Cleaning Records

[Laudanum]

Just to add my 2 cents here.  I bought, I think what was the basic model Nitty Gritty a decade ago.  It was on sale at AA for what I think was between 100 and 150 at the time.   Everything is manual and there is no platter, just the disc.  Nothing you couldnt do by hand with the exception of the vacuum.  I cant compare it to anything else but it works wonders compared to just using the a Discwasher type method.  I was really impressed by how well it worked on my old vinyl in terms of ticks and pops and keeping the stylus from gunking up.  But it's effectiveness is all in how you clean the records and it is LOUD.  Rather than the included velour type bursh I use these microfiber pads which seem to do a much better job of getting into the grooves withou any damage.   I also was using a formula for a home made cleaning solution that did seem a little better than the available Nitty Gritty solution available at the time.  However, the packaged solution did seem to work fine with a little more work (and I still have an unopened bottle of it).   Im sure that the more expensive machines work better and they are definitely faster and more convienent.  But that little machine does a good job of sucking the records dry and it still works great.  I wonder if using the spin clean to clean the records and then using my old Nitty Gritty to vacuum them dry would work well and make less work of it too.  I'll have to look into this.

I think that a manual machine is a worthwhile investment for those on a budget.  It was easily the best purchase I've made in terms of LP cleaning. 
But ... Did I mention that it is LOUD  :-)

Question for anyone who knows ... is anyone still making a budget vacuum machine under 200 these days?  Because even at the sub 150 dollar mark, that machine is way overpriced for what you got.  Not in terms of effectiveness but in terms of it basically being a wooden box with a brush a manually rotatable puck and a small internal vacuum.

[Grainger49]

For a vacuum machine in that price range you will have to make one yourself.  I have seen guys make a vacuum pickup out of a painting pad and a wet/dry vacuum.  The combination on any turntable would dry just about any LP once it has been cleaned.

BTW, I also believe you should rinse after cleaning.

[Laudanum]

Well, thankfully Im all set.  I cant believe that someone doesnt make something like my old basic model for about the same price.  I know things have gone up but for what it is, the price would still be inflated today.

[cpaul]

I just watched the video of the OP and I find it interesting how careful he is about using a variety of techniques to clean the record, yet he then places it carelessly on the platter for the second side, sliding it across the cork mat.  Also sticking his hands inside the "rice paper" sleeve, wiping his fingers (which always have oil on them) along the brush AND the velour vacuum tube.  And his rinse is being distributed by a "soapy" brush, thereby undoing the work of the rinse.

So careful yet at the same time so careless.  Not that I judge him.  I too find it hard to be so careful.  But in the end, some of the handling simply weakens the careful cleaning that he argues is needed.  That's partly why I think so many different approaches end up resulting in such similar results.  Unless one is truly obsessive about cleaning methods, there's only so far they can go toward cleaning records.

[Grainger49]

As my mother used to say, "Youth is wasted on the young."

I like the word compulsive.  I'm compulsive and I'm an engineer.  You want your engineers to be compulsive and your surgeons to be perfectionists.

Stepping down from the soap box now...

[booangler]

Look at this



I do know this is for sale but I am not sure how to reach the creator of it.

Cheers, Alan

[porcupunctis]

booangler, that looks pretty cool and easy to build.  I've got an old turntable up in the attic and a wet/dry vac that I was about to throw away.  I think I've just found a project for them both.  I'm a chunk of PVC pipe away from having an awesome record cleaner.

That was some good fishing.

[Noskipallwd]

Hello,
My first post, looking forward to receiving my Crack next week. I also use the VPI 16.5, I have modified mine though. I added a 4.5" ventilation fan with a switch, allows me to clean longer. The spindle doesn't even get hot anymore! I also replaced the cork mats with a piece of 60 Duro neoprene. Less chance of contaminating a clean side than with the cork, and you can clean it. IMHO the most important component of a RCM is the cleaning fluid. I have tried everything, including DIY. The best I have found, hands down, is the AI 3 step system from Osage Audio. It uses an enzymatic fluid, cleaning fluid and ultra pure water rinse, I don't purchase the water as I have access to medical-grade reagent water at work. I use one brush and suction tube for each step. The records end up completely quiet, so quiet it will reveal problems in your system you have not heard before. At last count I have around 2000 records in my collection, so cleaning is very important to me.

Cheers,
Shawn

[Grainger49]

Shawn,

Sounds like you have read several threads by Mark and me over at AudioKarma.  Mark even had a special platter built for him and put the neoprene on it.

[Wanderer]

Well, thankfully Im all set.  I cant believe that someone doesnt make something like my old basic model for about the same price.  I know things have gone up but for what it is, the price would still be inflated today.

I, too, have an early NG 1 and approximatly the same machine is available but for circa $300 street price. List price is nearer $400. I agree it does a fine job for clearing and agree it seems a tad high priced. However Nitty Gritty is very good about support and very responsive when contacted.

There is a machine for circa $160 but you must provide the vacuum. Rumor says Nitty Gritty makes it for KAB.

http://www.kabusa.com/frameset.htm?/rcleaner.htm    

...and  if your NG1 does not have roller bearings under the platter consider the KAB "Gliding Platter" upgrade.    

[Paully]

That roller bearing is an absolute must if you have a Nitty Gritty.  I have a roller bearing and sometimes the record would stick when I am turning it due to the downward pressure (without the roller bearing it was much, much worse).  I have taken to turning the record by its sides while vacuuming and forgoing putting the big plastic cap on the record at all.  It just makes turning the record that much easier and smoother.

[Noskipallwd]

Hey Grainger,
Yes, I have seen both yours and Mark's mods. Alot of inspiration at Audio Karma, thanks. Unlike Mark, I wasn't willing to go as far as having a custom platter made, his is great though. I had a KAB record clamp sittin around, so I butchered it and mounted a VPI clamp in it and covered the record contact surface with some softer neoprene, so much easier than the little stock clamp. FYI, or anyones for that matter, I found I could buy the much cheaper replacement brushes for the auto VPI models and just make handles out of some decent scrap wood. About half the price of the 16.5 replacements.

Cheers,

Shawn

[Grainger49]

Shawn,

I use both the stock center knurled screw and the stock HW-19 old model Plexiglas clamp made to be used with the knurled screw.  If there is an warp in the LP it is minimized at worse and flattened at best on both the HW-19 and the 16.5.

I talked to Jim Pendleton, a real gentleman, at Osage and he suggested the one step cleaner (#15) followed by the Ultra Pure rinse.  It has been the most effective cleaning routine I have ever used.  I started with the original, early 70s, herringbone fabric Diskwasher, a Preener and a Dust Bug.  I still have a Revox Groove Clean, copy of the Dust Bug, that is used all the time.

[Noskipallwd]

Thanks Grainger,
I will give the one step method a try, would save me some cash. I bought a copy of the Dust Bug as well, I love the thing. We get alot of wind coming around the Mountains and through the valley I live in here in Colorado so it tends to be really dusty. We have a Millipore reagent grade water machine at the Hospital lab I work in, and they don't mind if I grab a gallon here or there so that saves me on the utltra-pure rinse. Plus I perform the maintenance on the machine, including a culture for microbes weekly, which satisfies my obsessive, compulsive mind of it's purity. My girlfriend accused me of having OCD, I told her I would but the acronym letters were not in alphabetical order! haha...

Cheers,

Shawn Prigmore

[Grainger49]

I just go with the "Compulsive" part and try not to get obsessive.  Otherwise I would be using the three step AIVS cleaning system that MarkD51 uses.