Record Cleaning Fluid
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Ive been using 80% distilled water and 20% isopropyl alcohol. I dont know if its offical, but it works for me so far.
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Windex and water works pretty well. Adds a nice shine, and no streaks!
Sometimes I use make-up wedges for cleaning. They only absorb enough fluid to get the job done. Gets in the grooves and leaves no lint.
A local audiophile I know swears about the wonders of BUGGTUSSEL
From Site
Vinyl-Zyme Gold is an aqueous solution of preformed, natural enzymes. Its enzymatic action mimics the biological digestion process to break microbial attachment. Vinyl-Zyme Gold leaves your grooves cleansed, non-attractive to dust and other forms of aerial contamination, and non-supportive of microbial growth (Figure 3). Fungi and bacteria won't attach to and grow on a surface this clean.
i am tempted to get some and try it out myself. Hopefully in the future we will have nanorobots that can clean whole collections in a day
From Site
Vinyl-Zyme Gold is an aqueous solution of preformed, natural enzymes. Its enzymatic action mimics the biological digestion process to break microbial attachment. Vinyl-Zyme Gold leaves your grooves cleansed, non-attractive to dust and other forms of aerial contamination, and non-supportive of microbial growth (Figure 3). Fungi and bacteria won't attach to and grow on a surface this clean.
i am tempted to get some and try it out myself. Hopefully in the future we will have nanorobots that can clean whole collections in a day
I was talking with a high-end audio dealer last night and he highly recommended enzyme cleaners with a VPI machine. The stuff is pricey, but you use so little of it that a $150 bottle will last several years. They sell the Walker Audio Prelude products.
We've been making our own by a adding a few drops of Triton and a couple of ounces of alcohol to a gallon of distilled water and it's been working great. A variant would be to add a few drops of high-quality detergent also, but I'm not sure that's really necessary.
Cheap and highly effective.
Cheap and highly effective.
After basically 7 years of lurking, I guess I should actually try to contribute back in some way for all that this board has given me. Hopefully someone will find this useful:
From research and experience, I have found a good record cleaning solution consists of 3 parts. Here is what they are and the science of why they work.
1. Distilled water: This is used because it contains no impurities, especially minerals that could dry onto the record. Acts as a carrier for the other ingredients.
2. Alcohol: Usually isopropyl or ethyl: Its purpose is really as a solvent to cut through grease, cigarette tar, etc. If using rubbing alcohol, be sure to make sure it is just alcohol and water (nothing else). This is really the cleaning workhorse of the fluid. DO Not use it in any fluid used for cleaning acetates (especially old 78s),
3. Surfactant: Fancy name for a detergent or soap. A very very very tiny amount should be used (eg: a few drops to a gallon). It is not there to perform any sort of sudsing or cleaning action. Its purpose is to break the surface tension of the water. By breaking the surface tension, you allow the cleaning fluid to go all the way to the bottom of the groove. Basically, this is the difference between your fluid cleaning the top of the record and it actually getting into the grooves. The trick here is that you don't want to just use any random soap or detergent. You need one that is "non-ionic". This basically means that it will not bond to impurities in the water (or more likely, the gunk you are cleaning off the record). The triton x-100, tergitol, or photo-flo are all good choices (and incidentally, pretty much all the same chemical: phenoxypolyethoxyethanol).
On the subject of Photo-Flo: If you look at the MSDS sheet for it, you will see it is basically triton x-100, propylene glycol (a solvent that would be harmless to vinyl, but cuts grease and helps the water and alcohol mix), and water. Its easy to obtain and cheap. As with any good surfactant: if you only add the tiny amount called for in these recipes, it will not leave any residue behind. I tested this once by soaking my record brush in a solution containing a few drops of photo flo per gallon and then painting it across a mirror. Once dry, you could see absolutely no residue left behind.
The final piece here is a good brush with bristles small enough to get into the grooves to loosen any junk. I've also found using a vacuum system of some type to remove the fluid and dust is really quite important. I built the cleaner in that DIY audio link that was posted earlier. It works great, and has taken more than one vg+ sounding record from the thrift up to minty fresh.
From research and experience, I have found a good record cleaning solution consists of 3 parts. Here is what they are and the science of why they work.
1. Distilled water: This is used because it contains no impurities, especially minerals that could dry onto the record. Acts as a carrier for the other ingredients.
