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Record Cleaning Machines.

And now....

Cleaning Fluids.

I have not yet used my new Pro-ject VC-E. This mostly because I couldn't find any distilled water. Then a good friend told me he has Distilled Water in 25 litre drums and will happily donate a few litres.. so that's that solved. He also gave a me a spray bottle of L'Art Du Son' cleaner..ready made up... Another friend gave me a couple of syringes..useful for drawing up small measures of 'neat' cleaning fluid for mixing.

...which got me to discussing cleaning fluids with a few people... and bear in mind that I still have the unopened 'Wash-It' which came with the machine.

What I learned was that some think L'Art Du Son is the best thing ever, whilst some others think it's crap.

Some use Isopropyl. Some think it's crap/bad for records.

Some swear by the addition of not only a 'surfactant'.. but a very specific one.. (Oddly my understanding of surfactants points to them being already present in most cleaning solutions.. though possibly not in a simple distilled water/isopropyl mix.)

Some see cleaning as cleaning, with incidental reduction in noise and stylus wear.

Some see cleaning as an upgrade...and listen intently to the difference between single, double and triple distilled water..with assorted cleaning fluids..

Jeez... :eek:

So.. might as well get it all out of the way now...

What does the team think?
 
You can grow some pretty funky mold with L’Art du Son cleaning fluid. To avoid this, the trick is to really clean out the bottle that you use for the diluted solution (hot water, soap, and a bottle brush) between batches. That should help deal with the mold growth. Also, keep the concentrate in the fridge.

HTH
 
I don’t bother with distilled water Mull as I have used RO water for coffee and all my drinking and cooking for years. Hence I use that with the Project fluid in a small plastic bottle with pipette. Works great and I’m not getting the gunk build on the stylus that I used to get years ago when I made my own cleaner with water, isopropyl and wetting agent.
 
Everything's on ebay Mull. The wash-it fluid seems pretty good but I've only been using it for 8 or 9 months (maybe 700 sides). I might buy it again when the current bottle is done but I'll probably make my own with Tween20 or Tergitol and distilled water. The current trend is to avoid alcohol but I've never had a problem with it (50% IPA, 50% distilled water and a drop of two of tween20 as a wetting agent.) I don't believe a single wash damages vinyl but be sure that it's fully dry before playing or storing. It's also very handy to mix your solution in a wash bottle (ebay) and make a little mark on the clamp with sharpie so that you can count the revs. It's good to know what you have done if you feel you need to improve the method. Old records - I settled on 10 revs in each direction and 10 seconds with the vacuum - brand new records maybe just 3 revs. I will occasionally use my alcohol mix if the wash-it has not done the job and and straight into a poly lined bag when dry. After that a good anti-static brush before each play. BTW you never need to empty the waste tank it always evaporates. The clear plastic disc is to avoid condensation rising from the tank owing to heat generated by the internals. It's only 'necessary' when cleaning multiple records - you'll see if the underside is fogging over.
 
Regarding L'Art du son, you have to keep it cool (in the fridge) & in the dark; obviously, keeping your tools & containers clean is essential too.
 
With the ProJect VCE my tip is to only use the plastic disc under the just cleaned side of the record so that it doesn't end up with any dust, so side 1 directly on to the platter, side 2, use the disc.
 
Paul L said:
I can imagine that our leader ( @Tony L ) is a bit of an expert on this
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FWIW I’m remarkably non-fussy! The whole point of a good wet vacuum cleaner is you don’t leave the solution on the record, all it is there for is to enable you to wet-scrub and suspend the crud so it can all be removed in the suction cycle. Another thing is not all records are the same, e.g. if you are cleaning a brand new record fresh out of the shrink you may use a different technique or even solution to say a nicotine & cannabis-glazed ‘70s prog album. My default mix is one third 99% isopropyl, two thirds distilled or purified water, and just a drop or two of regular Fairy Liquid as a wetting agent (I mix 5L at a time so this really is a trace element, but it does stop the solution ‘clumping’ on the surface). I have a little squirty spray bottle of pure isopropyl so I can increase strength on particularly dirty records, i.e. I just spray a bit more on already wet records.

