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How do you clean your records?

Konteebos said:
I guess that means buying a record cleaning machine between myself and a friend is a realistic proposal, then?
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Absolutely. I use mine fitfully the odd weekend as I work my way through cleaning my collection, if I had any friends :p they could happly borrow it 360 days of the year and I would not notice ...

EDIT: @BlueYeti put me on to cheaper versions of MoFi sleeves https://www.spincare.co.uk/products/spincare-ultra-premium-12-vinyl-sleeves-pack-of-50 just ordered my first pack with a 10% discount they seem to hand out too.
 
Has anyone tried the Clearaudio Smart Matrix (not the all singing/dancing mega bucks model)? I wondered how it compared to the cheaper stuff like the ProJect etc?
 
Stunsworth said:
One clean, then into a Mofi inner sleeve.
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As he said, though I use a mix of Nagaoka type and poly/paper type inners. The latter are exc. at about £13 for 50 (or were). The Nag's slip into an existing inner but can get crumpled in use and you need to fold a corner down foe easy insertion. The poly/paper type are more durable, and often fit inside inners, but for the odd one you either need to slide new and old inner into the outer (can be a p.i.t.a.) or use a Nag. type.

Obviously, opening should be at the top. There are some records I need to re-clean, but they're few in number. One BIG bonus of wet-vac cleaning is that you say goodbye to static, or at least, that's my experience.

A little tip for fastidious anal types (like me). Write in pencil (with paper inners) the month and year of cleaning. On Nag. types, I use a bit of masking tape to effect the same. Amazing how useful this record is as time passes ! A bit like keeping a stylus use record, I s'pose, though that, i.m.o., is essential to realise a good re-sale, not only just to know where your stylus is in life-span.
 
Konteebos said:
For those of you who use these wet vacuum cleaners I would like to know how often you clean each record? It it one clean for each record and with careful storage they never need it again?
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If you're doing it right then yes, once you get a record clean it shouldn't need deep cleaning again if it's stored and used properly.
 
In a less than productive hour at work I knocked up a small template with space to record each of up to 10 (I know) cleaning dates, then just print a bunch out per page and stick one in the album sleeve.

Which when I next play the LP then falls out and wafts away to an unreachable place. Masking tape eh?
 
Mike Reed said:
Just a thought, as your 'basics' won't be wasted, but rubbing the surface (with cloth) is very likely to be pushing the surface detritus into the grooves, thereby being picked up or jumped over by your stylus.
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Hi Mike, the cleaning spray I bought advises squirting the liquid onto a cloth (micro fibre) and then applying to the record. Any other suggestions re application or is this whole spray stuff just not worth it? So far I've only applied to some of my records from the crappy batch I mentioned earlier.

Peter
 
deebster said:
Masking tape eh?
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Cut neatly, not torn (appearances !!!!). About 2 inches does it; only on Nag. type inners, though, as you can peel it off easily. However, if you wish to economise on masking tape, there'll be room for 3 cleaning notes ! :D

Peter McDermott said:
Hi Mike, the cleaning spray I bought advises squirting the liquid onto a cloth (micro fibre) and then applying to the record.
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I cannot comment, Peter, except to say " 'spray' and 'cloth' and 'rubbing' fill me with dread". Nor have I read about this method on over a decade of forums. Sorry !
 
Yank said:
Hmm, 3 revolutions under vacuum on my ancient Nitty-Gritty and I don't need any air drying, it's ready to play or sleeve.
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Apologies Yank, missed your post. I tend to set up a production line of five to ten (or so) albums and do each stage in turn for the batch, clean & vacuum, rack them to air dry and then sleeve them all once done. On two to three vacuum spins the records are usually dry, but on occasion I do get tiny little droplets around the edges, so this technique accommodates those odd discs and allows the water droplets time to evaporate naturally.
 
I use a Loricraft PRC 4 with L’ Du Son fluid and put my albums into Mofi sleeves. I can clean at the same time as listening to music because of how quiet the Loricraft is- a big improvement from my last RCM which was a Music Hall.
Good luck with your decision- you will notice a big improvement in sound when you clean using an RCM.
 
nobeone said:
Absolutely. I use mine fitfully the odd weekend as I work my way through cleaning my collection, if I had any friends :p they could happly borrow it 360 days of the year and I would not notice ...

