Fiber stuck on stylus

20170912_205255 — Postimage.org
Can't get the dang thing off. I've tried my Zerodust ( which is not as sticky as it used to be and needs to be replaced), magic eraser and a stylus brush. My hands so far have been too shaky and my tweezers that we have at the house are not fine enough to pull it off.
Any ideas Or suggestions?

 

Have you cleaned your Zerodust? Seems to return mine back to where it was when new.
BTW, I'd have to try just to pull it off, it can take a little bit-o-bump.

 

Yes, cleaned it many times. Had it a few years and it just started losing it's stickiness over the last two or three months, need to buy a new one.

It's a very fine fiber, felt like I was right on it but couldn't grasp it w tweezers.

I may put an old record on the platter without turning on the table, see if it is still sticking straight out, then try to hold it down with a fingernail while I slowly raise the arm. Pretty funny it's this big of a pain.

 

You could see if it adheres to a piece of scotch tape, taking care not to actually touch the stylus.

 

Maybe a little compressed air? Just a puff or two. Don't blast it.

 

Good ideas. I'm hoping it's not twisted around the stylus

 

ME may work if you know how to use it.
So will a small brush with a tiny amount of isopropyl, but some cartridge manufacturers CAVEAT- Ortofon- use glue to attach the stylus and the alcohol may dissolve the glue.
I had this happen with a valuable old record that I had cleaned very thoroughly. Put it on- and some gummy substance came up off the record, notwithstanding the cleaning (or perhaps because of it) and clotted my stylus. It totally freaked me out, given the cost of the cartridge. The alcohol dissolved it almost instantly.
Remember to dry brush afterwards, particularly if you use ME.

 

ME? Magic eraser?

 

Yes, sorry. You have read the general guidelines about how to use it, right? (It is tiny loops of fiber that have the potential to snag, so you either dip and lift or carefully scrape along the sides. You don't want to snag your stylus in it by dragging, although I've seen it done).
You know Melamine foam was originally intended for sound deadening/proofing applications?

 

You have any Blue Tack?

When this happens, I take a piece of blue tack about the size of a pea and flatten it.
Then, I pinch a tiny bit of the edge and draw it out -it will stretch like gum and turn light blue and it gets even stickier.
I use this thin strand to clean the stylus.
It's thin/light enough not to pose a threat to the stylus and you can clean it top and bottom this way.

Pull too fast or too long and it will snap, so just give it a few tries before your first actual go at the stylus.

 

Good idea as well, might grab some blue tack tomorrow.

Bill I do use the me as you describe. I place it on the plinth and slowly lower the stylus into it using the cue lever.

 

The fiber is likely wrapped around the stylus. As mentioned, you may have success with a can of "dust it". (compressed air) I think the fiber is caught from the back, so remove it in the opposite direction, front to back. This method is not safe by hand (front to back) as you'd risk snapping the cantilever or bending it... but try it with air, in short spurts. Be careful not to direct the air straight into the cartridge. Secure the arm !!!! A magnifier will help a lot.

An alternate method for someone with steady hands, a magnifier and sharp needle, simply pick the fiber off the stylus.

 

Audio Technica AT607 Stylus Cleaner works well and that bottle lasts a live time

 

You can try removing it with your fingers but as you say yourself you don't trust those shaky hands.

My technique is usually a mix of "zerodust", stylus cleaning solution "Stylast", a stylus brush, a puff of air, and in ultimate cases i use my fingers.
==> The stylus/cantilever is not all that fragile, people here tend to exagerate a lot. Of course you need to be careful, but you don't need to be in a white room with microscope and laser-guided precision tools... Hitting the stylus gently will not harm it !

 

Just looking at the cartridge bottom, I think you'd benefit from starting a regular cleaning routine using a small paintbrush on the underside. That's pretty gross, sorry to be the messenger.

The heat generated by stylus/LP contact is so high that eventually, if ignored, stylus cleaning becomes really hard and other things become bonded. Personally, I would try tweezers on that but be very careful as the magnets in the cart will attract some tweezers and might cause damage hitting the stylus. Ask me how I know

What cart is it? If it's a MM cart, just pull off the stylus and clean it properly - but I'm guessing it's an MC?

Good luck, anyway, and your records will most likely sound better with better stylus/cart hygiene.
DD

 

It's a Dynavector 10X5.

Here's the frustrating part about the dirt on the cart body, there seems to be a problem with static around it and I don't have a record cleaner.

But I'm pretty obsessive about cleaning the stylus and records tho. I use the zerodust after every side, no exceptions. I use 2 discwashers on each side. One for a first pass, the other for the second(clean) pass. THEN, I use an anti static spray on the record and wipe while spinning with a microfiber cloth. I do that on every record. About half the time I use a stylus brush back to front. I need to get a zero-stat gun too.

What I have not been doing is brushing off the cart body regularly mainly because I was overly worried about snagging the stylus. I did use the stylus brush on the cart after taking that picture.

The room is clean and I dust and vacuum regularly. The dustcover only comes off when I play a record. No pet hairs in the home, our miniature schnauzer does not shed.

Given all that, it IS frustrating to have all that dirt on the cart!

 

I'm with Bill on careful use of liquid cleaner. I get a stubborn fiber on mine from time to time that won't brush off and Onzow won't grab.

I have some of the MoFi liquid stylus cleaner. I usually soak the little brush and set it up so I can drop the stylus down onto the brush and get slight contact. Capillary action holds the fluid in the brush and essentially, I let it soak for a moment, lift the stylus, and then use the wet brush to clean the stylus. That always gets it. I think sometimes a little gunk/vinyl gets stuck to the stylus and holds the fiber in place. Gotta dissolve/remove that gunk.

 

Thanks. So a liquid stylus cleaner is ok for Dynavectors?

 

I recently had a malfunction that caused my stylus to scrape from about the midway point of the vinyl, all the way back to the rest position. It left a ball of black stuff (presumably vinyl scrapings) on my stylus that did not brush off. A few dips in the magic eraser, followed by a dry brushing, followed by Mofi LP#9 stylus cleaner did the trick.

 

I don't know that.

 

I don't know the answer to your question about liquid stylus cleaners and your particular cartridge.
The dust is inevitable. I see it on my cartridge body too, and I am as close to wearing Kleenex boxes on my feet (old Howard Hughes thing- he was germaphobic) as a reasonably insane person can be. The only answer is a clean room. I know at that point I have gone off the deep end.

 

For the static issues there is nothing better than the blue static gun !

 

I picked up a can of ultra duster at Walmart to try and blow the fiber off the stylus. When I went to check out they needed to override the purchase because it's a restricted item, Does it have chemicals in it or is it just compressed air? There are no ingredients on the can.

 

I would try a liquid cleaner like LP#9 in this instance.

 

I think most manufacturers now add a bitterant to deter huffing abuse.