- Joined
- Nov 1, 2014
- Messages
- 3,505
- Location
- Gaston, SC
- Tagline
- Victim of the record bug since age five
Cleaning record just befor playing
- Thread starter Ric27
- Start date
My two nickels...Groovy cleaner, best thing out there, buy it in bulk by searching online, this is for a trial https://www.dustygroove.com/item/482296
I've been touting this product for a decade and all you need is a spray bottle and a lint free cloth (found at most camera stores). My method is to pick 3 or 4 Lps that I want to listen to, spray the Lp and wipe inner to outer grooves with the lint free cloth then put it in the sleave and set aside. I do not recommend playing a 'wet' or semi-wet' Lp !! Gunk on the stylus ya know! Then a nice carbon fiber brush, inner to outer grooves and drop that needle boy!!!
I've been touting this product for a decade and all you need is a spray bottle and a lint free cloth (found at most camera stores). My method is to pick 3 or 4 Lps that I want to listen to, spray the Lp and wipe inner to outer grooves with the lint free cloth then put it in the sleave and set aside. I do not recommend playing a 'wet' or semi-wet' Lp !! Gunk on the stylus ya know! Then a nice carbon fiber brush, inner to outer grooves and drop that needle boy!!!
It actually works. Didn't bring them back to pristine but definitely improved a few to playable that were headed to the trash. It worked well, thought it would hard getting all the glue off but it really does peal off easy. If you can remember put a small piece of paper on the edge of the record and glue over it - this will give you a starting spot to peel. Not sure if I would recommend for collectable albums.....haven't done that many for that opinion.
- Joined
- Nov 1, 2014
- Messages
- 3,505
- Location
- Gaston, SC
- Tagline
- Victim of the record bug since age five
I used Elmer's School Glue on shellac as well as vinyl...
<iframe width="480" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/vXUFKnbpWe4?rel=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
The record after "gluing". I didn't make a pre-glue video.
<iframe width="640" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/SenlTmyZgDg?rel=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
<iframe width="480" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/vXUFKnbpWe4?rel=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
The record after "gluing". I didn't make a pre-glue video.
<iframe width="640" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/SenlTmyZgDg?rel=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
Last edited:
- Joined
- Nov 1, 2014
- Messages
- 3,505
- Location
- Gaston, SC
- Tagline
- Victim of the record bug since age five
Yes- that's my infamous head...
About the glue trick though: use Elmer's School Glue- NOT the standard Elmer's Glue-All. The school glue is softer. I made the mistake of using Glue-All on my Mills Brothers Glow-Worm record and it pulled all the gloss off the shellac, ruined it. It may work better on vinyl, but I really don't bother with that cleaning method anymore.
The glue takes a ridiculously long time to dry. The wood glue may dry quicker, but never experimented with it. Glue cleaning works, but is messy, takes a long time, and you can only do one side at a time.
I bought the Spin-Clean thingie, works quicker, washes both sides, dries quicker. I haven't used it on shellac records yet, but I don't want to risk damage to the brush bristles and then scrub the groove of a precious LP with shellac chunks. I'll get a separate set of brushes for shellac.
About the glue trick though: use Elmer's School Glue- NOT the standard Elmer's Glue-All. The school glue is softer. I made the mistake of using Glue-All on my Mills Brothers Glow-Worm record and it pulled all the gloss off the shellac, ruined it. It may work better on vinyl, but I really don't bother with that cleaning method anymore.
The glue takes a ridiculously long time to dry. The wood glue may dry quicker, but never experimented with it. Glue cleaning works, but is messy, takes a long time, and you can only do one side at a time.
I bought the Spin-Clean thingie, works quicker, washes both sides, dries quicker. I haven't used it on shellac records yet, but I don't want to risk damage to the brush bristles and then scrub the groove of a precious LP with shellac chunks. I'll get a separate set of brushes for shellac.
- Joined
- Dec 19, 2014
- Messages
- 247
- Tagline
- ---
My records get a washing with my Spin Clean when they come home. It does a super job. But before each play I use the Discwasher brush but rather than put a few drops of their product on the brush as they direct I have mixed up a solution of mostly distilled water, 90 % alcohol and a very small amount of eye class cleaner solution (a great grease, oil and smudge buster that dries quickly and clean). I make a batch of about a pint or so up and fill a small eye glass cleaner spray bottle with some. I keep it next to the Discwasher brush and just give a small spray on the edge of the brush with the arrow. Those small eye glass cleaner spray bottles release a nice fine mist that just barely moistens the Discwasher brush enough to dust the record and release the static. Cheap, easy and effective!
