Record cleaning

[3db]

Here are some photos of the Ultrasonic record cleaner at work, the stash of records and the dirt I removed from the albums

The results of 30 records cleaned.

 

[adk highlander]

Interesting. What did that unit cost and have you played the cleaned albums to hear a difference?

 

[flyboylr45]

I looked it up. Around $130. Seems well worth it. Definitely speeds up the process.

 

[lovinthehd]

How long since you did any sort of cleaning on the records? What kind of environment were they used in? Sure look like largish debris....

 

[3db]

How long since you did any sort of cleaning on the records? What kind of environment were they used in? Sure look like largish debris....

Those were all second hand records that I purchased so I don't know their background. That large debris started out very small and grew to be that big.

 

[3db]

Interesting. What did that unit cost and have you played the cleaned albums to hear a difference?

I got mine for $185 taxes in, in Canadian dollars . I do notice a difference as it lowers the noise floor of the ticks and pops. They are not as pronounced. Arlo Guthrie's Alice's Restaurant was one such album. I used a disc washer brush on it the first time I played it and the rice krispies were so bad that I was going to toss the album out. After the ultrasonic, i still heard the tics and pops but they were much much quieter to the point where I could listen to the material. I'm keeping the record.

 

[Alex2507]

How long since you did any sort of cleaning on the records? What kind of environment were they used in? Sure look like largish debris....

Looks like boogers if you ask me.

Alice's Restaurant was one such album.

I ain't eatin' there. Eff that.

 

[highfigh]

Here are some photos of the Ultrasonic record cleaner at work, the stash of records and the dirt I removed from the albums

The results of 30 records cleaned.

View attachment 77578

Were you using those to move dirt in your garden? Geez!

 

[3db]

Looks like boogers if you ask me.



I ain't eatin' there. Eff that.

This fixes everything

 

[Mikado463]

I too can vouch for ultra-sonic cleaning. I have the Degritter and couldn't be happier with it

 

[afterlife2]

Have the same ultra-sonic my cart for over a year. Seen some great results online. I may pick one up this year. Enjoy, 3db!

 

[dlaloum]

How long since you did any sort of cleaning on the records? What kind of environment were they used in? Sure look like largish debris....

It is often surprising how many such debris fragments are loosened on old Vinyl by an ultrasonic clean!

Another technique that can be used to loosen embedded fragments that even ultrasound won't loosen on its own is to treat the vinul with ArmorAll... (yes the automotive vinyl treatment) - given time (several days to a week) - a very very light treatment with ArmorAll will gradually migrate between the grit and the vinyl in which it was embedded, loosening it ... a subsequent ultrasonic clean, will then release those additional "boulders" (from your needles perspective)....

This can occasionally do magic with older, mistreated records.... sometimes those "pops" aren't damaged vinyl so much as embedded debris, pushed down by a multitude of dirty plays....
Once released, it still leaves behind vinyl damage, but it is far far less audible than the "pop" caused by the embedded chunk.

And yeah, in a perfect world, you wouldn't play mistreated vinyl, but some rarities are just that.... rarities... and if you can't find a way to play them, then they are lost for good.

 

[lovinthehd]

I just expected smaller pieces

It is often surprising how many such debris fragments are loosened on old Vinyl by an ultrasonic clean!

Another technique that can be used to loosen embedded fragments that even ultrasound won't loosen on its own is to treat the vinul with ArmorAll... (yes the automotive vinyl treatment) - given time (several days to a week) - a very very light treatment with ArmorAll will gradually migrate between the grit and the vinyl in which it was embedded, loosening it ... a subsequent ultrasonic clean, will then release those additional "boulders" (from your needles perspective)....

This can occasionally do magic with older, mistreated records.... sometimes those "pops" aren't damaged vinyl so much as embedded debris, pushed down by a multitude of dirty plays....
Once released, it still leaves behind vinyl damage, but it is far far less audible than the "pop" caused by the embedded chunk.

And yeah, in a perfect world, you wouldn't play mistreated vinyl, but some rarities are just that.... rarities... and if you can't find a way to play them, then they are lost for good.

 

[m. zillch]

Show of hands. How many people presoak their dishes before they clean them later? Well guess what. I find if I wet clean records and then immediately play them, their best performance is not in that first play but rather the one after it. My theory is the wet cleaning pre-softens the stubborn deep-down groove dirt (analogous to presoaking dishes), my first play helps scrape away the softer pre-moistened dirt which is then collected by my Shure stylus' built in cleaning brush during that first play, and then the grooves are at their best for the next play.

