vinyl record cleaning

[1lieutenant]

Getting back into vintage stereo. Recently set up my 40 year old system of Hafler amp and preamp with Luxman turntable and Canton speakers. The system sounds as great as I remember with excellent soundstage. Despite the fact that I always took good care of my albums I found the surface noise disconcerting. I know vinyl will never be CD or streaming quiet, but I was looking for some improvement.

After some research I came upon Spin Clean. Uses microfiber brushes and rollers to wet clean records while spinning them manually. Despite looking clean prior to cleaning, I was amazed at how much junk was removed from the grooves. The solution is a mixture of distilled water and two capfuls of their proprietary solution which is supposed to encapsulate the dirt and allow it to sink to the bottom.

Pictures are of the device and an attempt to show the amount of crud removed from 20 records. Kind of hard to see, but the water was murky with lots of dark stuff on the bottom. The results were incredible. Quality of the music and surface noise improved by an estimated 90%. Not the most high tech, but very effective.

 

[DBMaster]

I used one of these for years. When the liquid ran out I just used rubbing alcohol. I would even pick up a bit of schmutz from some brand new records.

 

[Cujet]

I also had great luck with the spin clean. Great company too, as we ran over ours when it was delivered, not seeing it in the driveway. They replaced it free of charge. Awesome folks with a great product.

I've tried wood glue on the worst albums, and even pressure washing with compressed air and soapy water. Neither is the right way.

 

[Geekhead]

Getting back into vintage stereo. Recently set up my 40 year old system of Hafler amp and preamp with Luxman turntable and Canton speakers. The system sounds as great as I remember with excellent soundstage. Despite the fact that I always took good care of my albums I found the surface noise disconcerting. I know vinyl will never be CD or streaming quiet, but I was looking for some improvement.

After some research I came upon Spin Clean. Uses microfiber brushes and rollers to wet clean records while spinning them manually. Despite looking clean prior to cleaning, I was amazed at how much junk was removed from the grooves. The solution is a mixture of distilled water and two capfuls of their proprietary solution which is supposed to encapsulate the dirt and allow it to sink to the bottom.

Pictures are of the device and an attempt to show the amount of crud removed from 20 records. Kind of hard to see, but the water was murky with lots of dark stuff on the bottom. The results were incredible. Quality of the music and surface noise improved by an estimated 90%. Not the most high tech, but very effective.

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What I used to do was apply LAST treatment(still available but wow whata price) on the records before playing and I only played once to dub to a HQ cassette tape for my car and home use. With the car playback fidelity was who cares, it did the job. At home with decent Maxell tapes in a good tape deck it was OK with the Dolby B or C. Now I have not dug into the archives to see what the old vinyl records still sound like or if my old Dual turntable needs a belt or 2 but that is for a future project. I have some old vintage Carver pre amp and power amp stuff to try out still.

 

[Owen Lucas]

I've tried wood glue on the worst albums

One would think this is the ultimate way to get into the grooves and pick up dust. I guess not. Sure looks fun though!

 

[1lieutenant]

What I used to do was apply LAST treatment(still available but wow whata price) on the records before playing and I only played once to dub to a HQ cassette tape for my car and home use. With the car playback fidelity was who cares, it did the job. At home with decent Maxell tapes in a good tape deck it was OK with the Dolby B or C. Now I have not dug into the archives to see what the old vinyl records still sound like or if my old Dual turntable needs a belt or 2 but that is for a future project. I have some old vintage Carver pre amp and power amp stuff to try out still.

Looks like a great project! You might just be very impressed with the quality of the sound.

 

[JeffKeryk]

Dish soap and warm water. Warsh with your fingers.

Impressive gear, by the way. They were paying you too much back in the day...

 

[1lieutenant]

Dish soap and warm water. Warsh with your fingers.

Impressive gear, by the way. They were paying you too much back in the day...

LOL. Just a self employed young dentist with little money but an enjoyment for music.

 

[AndyB]

Spin Clean is a game changer. Buy a second one and use just distilled water for a final rinse. Incorporate some type of vacuum wand to remove the moisture on the record and you’re very close to high end record cleaning machine.
Andy

 

[1lieutenant]

Spin Clean is a game changer. Buy a second one and use just distilled water for a final rinse. Incorporate some type of vacuum wand to remove the moisture on the record and you’re very close to high end record cleaning machine.
Andy

Probably won’t buy a second one, but you make a good point.

I just do a thorough cleaning of the record then lay each one on a clean, previously washed microfiber cloth. I will layer 5 or 6 albums allowing the cloths to wick away as much water as possible. Final drying with the absorbent cloths provided with the Spin Clean machine. Switch cloths when they get too wet. With $8 worth of amazon basics microfiber cloths I can clean a lot of records per session.

 

[jennings]

Well laundered cotton diapers are great for drying after a Spin Clean wash. Old dishrack to let air do the rest.

 

[Lubener]

I still occassionally use my Disc Washer fluid and brush which I got back in the 70's.

 

[willbur]

there was a guy who applied wood glue to records and then pealed it off with debris attached! LOL

 

[Pablo]

I use a GrooveWasher (looks just like the vintage Disc Washer feltish brush with walnut handle) with Super Record Wash (I have a quart) with a couple drops of isopropyl per 4 oz. Does the job well. I follow up with Side A brush and air as needed.

My main problem is not cleanliness of record surfaces, mainly static dust/fuzz/fur and a very furry dog and two Siamese cats.

 

[930.engineering]

.
Keith Monks. Nothing else! Silent, while all the rest are annoyingly noisy.