Another Gadget
- Thread starter demonx
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- May 14, 2014
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- Southwest Kootenays BC
- Tagline
- No such things as bad days, just bad moments
Only asking because ISA comes in different size bottles. I't sold by the liter in Canada and I get liter bottles - a little more than a quart. The last batch of cleaning fluid I made I upped the ISA ratio to 1:25 of distilled water. At that strength, the odor of ISA is quite pronounced compared to store bought solutions.
Previously, I had been using more like 1:250 but in reading forum posts on this topic, one can infer that upping it to about 5% was common practice. That's why I was curious how much ISA you were using in relation to water. I don't use Dawn or Jet Dry although they are frequently recommended. I read a chemist's rather lengthy dissertation on record cleaning fluid and he mentioned using Kodak Photo Flow if possible as the surfactant and I was able to get some locally.
After reading a recipe supposedly from an old Stereophile magazine that included the exact same ingredients but in a 1:4 ratio, I upped my latest batch to the 1:25 ratio and can't say that I noticed any difference with the added ISA but didn't notice any adverse effects either. Have yet to try the Stereophile ratio because it seems like a hellish lot of alcohol. But if you are talking a quart bottle of ISA to a gallon of water then you are using it.
400 ml distilled water
100 ml Isopropyl
two drops photo-flo
two drops Windex
Previously, I had been using more like 1:250 but in reading forum posts on this topic, one can infer that upping it to about 5% was common practice. That's why I was curious how much ISA you were using in relation to water. I don't use Dawn or Jet Dry although they are frequently recommended. I read a chemist's rather lengthy dissertation on record cleaning fluid and he mentioned using Kodak Photo Flow if possible as the surfactant and I was able to get some locally.
After reading a recipe supposedly from an old Stereophile magazine that included the exact same ingredients but in a 1:4 ratio, I upped my latest batch to the 1:25 ratio and can't say that I noticed any difference with the added ISA but didn't notice any adverse effects either. Have yet to try the Stereophile ratio because it seems like a hellish lot of alcohol. But if you are talking a quart bottle of ISA to a gallon of water then you are using it.
400 ml distilled water
100 ml Isopropyl
two drops photo-flo
two drops Windex
Last edited:
Missed that part.
1:4 ratio is what I use. 8 drops of Dawn.
Photo flo was recommended but most use Dawn, ease of obtaining.
Im still hooked on the Spin Clean. Want to pick up an extra trough with rollers to use as a distilled water rinse.
I always have a spray bottle of the home brew on hand to wash when I don't want to batch clean.
1:4 ratio is what I use. 8 drops of Dawn.
Photo flo was recommended but most use Dawn, ease of obtaining.
Im still hooked on the Spin Clean. Want to pick up an extra trough with rollers to use as a distilled water rinse.
I always have a spray bottle of the home brew on hand to wash when I don't want to batch clean.
- Joined
- May 14, 2014
- Messages
- 2,289
- Location
- Southwest Kootenays BC
- Tagline
- No such things as bad days, just bad moments
I too use a Spin Clean which I was lucky to find for cheap from an AK member who sent it from the eastern US shipping included. It does work well even though it's a tedious job to do large number of records. I was very interested in duplicating the RCM demonx created but after watching the video, the noise level produced would not endear me to neighbors in the building I live in so the Spin Clean wins.
I agree that a second trough for rinsing is a good idea and I am going to think about re-purposing something cheap and easy to get. If I have a "eureka" moment, I'll post about it. It galls me a bit that Spin Cleans and their associated bits & pieces are so expensive considering what they are. I bought 3 large bottles of their fluid before thinking there had to be a cheaper alternative and started making home brew.
I will take your recommendation and use a 1:4 ratio on the next batch I clean. I have about 1/2 bottle of Spin Clean fluid remaining and will use that for any 78's I encounter. ISA is not 78 RPM friendly and their solution does not contain any according to Spin Clean themselves who I e-mailed about the subject. I learned the hard way about ISA and 78's by ruining a copy of All American Boy by Bill Parson/Bobby Bare.
