Lonelobo Posted February 15, 2008 Share Posted February 15, 2008 Just occured to me that some of what I take for granted may not be obvious to others. For one, the closest audiophile maintenance and repair shop is the Home Depot down the street. To point, this is what I have found so far: 1) Almost all the ingredients for a very affordable Vinyl Record cleaning solution in the cleaning dept. (Very cheap too) I don't believe in "magic" solutions, so don't even go there. 2) Microfiber Cloths, carried in bulk in the cleaning section, are awesome for cleaning lps and cds and almost all stereo components. For vinyl, I use one wet and one dry, followed by a carbon fiber brush. The dust is trapped in the microfibers and you don't end up chasing it around and around....you KNOW what I mean. You must keep these meticulously clean...once a piece of hard grit gets trapped, it will scratch your records. But they are washable and in a washing machine will release their cargo of dust etc. I use these to clean the eyepieces and lens' of $65K HD Video Cameras...I think they're good enough for my $40 audiophile lps. 3) Amazing Goop is well...amazing. Best way to describe this stuff is latex epoxy. I have a Grace Tonearm that needed repair and I needed a glue that would allow the decoupled counter weight shaft design to remain accoustically decoupled. Several techs across the pond told me what they used over there. Problem is, that product is not sold here in the U.S. Amazing Goop is the North American Equivalent. Also used to replace Blu-Tac when I want the install to be permanent or semi-permanent, ie. vibrapods, etc. This stuff comes in multiple formulations and dries to a pliable "vulcanized rubber" consistency. And it holds very tightly...amazing. But you can slice it with a razor blade if you change your mind. These are just the few things I've found there recently. I'm sure there are many more. If you know of any, share the wealth. If you have other "off label" sources of audiophile supplies, gadgets, etc. let us all know so we can save a few bucks. Oh, just remembered, I got a bunch of metric set screws (tiny) for the same Grace Tonearm at an aircraft supply/hardware/repair store online. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Islander Posted February 15, 2008 Share Posted February 15, 2008 Good tips! Is that Amazing Goop stuff sort of like that rubbery glue that's used to attach credit cards to the letters they come with? I used a product called Hermefix to mount photos temporarily, since it can be removed without leaving a residue on the back of the prints. It's also good for attaching speakers to stands and to the top of a TV, without leaving a residue or damaging the surface when it's removed. Only problem is that it's no longer imported to Canada, so if Amazing Goop does the same job, it would come in handy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daddy Dee Posted February 15, 2008 Share Posted February 15, 2008 who knew? I've been a fan of Home Depot for speaker wire for some time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mallette Posted February 15, 2008 Share Posted February 15, 2008 I prefer the Audiophile department at Victorias Secret. BTW...not sure what your disc washer mix is like, but I've been using a couple of drops of Ivory liquid in warm water to good effect for many years. Available in the Audiophile department of Kroger. Dave Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Groomlakearea51 Posted February 15, 2008 Share Posted February 15, 2008 I prefer the Audiophile department at Victorias Secret. I tried that excuse.... once.... Glad to see someone else got caught.....[6] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joshnich Posted February 15, 2008 Share Posted February 15, 2008 I have not tried the micro fiber cloths from home depot so my comments are not specifically directed at the ones that they sell. I would be cautious with micro fiber cloths. There are some that are good and some not so good. I am pretty meticulous when it comes to cleaning and polishing my cars. I know there are microfiber cloths that will leave micro scratches. The good ones will not but they are not all good. I am saying just be cautious. Josh Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Audio Flynn Posted February 15, 2008 Share Posted February 15, 2008 who knew? I've been a fan of Home Depot for speaker wire for some time. I like using the Home Depot speaker wire when I attend the Audio Karma show. Takes the myscticism out of the sound. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lonelobo Posted February 16, 2008 Author Share Posted February 16, 2008 Amazing Goop is more for permanent attachment, not so good as "removeable". At under $4 a tube, it may be worth buying a tube just to try it out on something less than priceless.The instructions for Amazing Goop read like those for contact cement. IE. put a layer on both surfaces, allow to dry a bit and then attach. My interest was a glue that would bond metal to rubber...and for that it works like a charm. Because I needed to slide the counterweight shaft onto the tonearm I could not follow the directions exactly. So I experimented first by taking a slick anodized caribeener and a piece of rubber and simply gluing them together in one operation. Results in a very strong bond that is flexible. YRMV Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jacksonbart Posted February 18, 2008 Share Posted February 18, 2008 Is it located next to the paint section? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lonelobo Posted February 19, 2008 Author Share Posted February 19, 2008 I found Amazing Goop in with the cleaning supplies once and with the epoxies and glues another. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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