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Clean a stylus with methyl vinyl polysiloxane?

GrooveTickler said:
Use a dry stylus brush. Avoid fluids of any kind. Admittedly, I see the worst, probably the effects of overuse. Fluids corrode aluminum cantilevers and cause them to lose the diamond once the corrosion is bad enough. They migrate up the cantilever and in the worst cases can destroy the insulation layer on coils and attach the soft carbon steel music wire suspension spring that is central to most MC designs and cause it to corrode and break. Usually when this happens, there is ample evidence of over saturation.

Gels, also perhaps from overuse, cause a buildup that is very stubborn. I end up having to remove the hardened, crusted buildup with a razor blade.

You literally cannot overuse a dry stylus brush. You should use a good quality stylus brush dry after every side. Just give a good swipe back to front before dropping the needle when you begin a new side. This assumes you keep your records clean and dry.

I use dry Mr Clean MagicEraser because it works like a brush but it a little bit more able to remove every trace of debris and microscopic fibers, but this is because I photograph styli every day for my work and they must be spotless—more clean than necessary to play well.

NEVER USE ACETONE or harsh solvents. Most diamonds are held in place with either epoxy or cyanoacrylate. Acetone melts both of these compounds. You are asking to lose your diamond and quickly. If you haven’t lost it yet, perhaps it’s because you use very little. That will actually soften the epoxy or cyanoacrylate, which may reharden again once the acetone evaporates. But even then, you risk causing the diamond to move out of proper position.
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I was literally just going to post that an expert retipper has many times stated to "avoid any gel or liquid cleaner"....and here you are explaining it better than I ever could. I stopped using LP#9 because of your advice. Dry brush and Magic Eraser now for me. Awesome Joe!
 
onlyconnect said:
Interesting that Audio Technica offers something similar:

www.audio-technica.com

AT617a

The AT617a cartridge stylus cleaner is a specially formulated polyurethane gel that gently removes dirt particles from the stylus tip when the stylus is lowered onto it. The gel’s surface is ...
www.audio-technica.com www.audio-technica.com
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I use this product on my AT stylus, not frequently but every couple of months perhaps. I had heard the fuss about how awful it is to use such things on stylii and then thought, well its made by Audio Technica, how bad can it go? So I bought it on the advice of the dealer to help me with my awful sounding vinyl set up.

It is literally the biggest vinyl upgrade I have ever had. (LP12, Ekos 1, AT-VM740ML, Trilogy 906). And no I do not work for audio technica.
 
Alex S said:
Acetone will travel up the cantilever very quickly and is very good at melting glue, but may not reach if you use very little. I certainly wouldn’t have it anywhere near an expensive cart.
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I understand. But I’ve cleaned irreplaceable cartridges like that. Obviously I am not ham-fisted.
 
paulfromcamden said:
Can well believe that clean records and a clean stylus are about the best upgrades anyone can have.
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But only from the very low base of having dirty records and stylus; hardy what I'd call an upgrade. More like facilitating the potential that's already there.

Reading all these posts re. stylus cleaning (an old and oft-repeated subject of threads), it would be enlightening, I feel, if posters can say whether their methods follow RCM cleaned records or otherwise, and, i.m.e., once cleaned, only the very gradual build-up of air-borne detritus (i.e. dust) and the occasional hair will require remedial action on the stylus.

The cantilevers, at least the boron ones, do get coated in fine dust which must affect its movement, however slight this may be. Wonder how many clean their canti's as well (with fine artist's brush; can't think of another method). Easier with cart. off than on, which is a pain for fixed headshells.
 
Mike Reed said:
But only from the very low base of having dirty records and stylus; hardy what I'd call an upgrade. More like facilitating the potential that's already there.

Reading all these posts re. stylus cleaning (an old and oft-repeated subject of threads), it would be enlightening, I feel, if posters can say whether their methods follow RCM cleaned records or otherwise, and, i.m.e., once cleaned, only the very gradual build-up of air-borne detritus (i.e. dust) and the occasional hair will require remedial action on the stylus.

The cantilevers, at least the boron ones, do get coated in fine dust which must affect its movement, however slight this may be. Wonder how many clean their canti's as well (with fine artist's brush; can't think of another method). Easier with cart. off than on, which is a pain for fixed headshells.
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Can only really speak from my own experience Mike. I enjoy hunting for jazz records from the 1950 & 60s and it's fairly common for them to have sixty years of grime on them. Even if they look clean (which they rarely do!) you can be fairly sure there's gunk in the grooves.

Playing those records without cleaning is a sure fire way to gunk up a stylus - and a wipe with a brush doesn't help, it needs the Audio Technica buzzer to shake the dirt off.

It's an extreme example but I suspect lots of people have old records that have never been properly cleaned.

I agree with you - if records are clean to start with all that's generally needed in my experience is a quick brush to get off any accumulated dust.
 
That’s another advantage to the Technics headshell - much easier to clean a stylus and see what you’re doing with it off.
 
At one time Fremer came out and said that the Onzow left deposits on a stylus. I think he got that info from JR Bosclair at WAM Engineering. IIRC there was a picture of a gummed-up stylus but no further details. I don't think Onzow were very pleased but never heard any more.
 
As I said, I only see the worst. I post images often on my IG page. I’ve had people send me cartridges that they are convinced have lost their diamond. I find the stubborn buildup and ask what they use to clean their stylus. It’s a rhetorical question by now. The answer is gel. These are people who were ready to pay me a few hundred bucks for a new diamond. They get a cleaning bill and some photos of their barely worn diamond back.

In extreme cases, saturation had caused tie wires to rust and break. I don’t know if the saturation is from wet play or what. The owners said they only cleaned their styli with fluid. I have nothing else to go on.

I would never ever endorse the use of acetone, however. That is a high power solvent that melts the compounds that hold the diamond into the cantilever.

The gel issue is common enough that it bears mentioning. Most people who use gel also have very expensive cartridges. I know some people have gotten expensive cartridges very cheaply this way, expecting to have bought a cartridge with a missing diamond. They’re pretty happy when they get the news. But I can’t imagine the seller would be very happy to find out.

Also, people blame cartridge manufacturers and retippers for diamonds falling off when they are just gunked up.
 
I was given a sample of hardened epoxy resin to evaluate its solubility. As I was working in a science lab. I had all solvents at my disposal. Nothing, I repeat nothing would dissolve (note, the word is dissolve, not 'melt') hardened epoxy resin that I tried, a 'fact' that seems to be the consensus of opinion of other scientists.
 
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