I've used a mixture of window cleaner ( containing ammonia ) and liquid kitchen cleaner plus some isopropyl alcohol. This mixture was diluted with distilled water. I rub it on and leave it for about 10 to 15 minutes. Then I use a fine haired brush and rub it round the grooves several times.
Then I clean off the soapy solution with a strong jet of water from the tap all round the disc . Then there is a last rinse with distilled water and I mop it up with lint free cloth and air dry it. I would prefer to vacuum it off but haven't got to that stage yet.
The disc sounds very quiet . It did amaze me. It sounded less noisy than when I had got it new many ( 26!) years ago.
If you google you will find lots of cleaning liquid recipes on the net. I had downloaded them somewhere . Can't find it right now.
Cheers,
Ashok.
Then I clean off the soapy solution with a strong jet of water from the tap all round the disc . Then there is a last rinse with distilled water and I mop it up with lint free cloth and air dry it. I would prefer to vacuum it off but haven't got to that stage yet.
The disc sounds very quiet . It did amaze me. It sounded less noisy than when I had got it new many ( 26!) years ago.
If you google you will find lots of cleaning liquid recipes on the net. I had downloaded them somewhere . Can't find it right now.
Cheers,
Ashok.
Zero One said:
fantastik is an "all-purpose" kitchen spray cleaner made by S.C. Johnson. I'm no chemist and they don't tell you what's in it. I'm guessing an alkali as it leaves ones skin feeling a bit soapy.
I just checked their website and it looks like the regular flavour of Fantastik is no longer made. It's all "oxy-power" (hydrogen peroxide) and "anti-bacterial" now.
It probably isn't available outside of North America, anyway.
Max
Hi
Until a couple of years ago I used a vacuum machine and distilled water with a little alcohol and wash up liquid. It works well.
However a few years ago I bought some records that were really dirty and the above was not up to the job of cleaning them.
Figuring that I had nothing to loose I experimented and tried more agressive cleaning methods. Some of you may find this a bit radical but the one that really worked was to spray a microfibril cloth with "armourall" and clean the record with that. This produced a clean record with no crackles.
Some years later the records are still ok - I mean they sound OK.
I have been using this on very dirty records since then. I now also use the microfibril cloth to clean records just prior to playing. It seems to clean them best if lightly misted with distilled water.
Hope this helps
Don
Until a couple of years ago I used a vacuum machine and distilled water with a little alcohol and wash up liquid. It works well.
However a few years ago I bought some records that were really dirty and the above was not up to the job of cleaning them.
Figuring that I had nothing to loose I experimented and tried more agressive cleaning methods. Some of you may find this a bit radical but the one that really worked was to spray a microfibril cloth with "armourall" and clean the record with that. This produced a clean record with no crackles.
Some years later the records are still ok - I mean they sound OK.
I have been using this on very dirty records since then. I now also use the microfibril cloth to clean records just prior to playing. It seems to clean them best if lightly misted with distilled water.
Hope this helps
Don
Here is a totally risk-free, yet extremely effective method I used years ago, on "irretrievable" LP's.
You simply have to spread a thick layer (say ~4mm) of wallpaper glue onto the whole surface of the disc (one side), but be careful to spare the label. You then leave to dry completely for some days, and when it's dry, the disc is covered with a cellophane-like film; you gently grab the film on the exterior and you pull the whole thing away. You then do the same on the other side and you will be left with a record in optimal condition, with zero additionnal degradation (it doesn't remove scratches, however).
How does it work?
The glue sticks to the dust specks and other impurities, but not to the vinyl surface. When the glue dries, all the foreign materials become captured in the film and can easily be removed, even the deeply incrusted ones.
Some words of caution:
The glue I'm talking about is the regular, cheapest water-based one: it is in the form of flakes or small granules you have to dissolve in large quantities of water. Be careful not to choose one with adhesion-enhancer or additive or anything (the prepared mix has to be a transparent gelly; musn't be whitish). I advise you make a test on a non-important record first: you want to be sure there is no adhesion on the vinyl and you also need it to form a resistant, uniform film you can easily pull in one piece. You have to try to make the layer as uniform as possible, otherwise the heterogeneities will increase the risk of the film fragmenting.
If some fragments remain on the surface, you can always recover them using adhesive tape; be careful to touch only the covered parts, not the bare surface of the disc.
Cheers
LV
You simply have to spread a thick layer (say ~4mm) of wallpaper glue onto the whole surface of the disc (one side), but be careful to spare the label. You then leave to dry completely for some days, and when it's dry, the disc is covered with a cellophane-like film; you gently grab the film on the exterior and you pull the whole thing away. You then do the same on the other side and you will be left with a record in optimal condition, with zero additionnal degradation (it doesn't remove scratches, however).
How does it work?
The glue sticks to the dust specks and other impurities, but not to the vinyl surface. When the glue dries, all the foreign materials become captured in the film and can easily be removed, even the deeply incrusted ones.
Some words of caution:
The glue I'm talking about is the regular, cheapest water-based one: it is in the form of flakes or small granules you have to dissolve in large quantities of water. Be careful not to choose one with adhesion-enhancer or additive or anything (the prepared mix has to be a transparent gelly; musn't be whitish). I advise you make a test on a non-important record first: you want to be sure there is no adhesion on the vinyl and you also need it to form a resistant, uniform film you can easily pull in one piece. You have to try to make the layer as uniform as possible, otherwise the heterogeneities will increase the risk of the film fragmenting.
If some fragments remain on the surface, you can always recover them using adhesive tape; be careful to touch only the covered parts, not the bare surface of the disc.
Cheers
LV
I recently started listening to my old vinyl collection again but many many records have a very distracting continuous swroosh noise on them all over.I don´t really remember this being so bad but maybe my ears are accustomed to cd now.Anyway I tried to clean these with a combination of about 1/3 isopropyl alcohol 2/3 deionized distilled water plus some drops of detergent with a soft paint brush for a few minutes and take the excess with toilet paper.
This only helped a little,the continuous noise is there even in records that seem to be in good condition.I am still surprised how much difference there is between these noisy records and some that are quite acceptable and some excellent.How come pressings have so much variation --or are my records damaged by some kind of mould that does not come off?
This only helped a little,the continuous noise is there even in records that seem to be in good condition.I am still surprised how much difference there is between these noisy records and some that are quite acceptable and some excellent.How come pressings have so much variation --or are my records damaged by some kind of mould that does not come off?
What do you think of this product- the testimonials and audio file proof seem really extravagant.
http://members.ozemail.com.au/~mawd/TVS-3.htm
http://members.ozemail.com.au/~mawd/TVS-3.htm
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