EDIT: @BlueYeti put me on to cheaper versions of MoFi sleeves https://www.spincare.co.uk/products/spincare-ultra-premium-12-vinyl-sleeves-pack-of-50 just ordered my first pack with a 10% discount they seem to hand out too.
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I'll need to work on persuading my brother-in-law to buy a machine between us. He has been regaling me with his recent record cleaning exploits - using WD40. He claims that it works on noisy records, but I am very sceptical about the long-term effects.
 
Konteebos said:
I'll need to work on persuading my brother-in-law to buy a machine between us. He has been regaling me with his recent record cleaning exploits - using WD40. He claims that it works on noisy records, but I am very sceptical about the long-term effects.
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Well perhaps there is a lot of experience out there saying WD40 is good for records, but my instant reaction is that although it might initially reduce stylus drag and surface noise, that is not the problem you are really trying to solve, and it may disolve some dirt and allow it to be removed, but surely you end up with a lightly oiled record that will be bugger to get degreased and attract much more dirt and ultimately make things worse? Short term gain for long term pain? Dunno, maybe others out there can comment on the wonders of WD40 and vinyl from a position of experience. Feels all wrong to me.

As I mentioned before, you will get close to the same cleaning with a KAB-EV1 https://www.kabusa.com/frameset.htm?/ev1.htm as any other vacuum slot rcm (at US$169 split between you is not a huge outlay even after adding P&P and import duty to the UK). It is a Nitty Gritty vacuum slot but even more manual and requires you to own a vacuum cleaner :) as it has neither motor nor vacuum built in. Combine that with tried and tested IPA (or L'Art du son) suitably diluted with distilled water and you have a cheapo tried and tested record cleaning set up, add some new anti static sleeves and sleep easy.

If that is too manual, you can always buy futher up the vacuum rcm tree, but the top of the tree is an order of magnitude and perhaps and an order of magnitude and several multiples more money for automation, quicker, quieter operation and arguably slightly better cleaning. Fine if you have the money and not the time/inclination and/or a very large record collection to clean (@Tony L must clean plenty and it is his business so a good candiate for a top machine) but I am not sure that is needed from a purely cleaning perspective. Great to see so many suggestions for four figure machines in this thread https://loricraftaudio.co.uk/ https://www.analogueseduction.net/record-cleaning-machines/discoveryoneredux.html as it shows people really care and have large record collections and that makes me happy but I would suggest you don't need to start there, we all need a dream. Of course there is every possible and imaginable level between, just trying to show the range possible on vacuum rcm ... others here are better placed to talk about the top end vacuum rcm and ultrasonic cleaners.
 
There seems to be three Project machines available now, the new VC-S2 Alu at £399, the original VC-S at £349 and a VC-E at £299. I can see why the aluminium bodied VC-S2 is more expensive than the MDF VC-S and that's fine and would be where I'd go if my VC-S packs in. However the VC-E is a small footprint, aluminium (top only) model and I cannot imagine the VC-S or VC-S2 cleaning any better so that seems a reasonable option on the face of it.....
 
nobeone said:
Well perhaps there is a lot of experience out there saying WD40 is good for records, but my instant reaction is that although it might initially reduce stylus drag and surface noise, that is not the problem you are really trying to solve, and it may disolve some dirt and allow it to be removed, but surely you end up with a lightly oiled record that will be bugger to get degreased and attract much more dirt and ultimately make things worse? Short term gain for long term pain? Dunno, maybe others out there can comment on the wonders of WD40 and vinyl from a position of experience. Feels all wrong to me.

As I mentioned before, you will get close to the same cleaning with a KAB-EV1 https://www.kabusa.com/frameset.htm?/ev1.htm as any other vacuum slot rcm (at US$169 split between you is not a huge outlay even after adding P&P and import duty to the UK). It is a Nitty Gritty vacuum slot but even more manual and requires you to own a vacuum cleaner :) as it has neither motor nor vacuum built in. Combine that with tried and tested IPA (or L'Art du son) suitably diluted with distilled water and you have a cheapo tried and tested record cleaning set up, add some new anti static sleeves and sleep easy.

