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Old 21st May 2020, 9:11 pm   #1
Ray_Singh
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Default Best way to clean old vinyl records?

I am bored in lockdown, so ventured into the loft and came back down with a Dual turntable and my records.

The turntable is working fine and i even found an audio technica stylus i cant remember ordering in the box!

The issue is that the records are very dusty. What is the best way to clean these?
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Old 22nd May 2020, 2:10 am   #2
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Default Re: Best way to clean old vinyl records

Maybe some help here:

https://www.vintage-radio.net/forum/...d.php?t=126045
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Old 22nd May 2020, 2:48 am   #3
captainsemtex
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Default Re: Best way to clean old vinyl records

Hi Ray,

If your records are just very dusty then a good record cleaning brush with carbon fibers should be sufficient. I use a Hunt EDA brush.

But if you see a lot of surface contamination, finger prints etc. then you may need to use a record cleaning machine or some sort of wash. This is a good investment if you have a lot of records.

This won't be an option because they are Canadian, but just to give you an idea of what I am talking about, this is what I use on every new and used record that I buy. https://www.squeakycleanvinyl.com/.

If you don't have so many records then, when they open again, your local hi-fi dealer should have a record cleaning machine and will clean them for a small cost.

Kind Regards
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Old 22nd May 2020, 5:48 am   #4
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Default Re: Best way to clean old vinyl records

Ooh, that's a can of worms Ray!

Twenty people will give you twenty different answers, here's mine.

Knosti Disco Antistat.

I've used mine for more than five years and have a test record from the very first batch of records l cleaned that is still perfectly playable, with no residual stickiness or dust.

Some people hate them!

P.S. Just checked on eBay and it's £20 / litre so the price-gouging seems to be over!

It's your choice. The only problem may be an increase in the cost of replacement IPA when you've finished the bottle included with the kit, as it is touted to be useable to clean your hands of Covid 19!
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Last edited by Kentode; 22nd May 2020 at 5:53 am. Reason: PS added.
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Old 22nd May 2020, 6:44 am   #5
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Default Re: Best way to clean old vinyl records

Simple and crude way,q I give a light spray with a domestic glass cleaner, light soft brush to disturb the crud then rinse under the tap. There's fancy equipment and solutions you can buy, but for a reasonable low tech clean up it makes a massive difference
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Old 22nd May 2020, 7:28 am   #6
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Default Re: Best way to clean old vinyl records

+1 for Knosti. With a really dirty secondhand record I'll sometimes put it through twice.

As above some people don't like them, but a 'real' record cleaning machine is a lot more expensive, bulky and noisy. Even then there is still much arguing about which is best and what fluid to use!
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Old 22nd May 2020, 7:42 am   #7
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Default Re: Best way to clean old vinyl records

Whatever method you choose do NOT get the liquid on the label.

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Old 22nd May 2020, 7:46 am   #8
Ted Kendall
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Default Re: Best way to clean old vinyl records

If it's simple dust as opposed to grime, then a carbon fibre brush is the way to go - it has tiny filaments which get right into the groove, and discharges static into the bargain.

Wet cleaning is best avoided unless you can suck the fluid off. Otherwise capillary action in the grooves ensures you are stuck with a nice layer of mud, unless of course you play the record wet...

When it comes to "real" record cleaning machines, the Monks is the original and best. For small quatities, it's most economic to use one of the concerns which advertise the service.
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Old 22nd May 2020, 8:24 am   #9
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Default Re: Best way to clean old vinyl records

I bought a knosti a few months ago and generally find it works well but I usually rotate records each direction plenty of times, I think they recommend 3 rotations in both directions which for some secondhand discs with greasy marks on is insufficient.

Alan
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Old 22nd May 2020, 9:13 am   #10
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Default Re: Best way to clean old vinyl records

Another plus for the Knosti.
I add another step to the process though. Once cleaned in the 'fluid' (I dilute mine 50/50) I wash the record both sides in tap water and spin it to remove as much water as possible. Then I empty the machine and refill it with de-ionised water. Then I 'clean' the records again in the water. (Two machines would be ideal, but not necessary.)

Last year a friend asked me to look at his record collection that had been stored in a barn for 15/20 years. There were 80+ LPs damp and all stuck together.
After separating them most were covered in the old sleeve and some mould. I cleaned every one with kitchen cleaner and a fine nail brush in a circular direction. Some needed 2 or 3 goes to get the muck off. Washed them off under the tap (yes do not get the labels wet, some do bleed badly) and gave them the Knosti treatment. Every one was playable, though we did use a really cheap stylus to test each side first time. Then they were put into new plastic sleeves and a new cardboard outer. Over 12 months on and they all remain mould free and have no static.
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Old 22nd May 2020, 9:23 am   #11
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Default Re: Best way to clean old vinyl records

That looks really affordable. Lot more affordable than the route I've gone down. I buy a lot of records from estate sales to increase my collection cost effectively. Mainly classical - but they always need cleaning.

If they have fingerprints, that are really difficult to get rid of, or cigarette deposits, I use a Moth cleaner (made from a kit when they used to supply that). That uses a mainly alcohol solution and so dissolves tough grot. It vacuum the rubbish away.

