Horn of Praise

In the last month I have gotten back into listening to vinyl. I have found a "ton" of great albums by Herb Alpert and the TJB, Al Hirt, Maynard Ferguson, Doc Severinsen, etc. But many times, when you pick them up for a "buck", they are showing their age.

A good record cleaning brush (with solution) can do a decent job. But if the record is really dirty, it will usually only push the dirt around. While doing some research on the web I came across a cleaning technique that I tried as a kid back in the 1970's, and totally forgot about...but it does work great.

Put a couple drops of "Dawn" dishwashing liquid in a small bowl of warm (not hot) water. With a soft, lint-free cloth (dipped in the soapy solution) gently clean the record surface. Wipe in the direction of the grooves, in both directions...clockwise and counter-clockwise. Rinse the record thoroughly with warm (not hot) water.

Put a bath towel on a flat surface. Lay the record on one half of the towel, and fold the towel over on top of the record. Gently "pat" the record dry. This cleaning method works quite well. It will usually eliminate many "pops", occasionally repair a "skip" (because dirt has been dislodged), and restore low-end frequency response.

And once your vinyl is clean, you can get new sleeves at:

https://www.sleevetown.com/lp-sleeves-inner.shtml

I enjoy sharing things that work. All the best.

Skip

Nice,

The only things that I would add are:

1. First, hold the record vertically over the kitchen sink and use the sprayer, with a gentle stream of water to rinse any gross stuff from both sides of the record. Then clean as Paul mentions.
2. Never wipe the surface when dry. Always use a liquid media - water, dawn & water (as Paul mentions), etc.
3. Never wipe across the grooves (as Paul mentions).
4. Follow up with the "Disc Washer" or similar system to remove fine particles, and to anti-static treat the vinyl.

fatpauly

Or you could just get one of these:

http://www.keithmonks-rcm.co.uk

- Paul Artola
Ellicott City, Maryland

Skip

Very interesting (as Artie from LI would say).

But, they left out some vital info;........like......

1. How long it takes to clean a record?
and,
2. How much it costs? Bet it ain't cheap. :o :(

Horn of Praise

WOW! That Keith Monks unit looks like the Rolls Royce of record cleaners. I have seen far less sophisticated units (on the web) in the $200-$800 range. That "puppy" has to cost several thousand.

Oh well...at least we can dream.

Japle

ArmorAll
I've been using the stuff on LPs for over 10 years and it works great. Don't get it on the label, though.
I've put most of my LPs on CD. I have to run the signal from my turntable through a pre-amp and into the sound card. A light film of ArmorAll on the LP while recording helps a lot. The needle floats on the film and you get less noise without harming the quality of the music.
There's a program called "RIP Vinyl" that I've gotten good results with. It's shareware.