To be honest your brush and brushing technique is way more important than the solution IME. My current weapon of choice is the Tonar Wet Goat, though small DIY paint pads are very good too.
 
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I have been suing the Okki Nokki cleaning fluid with my Okki Nokki One. I can't really fault it to be honest, not so far anyway. The bottle also acts as an applicator. many others highly rate "The Right One" from MCRU that I might try further down the road but it is a lot more expensive.
 
There’s very little wrong with the ProJect cleaning fluid. It does the job bloomin’ well.
If I was a record dealer, needing to wash loads every month, I could justify mixing up my own concoction in bulk.
But for my situation, with 10 albums a month max needing cleaning, the ProJect stuff fits the bill perfectly.
 
Interesting..
I agree with Tony that the most important part of the process is the vacuuming... everything else can be done manually and the disc rinsed with distilled water, but it's vacuuming off the loosened crud which is key. That should also leave your disc very nearly dry. One friend has purchased a drying stand for his records..but that to me is just another thing I don't have space for.

As for L'Art Du Son. The bottle of pre-mixed stuff donated by a friend had some mould in it. Actually it looks more like some sort of green algae. He thinks it's not an issue and won't do any harm and just said to keep the stuff in the dark. I filtered it through kitchen paper in a funnel and it then looked clear as a bell. It's been in the dark for a few days and still looks clear. But then another friend said just don't use it..as it smears records and 'flattens' the sound.

I guess it's going to be a case of 'suck it and see'.
 
After years of trying many homemade concoctions, I have stuck with the same mix for a year or so now.
Distilled water with biological clothes washing liquid, a few drops. Cheapest version you can find.
Shake the liquid before use. It requires very little washing liquid.
Once dry it is usually fine, but a rinse bath of just distilled water can have a positive effect.

Very cheap to try.

(I have done the IPA, photographic wetting agents etc. routes previously )

The key for me is long soaking times for grubby vinyl. And being prepared to repeat everything.

Also an inspection and use of Scotch Magic tape which will often lift off reluctant specs of dirt.
 
Mullardman said:
In conclusion..may I repeat my thanks to all contributors, whilst re-inforcing a principle which is expressed more and more among those of us who are perhaps the more aged representatives of what is already a largely 'old beardy blokes' hobby..

We reach a point where endless comparisons.and wittering on about minute perceived differences in sound, become issues for which we no longer have time. In my own case I am now experienceing better hi-fi sound than I have ever heard in my 72 years. I'm happy. I just want a basically competent record cleaner at a sensible price.

Finally, nobody has mentioned clean sleeves in which to put the cleaned record. So I'll now ask about those. Please don't tell me Brand X 'Sounds better' than Brand Y, but by all means recommend good sleeves, reliable suppliers, etc.

Thanks again.
Click to expand...

As I mentioned in my earlier post, I put all cleaned records into fresh Nagaoka sleeves. These sleeves then fit neatly inside either plain or picture inner sleeves. They seem to be widely available and aren't too "spendy".
 
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deebster said:
Yeah, vacuum machines are noisy, but most aren't that noisy. My VCS isn't as loud as the house vacuum cleaner, and I can easily sit next to it to operate it without needing any ear protection or feeling it's uncomfortably loud.
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My VPI 16.5 is, unscientifically, twice as noisy as my house vacuum. It makes an awful, awful racket. I have a set of headphone style ear protectors that does not leave its side; my ears will ring when I’m done if I don’t use them. This is not an exaggeration. It cleans very well, and has served me well for about 17 years, but the second I find a quieter - or, preferably, quiet - solution, it’s going up for sale.
 
I hear you. But not it, thankfully. :D

Shouldn't have said 'most' in my post, having only ever heard mine. Was just going from what I read on here.
 
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