But I also have an Audio Desk ultrasonic cleaner. That is eye-poppingly expensive. But I took it as part payment for some consultancy work I did last year. That is much more gentle, and good for fairly dirty or dusty records. Or as a second cleaning step after the Moth.

Yes, I know - rabbit hole. But if I was not certifiable I would certainly consider the Knosti for sure. My only comment is be careful of a wash under the tap. If you have hard water you can end up with deposits as the water evaporates, even if you blot it nearly dry.

By the way, I re-house cleaned records in MoFi Original Master Sleeves. The Library of Congress record archive uses them, which is good enough recommendation for me.

Craig
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Old 22nd May 2020, 9:27 am   #12
Ray_Singh
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Default Re: Best way to clean old vinyl records

Thank you all. I will hunt out some Knosti via ebay or similar. This seems like the consensus answer.
@snowman_al - those records looks disgusting. Glad that you saved them. What is the second arm on your deck please?
@saxmaniac - I like your frugal approach. If i can find Knosti (or the wife wont allow the pruchase ;_)) I will head this route.
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Old 22nd May 2020, 10:02 am   #13
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Default Re: Best way to clean old vinyl records

I bought an impregnated cloth years ago that seemed to work well on surface dust & fingerprints, though some deeply ingrained dust in the grooves seemed to be too much for it.

Whatever was impregnated into the cloth eventually dried up but it still polished up records OK.
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Old 22nd May 2020, 10:31 am   #14
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Default Re: Best way to clean old vinyl records

This may have been Calotherm - we sold buckets of these at the record shop where I worked n years ago. It was basically a soft cloth impregnated with detergent, which gave it an anti-static effect. They were also sold for cleaning camera lenses. When it got grubby, all you had to do was wash it and let it drip dry - action restored!
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Old 22nd May 2020, 10:51 am   #15
Martin Bush
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Default Re: Best way to clean old vinyl records

I'd also take a look here at the modified Knosti clamp: http://highqual.co.uk/ I foloow the two-bath system as I have a friend with one I can borrow to put alongside my own

You may have the skills to modify your own clamp - the one as supplied with the Knosti doesn't quite seal so labels can get wet.
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Old 22nd May 2020, 10:59 am   #16
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Default Re: Best way to clean old vinyl records

Quote:
Originally Posted by Ray_Singh View Post
Thank you all. I will hunt out some Knosti via ebay or similar. This seems like the consensus answer.
@snowman_al - those records looks disgusting. Glad that you saved them. What is the second arm on your deck please?
@saxmaniac - I like your frugal approach. If i can find Knosti (or the wife wont allow the pruchase ;_)) I will head this route.
The second arm is a more modern version of the classic Watts Dust Bug. Google it. Greaf for slightly dusty but otherwise clean records.

Probably a Bib Groov Kleen.
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Old 22nd May 2020, 11:09 am   #17
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Default Re: Best way to clean old vinyl records?

I actually take the water from our dehumidifier and pour it into one of those garden hand spraying devices; one of those that you pump up. I then add a bit of the anti static solution one can buy and pump up the unit.
I then use a bit of dowel and hold the record over the sink and blast the surface with the solution which runs off. I then lay the record on a towel and wipe dry with one of the lint free cloths you get with the solution.
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Old 22nd May 2020, 11:27 am   #18
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Default Re: Best way to clean old vinyl records

Quote:
Originally Posted by Craig Sawyers View Post
... If they have fingerprints, that are really difficult to get rid of, or cigarette deposits, I use a Moth cleaner (made from a kit when they used to supply that). That uses a mainly alcohol solution and so dissolves tough grot ...
Back when I needed to get optical components super-clean, and when I also knew chemists, they told me that the best stuff for shifting fingerprint grease was cyclohexane. It's extremely dangerous from a fire point of view, though (remember Flixborough ). I also don't know whether it's chemically compatible with vinyl.

Cheers,

GJ
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Old 22nd May 2020, 11:39 am   #19
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Default Re: Best way to clean old vinyl records

Quote:
Originally Posted by Craig Sawyers View Post
.... My only comment is be careful of a wash under the tap. If you have hard water you can end up with deposits as the water evaporates, even if you blot it nearly dry.
You are correct, we have very soft water here. But any tap water is fine if you do not let it dry before going into the 2nd de-ionised water clean.

@Ray_Singh. Yes a 'dust bug'. It came with the deck. I think it is a Boots or WH Smith version of the Watts bug.

One thing I do not do is dry the records manually. I always let them dry in air on the Knosti rack. I avoid any rubbing once cleaned.
The Knosti is very good at stopping static, any friction just brings the static back.
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Old 23rd May 2020, 11:17 pm   #20
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Default Re: Best way to clean old vinyl records?

I have used Record Restorer for years and years and it's fantastic stuff but as mentioned some of the older labels can bleed, especially the orange CBS labels. Got the family to buy me a Knosti one Christmas and that was brilliant as well, even a drying rack, so no more tellings off from the missus for using her plate rack. I now combine both as the Knosti liquid has run out.
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