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 February 21, 2016 by jmczaja 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DizRotus Posted February 21, 2016 Author Share Posted February 21, 2016 (edited) 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 February 21, 2016 by DizRotus 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rivervalleymgb Posted February 21, 2016 Share Posted February 21, 2016 I have enough of each ingredient to last the rest of my life. I still prefer the glass container to a metal one. Seems like there was a reason for glass, but it escapes me right now. Crazy to admit from a chemist, I know; but the last decade has been spent on liquid/solid separation technologies. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jmczaja Posted February 21, 2016 Share Posted February 21, 2016 (edited) 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 February 21, 2016 by jmczaja Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DizRotus Posted February 21, 2016 Author Share Posted February 21, 2016 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. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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