Jump to content

The BEST way to clean & preserve vinyl


DizRotus

Recommended Posts

Right now, I'm just doing some record that have been bugging me for a long time.. Typically NM or VG+ but play back a bit noisy. So far, we're doing great! :)

 

I do have some VG records with some hairline scratches, nothing deep. I'll try a few of those later..  Curious to hear the results!

 

I don't have many if any records with deep physical scratches. I always avoid purchasing those.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 months later...

Wow some exotic way to clean records.

I just rinse them under cold water, being careful not to get the label wet and pat them dry with a clean cotten flour-sake dish towel.

This eliminates static and also cools and stiffnens the vinyl so they wear a bit less.

I store them in a rice paper sleeve inside the cover.

I have some 30 year old records that sound like new.

I have tried grounded carbon fiber brushes and such but they just pushed the dust around but didn't really remove it.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 1 month later...
  • 4 months later...

Hey, DizRotus - I've copied the messages I posted back in 2013 when I was working on my variation of the Williamson peel formula, and I'm planning to lightly HTML-ize them and put them up in a page on my personal Web server.

 

May I have your permission to place a copy of the PDF file of the Audio Amateur articles on my server, and link directly to it from the page I create?

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

28 minutes ago, DavePlatt said:

Hey, DizRotus - I've copied the messages I posted back in 2013 when I was working on my variation of the Williamson peel formula, and I'm planning to lightly HTML-ize them and put them up in a page on my personal Web server.

 

May I have your permission to place a copy of the PDF file of the Audio Amateur articles on my server, and link directly to it from the page I create?

 

 

PM sent.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 3 months later...
  • 5 months later...
  • 5 weeks later...
3 minutes ago, ryanm84 said:

It looks like the PDF files aren't opening. And the Dropbox doesn't seem to work.

 

The attachments to this old thread were deleted to free up space for more attachments.  Most of the pdfs can be found in Mallette' "B'Jesus . . ." thread.  If you'd like I can send you the pdfs if you send. PM.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 weeks later...

I cooked up a batch today. Neil was kind enough to get me some cyastat.

IMG_0732.jpg

 

Slurry before cooking it up.

IMG_0733.jpg

 

After about an hour, took the brew off the stove and began adding other items. Cooled and put into a couple bottles for easy use later.

IMG_0735.jpg

 

one of 5 sacrificial lambs. Sacrificial in the sense of figuring out how much to apply to make removal easier.

IMG_0734.jpg

 

There was enough left in my Pyrex container to do all 10 sides plus probably another 5 full albums.

 

All of the records in this batch were given to me by a work colleague after spending many a year in his NJ basement in storage.

 

Will update with results hopefully later today after drying and peeling. I'm in the AZ desert so dust and static are really bad. Fingers are crossed that I followed the recipe correctly and get the result I need to continue enjoying my collection!

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I had no issue removing the film at all. Used my thumb to scrape a starting point and the whole side came off in one piece. Very fine film no matter how much I thought I glopped it on too thick. Will throw one of these in tomorrow after work. One in particular was quite noisy and dirty even after cleaning so I'm hopeful!

 

Edit to add that it doesn't seem like there is any static after peeling. Excited to see if this is it!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

20 minutes ago, ryanm84 said:

I had no issue removing the film at all. Used my thumb to scrape a starting point and the whole side came off in one piece. Very fine film no matter how much I thought I glopped it on too thick. Will throw one of these in tomorrow after work. One in particular was quite noisy and dirty even after cleaning so I'm hopeful!

 

Edit to add that it doesn't seem like there is any static after peeling. Excited to see if this is it!

 

I have yet to induce a static charge on a record cleaned this way.

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Tone for a few days for work. Home early today and thought I would try a couple of the vinyl I cleaned/peeled.

 

First up was a new unopened (when I bought it) copy of Achtung Baby by U2. I broke the seal on this one and it always played dirty. Tons of dust in grooves even after a cleaning and glue treatment. Played it today. I've decided that it's just noisy in general (in between tracks). No dust on my stylus and it otherwise sounded a lot crisper while playing.

 

Next up is a used copy of the Yes album. Always looked great but it too played dirty. Same as the first-no dust on the stylus and much better sound quality. 

 

Listening now to Rossini Overtures. William Tell and the famous five. This was a work colleagues album that was stored in his NJ basement for a long time. Playing much better than before.

