ZeroStat

Hi Adrian,

I remember them. Weren't they based on those gas cooker lighters?

If I remember correctly, you cleaned the record with a cleaning cloth and then you'd "zap" the record with the zerostat to remove the static you just generated by wiping with the cloth?

I have an old Cecil Watts disk preener that's older than some of the people I know

A cylindrical device about 4 inches long, covered with a soft velvety pad; it has a tube filled with some crystals which should be activated by a few drops of water.

I remember having to use it all the time in a bid to get rid of the clicks and pops, but then I made my discovery about amp speed, and since implementing it in a phono stage, I don't need to clean my records anywhere near as often.

I've tried several ways of explaining why but I think I may have worded it in a more understandable way in my article  All About The Phono Preamp.

Worth a read?

Graham, how true - gas lighters

hmmmmm ?? - I don't think so
IIRC that recommendation may well have come from no lesser authority than Rega as provided with their turntables, my feeling is that this statement, which came with several caveats relating to handling, storage and playback, is often taken out of that context as a blanket recommendation.  I also feel that it was made at a time when the usual source of vinyl was as a new purchase rather than the dubious origins of most of my current collection.
IMO playing dusty records is likely to have the effect of embedding the dust in the vinyl - noise during playback is from the stylus riding over the dust - if it merely swept it aside it would reproduce the music of the groove.
The minute contact area of stylus and groove is subject to enormous pressure in terms of PSI - a force, I am led to believe, sufficient to cause momentary softening/melting of the vinyl.   
Abrasive papers are manufactured by gluing hard particles to a substrate of softer material.  Interestingly in this respect, dissimilar metal bearing surfaces (eg crankshaft bearings) will wear the harder material before the softer due to the abrasive particles becoming embedded in the softer metal.
Certainly it will sweep up lighter fluff and lint etc, but not, I think, heavier and harder particles.
Smokers (and users of open fires) will also have noted the deposit of smoke film on most surfaces, this sticky residue will also retain dust particles.
It is claimed, and I do not dispute it, that even new records have a residue of mold release agents that it is good to remove.

I have found wet washing with Disc Dr brushes and cleaner followed by distilled water rinse and air dry to remove a significant amount (occasionally almost all) of surface noise and my feeling (apart from the obvious sonic benefit) is that this must be of long term benefit to the longevity of both my records and stylus.

If only for the improvement in reproduction, I would continue my regimen of washing, but I would also note here, that occasionally I have a record stick in a groove and refuse to continue play (you have all experienced this I expect), I find that, even if no obvious surface residue appears to be in the area of the problem, giving the record a good scrub as above, will invariably cure the problem, it follows therefore, that residues capable of stopping effective playback/causing skipping/track jumping can be both not apparent to the unaided eye but also removeable by washing.
WRT to static buildup, my experience has been that the carbon brushes generate as much as they remove, good quality antistatic sleeves seem to reduce this problem to almost insignificance and for the occasional disc that raises the hairs on my forearm when I handle it, I do find the Zerostat effective.  I do not have air conditioning which seems to exacerbate the static problem.
Could I afford it I would probably invest in a vacuum assisted cleaning machine.