Magic Eraser very overrated as a stylus cleaner*

I'm pretty surprised at all the praise this gets for stylus cleaning. More often than not, if there's a little dust ball on your needle, dipping it into the ME will not take it off. A soft swipe is still needed. Anyone agree?

 

I much prefer this sucker:

 

I too was underwhelmed by magic eraser. For a really bad bit of much alternating between the Oznow and the M.E. proved a good combo but still didn't completely do the trick, I also had to use my old Dishwasher stylus brush

 

Just got a Clearaudio diamond stylus brush yesterday. Up till now I have been using the NAGAOKA Stylus Cleaner Needle Cleaning Fluid with the brush that came with the bottle. I have had no issues with the cleaning fluid so far.

 

I think it's great and when I first started using it I compared the before and after using my son's digital microscope. Very effective. It may not be able to dislodge all heavy crud of unknown origin picked up and packed in from an errant vintage find but rare is the time it won't. Regardless, I always finish with a swipe or 2 of the discwasher SC2.

 

Couple dips in the eraser always takes the visible debris off for me, did you buy the plain old Magic Eraser?

 

The plain old ME? I guess so...the one with no chemical additives..just the white, dry "sponge".

 

Onzow all the way plus clear audio brush and elixir

 

I think just getting a dust ball off is best left to a dry brush. If you look at your stylus under magnification- say a jeweler's loupe- nothing electronic, you can sometimes see some build up that isn't easy brushed off. That is what the ME will do pretty well (though you have to be careful). I also have the Oznow/Onzow, but for this baked on stuff, it doesn't get it clean like the ME. Note- I do not use any liquid stylus cleaner on my current cartridges, so there's that, too. (When I had Lyras, I did b/c J. Carr recommended it for his products).
PS: and when you use ME you must brush afterwards, to get rid of any abrasive residue.

 

Sounds like you did. There's a few varieties: Original, Extra Durable, Extra Power, Bathroom...

 

I also use the Clearaudio Brush with the Clearaudio Elixir along with my old Discwasher brush. I was not impressed with using the Magic Eraser on my cartridge, it does a good job for its intended use removing stains. Some people like using them for cleaning thier stylus, I'm not one of them. I do intend on getting a zerodust in the near future.

 

ME works great mate !

 

Works fine for me. I keep an old Discwasher SC-2 that gets regular use. I do a drop in the ME and lift once and a while to do a little bit of an extra "scrub". The SC-2 does a great job at getting all of the snagged dust off. I wouldn't use the ME for that. Don't use anything other than a plain old dry ME without any added cleaning substances.

 

The magic eraser does work well. One can examine the results through a microscope. A nasty stylus will often look like a nib of needle poking out of a shoulder of gunk coating the cantilever mount. Takes this crud right off through physical action, restoring the stylus to bare metal. Brushing applies forces to the needle that may catch and pull it loose; getting the stylus wet with solvent just to let it dry won't clean much.

 

Agree I still use stylus brushes..... 1 (course) before ME than another 1 (soft-Benz) after one ME to get any ME debris off
the stylus. Under mag the stylus is super clean and bright...before ME I was getting LP9/stylast buildup on the entire stylus....which made it look green/brown/blue under mag. now I only see the diamond and steel (clear as a bell) and the sound.....clear as a bell!

sean

 

I think it works fine and it will scrape off crud, but it's very grabby so its use requires some delicacy, and of course abrasive (which is why it works) and melamine foam is known to leave crumbs so I'd follow up any use with a brushing before playing a record. Personally I prefer a non-abrasive cleaner like ZeroDust for everyday use, or just a soft brush to knock off relatively loose dust. But when and if you need a pass with an abrasive cleaner because you have some baked on stuff on a stylus, it's effective. But I don't think that kind of abrasion is necessary for average everyday cleaning of dust from clean records, at least I never felt comfortable with it (or, like, with the old sandpaper-on-a-stick stylus cleaners for the same reasons of high abrasiveness and abrasive flaking).

 

How dirty are your records if the stylus has a huge visible gob of crud on it? I brush my stylus before and after each side, use the magic eraser every now and then, and also use a fluid cleaner once a week or so. However, I've never noticed anything visible with the naked eye on the stylus in the 15 years that I've been back to listening to vinyl.

 

Tried it, all it does is push a dustball up the stylus shank. I use a Discwasher SC2 to scrub and a soft brush to clean the cantilever and bottom of the cartridge. Have been since the 70s.

 

Zerodust then ME then Zerodust again = perfect stylus cleaning

 

A cube of Magic Eraser, a toothpick and a small stylus brush is all you need. Zerodusts and the like are just another in a long line of massive profit margin audio products that are no more (or even less) effective than solutions costing a fraction of their cost.

P.T. Barnum would have loved audiophiles...

 

IME Magic Eraser cleans off crud other methods leave behind. Just take a little care and you'll have a shining stylus.

John K.

 

Using the ME dry is ok if the dust is dry. I have used, for the last two years, a small spray of my record cleaning fluid on the ME. Insert the stylus into the ME two or three times, then insert into the dry side of the ME twice to ensure no residue is left. This leaves a perfect tip (as viewed through my loupe)

I use my own made up record cleaning fluid (for the last 5 years with an Okki Nokki). 50% Bioethanol/Distilled Water with two drops of Dishwasher rinse agent.

For information I get my products from:
BIOETHANOL FUEL - Bioethanol Fuels | Bio Ethanol Fires Ireland »
and
The Distilled Water Company | Uk's Leading Distilled Water Supplier »

Other sources are available of course.

 

Ok, so this begs the question, which one of the several varieties do you use and recommend for stylus cleaning? Thanks.

 

Brush then use ME. I brush after every side and use ME every other record.
Stylus brushes are for fuz.

 

I've been using blu-tack for a while now...maybe its not perfect but it seems to do the trick.

How to Care for New or Soundsmith Rebuilt Cartridges | Soundsmith »