If that is too manual, you can always buy futher up the vacuum rcm tree, but the top of the tree is an order of magnitude and perhaps and an order of magnitude and several multiples more money for automation, quicker, quieter operation and arguably slightly better cleaning. Fine if you have the money and not the time/inclination and/or a very large record collection to clean (@Tony L must clean plenty and it is his business so a good candiate for a top machine) but I am not sure that is needed from a purely cleaning perspective. Great to see so many suggestions for four figure machines in this thread https://loricraftaudio.co.uk/ https://www.analogueseduction.net/record-cleaning-machines/discoveryoneredux.html as it shows people really care and have large record collections and that makes me happy but I would suggest you don't need to start there, we all need a dream. Of course there is every possible and imaginable level between, just trying to show the range possible on vacuum rcm ... others here are better placed to talk about the top end vacuum rcm and ultrasonic cleaners.
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This.

Been using a KAB for 7 years, does the job and gets put away into a shoebox(size 11) when finished.

Enjoying the just cleaned Isla Bonita. With Madonna of course.
 
I ended up paying a lot of money on an Audio Desk ultrasonic cleaner. I’d been looking on and off for a decent record cleaner for most of my adult life.
A concern of mine was that many so-called cleaners simply dry the record, and that the actual cleaning is done by the operator, with all the associated possibilities for inconsistent results. What I wanted was a one step device which would give a nigh-on identical process for each LP I cleaned. I had a trial run of the Audio Desk one afternoon a year ago, with Colin Macey at What You See and Hear, and I was impressed enough to buy one on the day. Since then I’ve cleaned around 150 LPs, and I’m very pleased with the machine.

Mick
 
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nobeone said:
Well perhaps there is a lot of experience out there saying WD40 is good for records, but my instant reaction is that although it might initially reduce stylus drag and surface noise, that is not the problem you are really trying to solve, and it may disolve some dirt and allow it to be removed, but surely you end up with a lightly oiled record that will be bugger to get degreased and attract much more dirt and ultimately make things worse? Short term gain for long term pain? Dunno, maybe others out there can comment on the wonders of WD40 and vinyl from a position of experience. Feels all wrong to me.

As I mentioned before, you will get close to the same cleaning with a KAB-EV1 https://www.kabusa.com/frameset.htm?/ev1.htm as any other vacuum slot rcm (at US$169 split between you is not a huge outlay even after adding P&P and import duty to the UK). It is a Nitty Gritty vacuum slot but even more manual and requires you to own a vacuum cleaner :) as it has neither motor nor vacuum built in. Combine that with tried and tested IPA (or L'Art du son) suitably diluted with distilled water and you have a cheapo tried and tested record cleaning set up, add some new anti static sleeves and sleep easy.

If that is too manual, you can always buy futher up the vacuum rcm tree, but the top of the tree is an order of magnitude and perhaps and an order of magnitude and several multiples more money for automation, quicker, quieter operation and arguably slightly better cleaning. Fine if you have the money and not the time/inclination and/or a very large record collection to clean (@Tony L must clean plenty and it is his business so a good candiate for a top machine) but I am not sure that is needed from a purely cleaning perspective. Great to see so many suggestions for four figure machines in this thread https://loricraftaudio.co.uk/ https://www.analogueseduction.net/record-cleaning-machines/discoveryoneredux.html as it shows people really care and have large record collections and that makes me happy but I would suggest you don't need to start there, we all need a dream. Of course there is every possible and imaginable level between, just trying to show the range possible on vacuum rcm ... others here are better placed to talk about the top end vacuum rcm and ultrasonic cleaners.
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Sounds good, I was planning to buy an arm damper for my 1200G from them in the near future, so I could add that to the order.
 
Konteebos said:
Sounds good, I was planning to buy an arm damper for my 1200G from them in the near future, so I could add that to the order.
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I also use the KAB DiscSweep brush https://www.kabusa.com/frameset.htm?/rcleaner.htm which works for me, the EV-1 comes with some fluid and an applicator brush, but if you want to give a record a bit of a scrub then you will need something like this too. For new records the free application brush is fine, for grotty old stuff I think you will need something more like the DiscSweep. I bought it at the same time as the EV-1 as KAB recommended it when I contacted them.
 
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