- Joined
- Mar 18, 2013
- Messages
- 7,562
- Location
- Coventry, CT
- Tagline
- Fondler errrr... fan of all Nav's avatars
I never tried the wood glue method. If a record is trashed, it's trashed and it goes in the trash. Really crackly records that I like get played only on the garage system, the rest get circular filed and recycled. I throw out hundreds of records every year
On a side note, hearing that Clarinet Polka brought back many memories of my childhood. My grandmother always had the radio tuned to WCSS in Amsterdam, NY which is a predominately Polish and Italian town (at least back then) playing Polka music every Sunday morning after church. Thanks for the memories Mark!
I may give it a try someday but it certainly does not fix groove damage. It is perfect for those records you occasionally see that look like they are covered with grease and dirt though, looks very effective indeed
On a side note, hearing that Clarinet Polka brought back many memories of my childhood. My grandmother always had the radio tuned to WCSS in Amsterdam, NY which is a predominately Polish and Italian town (at least back then) playing Polka music every Sunday morning after church. Thanks for the memories Mark!
I may give it a try someday but it certainly does not fix groove damage. It is perfect for those records you occasionally see that look like they are covered with grease and dirt though, looks very effective indeed
- Joined
- Nov 1, 2014
- Messages
- 3,505
- Location
- Gaston, SC
- Tagline
- Victim of the record bug since age five
But the brush bristles dig the sediment out of the bottom of the groove with a SpinClean. Spray-on cleaners with a cloth just don't impress me as being thorough enough.
What's your recipe? (12oz water to 4oz alcohol, for example). Also- what is the brand of the eyeglass cleaner- I'm looking for that tiny spray bottle.
Baltimore had a lot of Polish, Lithuanian, Pennsylvania Dutch, etc. Yeah- Sunday after church on the AM radio was reserved for Polka! Forgot the call letters of the station, but I always listened- and loved it.
What's your recipe? (12oz water to 4oz alcohol, for example). Also- what is the brand of the eyeglass cleaner- I'm looking for that tiny spray bottle.
Baltimore had a lot of Polish, Lithuanian, Pennsylvania Dutch, etc. Yeah- Sunday after church on the AM radio was reserved for Polka! Forgot the call letters of the station, but I always listened- and loved it.
- Joined
- Mar 18, 2013
- Messages
- 7,562
- Location
- Coventry, CT
- Tagline
- Fondler errrr... fan of all Nav's avatars
OK...I know this is an old post, but what the heck. Anybody into records (notice I didn't say vinyl) which is probably most of us has to have a way to clean them. For years I've used my Watts Manual Parastat...remember those? They were before the Discwasher. It was good, but it mostly got the dust off, never really getting in the grooves. I started looking at record cleaning machines and just couldn't justify the prices. I bought a spin clean. I even got the deluxe model that was clear and came with more solution and rags than the yellow one. Upon looking at it, all I could think was it was only good for a few washes before it started to contaminate the records you were trying to clean. I never brought myself to use it. Don't get me wrong, it's better than nothing, but I just didn't like it. Anyhow, I check out ebay quite often and stumbled on something that really hit the nail on the head for me. A record cleaning machine thingy that requires you to supply the suction. I bought one from this guy and I just love it. He 3D prints the parts and this thing is really slick. What's really nice is it's very affordable. Slightly more than the Spin Clean, 100% better. AT least I think so. Anyhow, here is a youtube of it and these are on ebay.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QbphnT1d-ys&feature=youtu.be
And for a solution I use 75% distilled water...25% Isopropyl alcohol (95%)...and a few drops of Dawn.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QbphnT1d-ys&feature=youtu.be
And for a solution I use 75% distilled water...25% Isopropyl alcohol (95%)...and a few drops of Dawn.
Last edited:
Wow! I'm not used to this much common sense in an election year!! Looks like a sweet system he's come up with. It doesn't look like he has a direct a purchase option off his website but will send you a PayPal invoice, if you email him with your desire to purchase. It also looks like his original prototype base isn't available any longer. Probably get only what's in the video. Not sure about the brushes he's using.
Current eBay price is a little under $110 with around $20 shipping. His eBay seller ID is parker_bean.
Here's a few links:
eBay item:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/3D-Printed-...631006?hash=item235e29769e:g:UCMAAOSwHQ9WX8LG
Website:
http://www.squeakycleanvinyl.com/home.html
Current eBay price is a little under $110 with around $20 shipping. His eBay seller ID is parker_bean.
Here's a few links:
eBay item:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/3D-Printed-...631006?hash=item235e29769e:g:UCMAAOSwHQ9WX8LG
Website:
http://www.squeakycleanvinyl.com/home.html