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Record cleaning

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lfc jon View Drop Down
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    Posted: 04 Jun 2020 at 9:20pm
Hi all
I have just put an order in for some vinyl record cleaning fluid. I use, Vinyl Revival, It's a two step cleaner - step 1 Clean fluid step 2 Rinse fluid and I find it vary good but being manual it is slow and time consuming but like I said it is good
I have been thinking of one of the record cleaning machines ( the hand turn ones) But I don't know what one to get. I would like one of the powered ones but they are expensive, I know they are the best to get but I can't afford them and I wont use it that often as I store my records properly and always put them back in their sleeves after I have played them
I think this question may have been asked before but can't find it.
I like to play my records not SPEND TIME cleaning them. 
Any thoughts out there what's best

Jonathan
 
Reflex M, Solo (both with PSU-1) CuSat50, Lautus, Spatia & Spatia links cables. Ortofon Bronze.
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TimW View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote TimW Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 10 Jun 2020 at 10:44am
Hi Jonathan,

I too would like to go to full on (motorised) record cleaning machine eventually, but you're right they are expensive. The cheapest one seems to be the P******t and they go right into the £thousands.

For the meantime I've got one of the Knosti hand turn ones. There are several similar models that all do the same thing in a similar way. This works well and gets rid of the surface dust, dirt, etc and also the static. I then stick them in anti-static plastic inners. No more felt mat sticking to records on the turntable.

I've tried a few brands of cleaning fluid and some seem to leave more of a residue as they don't dry / evaporate as quickly, so you get a little surface noise at the beginning of a side. I've gone back to the stuff that comes with the machine. You can re-use the fluid and there's a filter so you can tip the fluid back into the bottle. How many times you do this depends on how dirty your records are in the first place!

The drying rack has space for 7 records, so I'm going to get another one of these, so I can do more in one sitting. Otherwise you've got to wait for the first batch to dry before doing the second batch.

It's particularly effective at getting rid of the static on brand new records and great for getting any dirt, smudges and fingerprints off second hand stuff. As soon as a record comes through my door it joins the queue!

It's quite therapeutic cleaning a few records especially the satisfying sheen on black vinyl.

Tim.
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lfc jon View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote lfc jon Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 10 Jun 2020 at 12:03pm
Hi Tim
Thank you 
I have just had a quick look at it I do like the clamp it seems to cover the record label as well I like that . 
How is It like to get replacement fluid or parts, As a mate has one and he could not find the fluid and ended up getting some other and it's not so good he tells me.
Has the fluid got alcohol in it as I have read good and bad things about using it. the stuff I use to clean by hand as none in it, it is good but as I said time consuming

Jonathan

Reflex M, Solo (both with PSU-1) CuSat50, Lautus, Spatia & Spatia links cables. Ortofon Bronze.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote fluddite Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 10 Jun 2020 at 12:04pm
Hi Both

Motorised is great if you have a large enough collection of vinyl (NOT shellac!!!) and/or buy enough new stuff to justify the initial outlay.

I decided to go mad at the end of last year and buy a Moth cleaner direct from SRM/TECH as my Crimbles present to myself. I've not regretted it. Now the ritual of cleaning-the-new-purchase-or-old-faithful directly precedes the ritual of putting-it-on-the-turnable-and-cranking-the-system-up Smile.

Of course, it won't work complete miracles - I've tried cleaning stuff that remained beyond redemption (staticky, popped, worn and scarred) afterwards. But it did - to take one recent example - convert an unlistenable bargain-bin copy of Meaty, Beaty, Big & Bouncy to a very pleasing artifact that I could happily give to my daughter.

As for fluids - there are plenty of homemade recipes on t'internet involving (mostly) isopropyl alcohol and distilled water. I suspect I'll try some of those when the Moth supply runs out Thumbs Up.

frank
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote TimW Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 10 Jun 2020 at 2:26pm
I've read about a few homemade recipes for cleaning fluid online. I've even bought ingredients (isopropyl, wetting agent, distilled water), but never got round to knocking it up. They're just sitting in the garage on the shelf next to a couple of cans of spray paint and some tomato feed.

The new bottles of fluid for my cleaner are easy enough to get hold of online. As are spare or extra parts. A few of the online DJ-centric retailers do all the bits separately.

Regarding what's in the fluid, some fluids have alcohol, some don't. The one I have smells pretty boozy, but there's no ingredients listed. Closely guarded secret or something! Plus I'm not going to drink it to find out. Those "experimental" days are behind me now.

You could probably use your current fluid of choice with a manual cleaning machine Jonathan.

Nice Christmas present by the way Frank! One day I'll take the plunge for a motorised one but for now I'll have to get by turning records by hand in a mini bath of unknown chemicals.

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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote patientot Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 10 Jun 2020 at 6:32pm
The RCM I use is the Squeak Clean MKIII. 

https://squeakycleanvinyl.com/products/squeakycleanvinyl-mk-iii

These are 3d printed, manual RCMs from Canada where you turn the record by hand and supply your own mini-shop vac. All in the cost is less than $200 USD. I was able to special order an extra vac-wand, so my machine has two-one for cleaning and one for rinse cycles. 

I have been through many methods of DIY cleaning, homebrew fluids, etc and they all turned out to be a waste of time, at least for me. The records never got as clean as I wanted them to be and I ended up re-cleaning them all. Actually the Spin Clean device worked better than any DIY stuff I tried, but the RCM was again much better. 

The fluid I use is Audio Intelligent brand #15. It's a very strong cleaner and may be overkill for some folks. They make a less strong cleaner called #6, which some folks may prefer, especially if they are not cleaning very dirty records. But I'm anal and so I use the #15. 

For rinsing I use distilled water from the grocery store. I usually do 1 cleaning cycle and 2 rinse cycles per side. Yes it is a little time consuming especially considering the #15 needs to soak for 4-5 minutes to work properly.

If time is a concern, you may want to look into a DIY ultrasonic kit. You can clean the records in batches on a spindle and automatically dry them as well. I have seen kits for around $600 but they do require some DIY spirit and know how to put together and get working properly. Full auto ultrasonic cleaning machines are very expensive, e.g. $4K. 
SL-1200 MK7 (modified) + Reflex M + PSU-1 used with AT150-40ML, AT VM95ML, Stanton 680mkII + Ogura, and Shure M35X cartridges.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote TimW Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 11 Jun 2020 at 8:31pm
I like it. Entertaining video as well. I did a bit of checking about the wet/dry vac prices. They're not as cheap in the UK as over the pond. No doubt some well-known discount supermarkets will, at some point, be flogging off own brand vacs!
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