Personally, I don't scrub hard - just firmly. But for really dirty vintage vinyl, scrubbing isn't the thing. The right fluid is. In my experience, there are two that really, really work well with vintage records - Nitty Gritty Pure 2 and Disc Doctor (which needs to be dluted). In most cases of truly dirty vinyl, where there are no obvious scratches, I find that one fluid won't do it alone, and one pass won't do it either.
Record cleaning - what's your method?
- Thread starter lazylistener
- Start date
AnthonyI
Well-Known Member
Chisto Easy Groove Concentrate
For record cleaning machines. For all types of records from LPs to ancient 78 RPM shellacs. Quick and convenient way to keep your records at its best.
highend-electronics.com
wmeugene
Well-Known Member
Its pretty straight forward.
I'd both wipe clean and air dry - getting a dish drying rack is a good idea. I find that I can use one towel for 2-4 records before it is too wet.
The spin clean is for batch drying, so I'd make sure you have the records ready to go (I usually pull them out in advance - my dish rack holds 9 lps).
Distilled water and the solutionas instructed, 3 turns each way, cloth wipe and air dry.
Mrjay07
Member
Is the Spin-Clean solution good for dirtier records? Also, can I used de-ionised water or does it have to be distilled?
wmeugene
Well-Known Member
It has definitely helped with dirty records.
Can't answer the water question, I don't have any experience with de-ionised water - I just buy the distilled water jugs from the grocery store.
Thackeraye
Well-Known Member
I use the deionised water you can get from Asda in their homecare/car section. Pretty cheap at around £2. Does the job. I'd also look out for a dishes dryer or something where you can let your records air dry after cleaning - you'll definitely need to do that.
Chisto Easy Groove is perfect as far as I can tell. It’s noticeably better than TTVJ.
Mrjay07
Member
I've picked up 1 Ltd from Amazon but will get some from Asda long term. I've already added spares to a shopping list as well as lint free cloths.
Thanks.
Make sure to wash the cloths without detergent. You don’t want to introduce unknown chemicals or grit in the case of powdered detergents.
Also, don’t pay attention to how many records you can clean with one batch of fluid. 10–15 is about it. You’ll understand when you see all of the shit that accumulates at the bottom of the vat.
Rowan
Well-Known Member
So those with something like Project VC-s2 or another cleaner that rotates the record both clockwise and anticlockwise... if you accidentally set it of on it's first rotation anti-clockwise (where you'd normally go clockwise first) do you think 'it's still spinning with fluid on so I'll just keep it going' or, like me 'no way can i deal with that' before stopping the machine and setting it off again in the opposite direction before you start brushing in the liquid.
Trying to work out if its just me that has issues
Trying to work out if its just me that has issues
Mrjay07
Member
Yeah, I figured on a much lower number.
Luckily I've just bought 2 x 8nplate racks so 16 will be my absolute maximum per batch.
Rowan
Well-Known Member
I think the habit is burnt in so hard that anything that is a departure seems insurmountable... or just obscenely weird. It would be a bit like putting your right shoe on before your left. I mean who does that!It’s just you.
It really doesn’t matter which direction you start.
Me?
Rowan
Well-Known Member
You're an animal, man. That's sick
Joe Mac
Well-Known Member
De ionized water is fine. I’ve been using the 5l jugs from Halfords that cost less than a fiver. The dirtier the record the more spins you give it. Some really dirty second hand ones I’ve given 10 to 15 spins in each direction as opposed to the 5 each way for new. Other tips would be make sure that you thoroughly dry with cloths before the air dry!
You really can’t tell how dirty a record is. The nastiest I’ve ever seen looked bad (new from VMP) but plenty of “clean” albums proved otherwise when run through the SC.