2. Alcohol: Usually isopropyl or ethyl: Its purpose is really as a solvent to cut through grease, cigarette tar, etc. If using rubbing alcohol, be sure to make sure it is just alcohol and water (nothing else). This is really the cleaning workhorse of the fluid. DO Not use it in any fluid used for cleaning acetates (especially old 78s),
3. Surfactant: Fancy name for a detergent or soap. A very very very tiny amount should be used (eg: a few drops to a gallon). It is not there to perform any sort of sudsing or cleaning action. Its purpose is to break the surface tension of the water. By breaking the surface tension, you allow the cleaning fluid to go all the way to the bottom of the groove. Basically, this is the difference between your fluid cleaning the top of the record and it actually getting into the grooves. The trick here is that you don't want to just use any random soap or detergent. You need one that is "non-ionic". This basically means that it will not bond to impurities in the water (or more likely, the gunk you are cleaning off the record). The triton x-100, tergitol, or photo-flo are all good choices (and incidentally, pretty much all the same chemical: phenoxypolyethoxyethanol).
On the subject of Photo-Flo: If you look at the MSDS sheet for it, you will see it is basically triton x-100, propylene glycol (a solvent that would be harmless to vinyl, but cuts grease and helps the water and alcohol mix), and water. Its easy to obtain and cheap. As with any good surfactant: if you only add the tiny amount called for in these recipes, it will not leave any residue behind. I tested this once by soaking my record brush in a solution containing a few drops of photo flo per gallon and then painting it across a mirror. Once dry, you could see absolutely no residue left behind.
The final piece here is a good brush with bristles small enough to get into the grooves to loosen any junk. I've also found using a vacuum system of some type to remove the fluid and dust is really quite important. I built the cleaner in that DIY audio link that was posted earlier. It works great, and has taken more than one vg+ sounding record from the thrift up to minty fresh.
any suggestions on proportions?
And do you usually do a secondary rinse of distilled water only after the initial cleaning?
And do you usually do a secondary rinse of distilled water only after the initial cleaning?
dubjay said:On the subject of Photo-Flo: If you look at the MSDS sheet for it, you will see it is basically triton x-100, propylene glycol (a solvent that would be harmless to vinyl, but cuts grease and helps the water and alcohol mix), and water. Its easy to obtain and cheap. As with any good surfactant: if you only add the tiny amount called for in these recipes, it will not leave any residue behind. I tested this once by soaking my record brush in a solution containing a few drops of photo flo per gallon and then painting it across a mirror. Once dry, you could see absolutely no residue left behind.
Not that it's a big deal, but it's better to use Triton, not Photo-Flo. Propylene Glycol won't hurt vinyl directly, but it won't rinse off easily either. It's used in hair conditioner for this reason.
As for ratios, it's not set in stone, but a few drops of Triton, a few ounces of high-purity alcohol (if you don't want to go to a chemical supply house get at least 91% pure from a pharmacy) in a gallon of distilled water and you're set.
I would not do a second rinse of just distilled water, though it probably wouldn't do much harm. The main problem would be that it won't dry quickly and will attract dirt.
Not that it's a big deal, but it's better to use Triton, not Photo-Flo. Propylene Glycol won't hurt vinyl directly, but it won't rinse off easily either. It's used in hair conditioner for this reason.
As for ratios, it's not set in stone, but a few drops of Triton, a few ounces of high-purity alcohol (if you don't want to go to a chemical supply house get at least 91% pure from a pharmacy) in a gallon of distilled water and you're set.
I would not do a second rinse of just distilled water, though it probably wouldn't do much harm. The main problem would be that it won't dry quickly and will attract dirt.
Horseleech said:
I would not do a second rinse of just distilled water, though it probably wouldn't do much harm. The main problem would be that it won't dry quickly and will attract dirt.
Even with a VPI?
I would not do a second rinse of just distilled water, though it probably wouldn't do much harm. The main problem would be that it won't dry quickly and will attract dirt.
Even with a VPI?
G
Grope
Guest
Maybe you can ask a friend who works in a lab for a few drops of Triton X-something.
I would recommend to use a detergent (Triton is a detergent) for a washing machine (ike Tide?! Or whatever it is being called in the US) with distilled water THEN clean it with pure water THEN let it dry and THEN clean it with distilled water plus isoprop.
I would recommend to use a detergent (Triton is a detergent) for a washing machine (ike Tide?! Or whatever it is being called in the US) with distilled water THEN clean it with pure water THEN let it dry and THEN clean it with distilled water plus isoprop.