 

[dlaloum]

Show of hands. How many people presoak their dishes before they clean them later? Well guess what. I find if I wet clean records and then immediately play them, their best performance is not in that first play but rather the one after it. My theory is the wet cleaning pre-softens the stubborn deep-down groove dirt (analogous to presoaking dishes), my first play helps scrape away the softer pre-moistened dirt which is then collected by my Shure stylus' built in cleaning brush during that first play, and then the grooves are at their best for the next play.

Surfactants as well as certain lubricants can gradually migrate between vinyl and embedded debris - slowly loosening them...

Fomblin (as used in Last record treatment) - is another chemical that can have that effect too... But it's horribly expensive! (and I remain unconvinced that in the tiny concentration used in Last, it has any substantive effect!)

 

[highfigh]

It is often surprising how many such debris fragments are loosened on old Vinyl by an ultrasonic clean!

Another technique that can be used to loosen embedded fragments that even ultrasound won't loosen on its own is to treat the vinul with ArmorAll... (yes the automotive vinyl treatment) - given time (several days to a week) - a very very light treatment with ArmorAll will gradually migrate between the grit and the vinyl in which it was embedded, loosening it ... a subsequent ultrasonic clean, will then release those additional "boulders" (from your needles perspective)....

This can occasionally do magic with older, mistreated records.... sometimes those "pops" aren't damaged vinyl so much as embedded debris, pushed down by a multitude of dirty plays....
Once released, it still leaves behind vinyl damage, but it is far far less audible than the "pop" caused by the embedded chunk.

And yeah, in a perfect world, you wouldn't play mistreated vinyl, but some rarities are just that.... rarities... and if you can't find a way to play them, then they are lost for good.

Why not just wipe the surface with a soft cloth moistened with Silicone? That's what is commonly used as a mold release for injection molding.

 

[dlaloum]

Why not just wipe the surface with a soft cloth moistened with Silicone? That's what is commonly used as a mold release for injection molding.

Main issue is making sure you don't have the silicone left behind collecting onto the needle...

Ideal treatments to get the embedded grit loose are those that migrate at a molecular level between the two surfaces, loosening the grip...
Lubricants specifically designed for Vinyl can be the perfect thing... (hence the suggestion of using ArmorAll which includes vinyl lubricants as well as replasticisers) - but they need to be used very lightly and then cleaned off thoroughly afterwards.

I'm honestly not sure how silicone would work.

 

[highfigh]

Main issue is making sure you don't have the silicone left behind collecting onto the needle...

Ideal treatments to get the embedded grit loose are those that migrate at a molecular level between the two surfaces, loosening the grip...
Lubricants specifically designed for Vinyl can be the perfect thing... (hence the suggestion of using ArmorAll which includes vinyl lubricants as well as replasticisers) - but they need to be used very lightly and then cleaned off thoroughly afterwards.

I'm honestly not sure how silicone would work.

Silicone spray doesn't leave much residue, especially when compared to Armor All. Have you used Silicone lubricant?

Why would you want plasticizers in anything that touches an LP? That's one of the last things you would want. You like detail in the audio? You won't have it if plasticizer is used. When PVC cools, you want it to be hard, not soft. Plasticizers are fine for vehicle interiors because it's a different kind of vinyl and needs to be flexible. I can't be around that stuff- it really messes up my eyes so, even if it was the best thing for LPs, I wouldn't be able to use it.

The Silicone could be sprayed onto a soft cloth, the LP wiped and left to 'dry' to the extent thata it does. They don't wash LPs after pressing, the label is often on the stampers when the vinyl slug is extruded and it sticks really well, but any water or solvent-based cleaner would damage the paper.

I'm not necessarily advocating the use of Silicone as a "It's a good/best thing to use" and there are many formulations- I haven't used a liquid cleaner on my LPs since about 1975 and the last time it was used was several years ago and not on any LPs I care about- a sales rep raved about the record cleaner he was using I was doing some re-airs to his Nitty Gritty POS cleaner that looked like a 6th grade science fair project. He told me the LPs "sound like a veil has been lifted" after using the better cleaner and it's one of the audiopile phrases I absolutely can't stand. The LPs he cleaned sounded terrible- lots of surface noise, clicks & pops.....