 

i think I need to make some adjustments to my table and check some cabling. It has been so long since I've listened to vinyl due to travel and dusty conditions here.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 months later...

@DizRotus was kind enough to send me some Cyastat so I mixed up a batch today. Thanks so much Neil for all your hard work on this! Reading everything multiple times it sure sounds like you have been herding cats with everyone's questions and "improvements" on your great How-To.

 

Thought I'd share some pix of my batch so those better versed in the process can tell me if anything looks wrong and for those contemplating giving it a try; maybe the pix will help you see the process.

 

All the goods assembled. A trip to the dollar store got me a vase that I marked with a paint pen the final 500ml target volume. I can buy Everclear in MD so went with that for the alcohol, not sure if strength matters. This seemed better than 100 proof vodka which would only be half the alcohol, right? More concerns about that later but I'm probably overthinking. Vermouth for Manhattans later in the night.  Martini was all they had :(

IMG_20171202_151655810.thumb.jpg.4cd68cea4446af11ae9521f34ef2cb0d.jpg

 

All mixed up and ready for heat. Pretty white at this point seems like I'm doing it right so far.

 

IMG_20171202_161800957.thumb.jpg.6ae38e0091391b75dcc7da0c0a673d92.jpg

 

This is about 30 minutes in. White but getting clearer. I'm starting to think it is suspended bubbles not really the Elvanol suspended.

 

IMG_20171202_163928870.thumb.jpg.db0cc93bce57ebdb5d8a8fde0032cd55.jpg

 

My spoon sample seems to confirm mostly bubbles...not sure at this point if I could have quit, but I kept stirring and heating.

 

IMG_20171202_163949053.thumb.jpg.8179ba326c86bb6b87f91b792d42e0b5.jpg

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I'm almost 2 beers in at this point (about 45 minutes)....

 

IMG_20171202_164534100.thumb.jpg.f7012ffcbc21a9100ce3d1f9322983fc.jpg

 

I'm about ready to stop near the hour mark. At this point I think all I have is bubbles no Evanol particles that are undisolved

 

IMG_20171202_165648789.thumb.jpg.15087bc52b1952a7a6feb41e4efcd8f2.jpg

 

Fingers and chopstick fully gummed up.

 

IMG_20171202_170822339.thumb.jpg.576dbfc4c0c4974a88163afde886b4db.jpg

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

This is after about an hour of heating and stirring. I added all the rest of the stuff per directions to get the 500ml. I'm a bit concerned adding the alcohol when hot will cause it to boil off. I think alcohol evaporates at 170 degrees IIRC. At any rate I did not deviate from the directions. Am I overthinking it? Added photo flo, Cyastat, etc all after taking if off the heat and topped off with water.

 

IMG_20171202_170839736.thumb.jpg.df56ebb766037f6e236c8a3687dc3387.jpg

 

Ate dinner, cooled to room temp had a 3rd beer and decided to give it a go. Most things I recall reading were that people seemed to have it to thin to effectively peal off in one piece the first time. So I decided to go pretty thick in hopes of a "perfect peal" right off the bat.

 

Tried to get some pix that would show the thickness applied. Also only 4 single sides took about half of my batch. That seems like not too much yield. Did I put it on too thick? How many LP sides per standard batch are you all getting?

 

IMG_20171202_185206609.thumb.jpg.62091954a043247527726c91b716cbcd.jpg

 

IMG_20171202_185331259.thumb.jpg.a2fc0999ef001fc0f9b51cbd96700af4.jpg

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Just now, DizRotus said:

That is a bit thick.  You should be able to do twice that with practice.  In the beginning, better too much than not enough.

 

Remember, it’s critical that the Everclear goes in the slurry, rather than into the cook.

Right, I just heated water and Evanol for around an hour. My concern is that it said to take it off the heat and add the rest of the stuff. To me that read as while still hot. I'd think (not sure) that a lot of the pure alcohol would go away with it fresh off the stove. But I wanted to do what I thought the instructions said as accurate as I could. I'm not looking to roll my own...I want to duplicate your results.

 

I poured it around the LP then used foam brush to push it near the outer lip then alternated between brushing it and letting it level. I too thought it might be a bit thick. Will it always harden no matter how thick or is there a point that is actually too thick and it never hardens?

 

Thanks again for all the effort you put into this.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

×
×
  • Create New...