Best way to clean lps

I have about a couple hundred lps that I know are never going to come out on cd...I need to find the best way to clean them in order to get rid of the pops and crackles ..All of them are near mint but when I play them ihear quite a bit of surface noise....anyone have a good idea?

 

Find someone with a vacuum cleaning machine who will clean a couple for you, if that does the trick buy a used VPI or similar, clean the collection and sell the machine for little if any financial loss, job done, although cleaning a couple of hundred will take you a while.

For advice on technique, fluids, brushes etc. search the forum.

 

Not the fanciest, or even best by any means, but I get great results with the inexpensive Spin-Clean System. I think that especially if Your vinyl is in great shape, it would probably suffice. I would buy the $129 kit, because You save quite a bit on the spares, and You would need them for a few hundred LP's. I have fun cleaning with it, and then I utilize my ZeroStat gun and put them in new MoFi record sleeves. If You do all of these steps, You will no doubt eliminate many if not most of Your pops and crackles. You can spend thousands on an ultrasound cleaner, but if You're looking to put Your LP's back into good serviceable condition, I think that You would be happy with the results from taking the steps that I described on the Good Ol' Reliable Spin-Clean System, MoFi Sleeves, and the ZeroStat De-ionization gun. I would buy a dish draining rack to allow the records to finish air drying after You hand dry them with the excellent and gentle drying towels supplied with the Spin-Clean System.
If You are wealthy, buy one of the ultrasound cleaners and disregard everything that I said.

 

Tons of threads on this recently, so I'll second the suggestion for a basic search. As mentioned above, trying out a vacuum machine is probably a good idea. I have a local record store that charges $2 per record on a smart matrix RCM. Might be worth it to see if that that does the trick on a couple of your records. I'll second the Spin Clean recommendation. That's all my current budget has allowed for, but it has worked well on used vinyl (all in good shape, though) that I've recently picked up.

 

Many many threads on this here, also over at Audiogon there are extensive discussions about various way to clean records and what types of fluids to use. I'm a VPI 16.5 person myself, it works great, doesn't cost as much as some more expensive options, and you can choose what fluids to use or experiment with. I use the Audio Intelligent fluids from Osage Audio.....a ton of good feedback on this product.

 

2nd the rec for a Spin Clean. If you find it to be inadequate on its own, it can be used as a pre cleaner with a vacuum machine such as a Nitty Gritty.

 

I too am very happy with the results I've gotten from a Spin Clean but I would certainly love to try an ultrasonic cleaner.

 

Chet out Knosti Disco antistat for around half the price of the Spin-clean, yet it does the same thing. It's just not yellow..

 

My favored way to clean LPs is wet cleaning with a multi-detergent/solvent solution or two passes with two different solutions, use of good brushes for the fluid cleaning, followed by a rinse with some kind of purified water, dried with a vacuum machine (the cheapest is the $200 Record Doctor from Audio Advisor).

The old Orbitrac cleaning system -- using one pad for cleaning and one for drying -- was the only non-vacuum machine cleaning system that I thought was very good. And any system that relies on air drying, in my experience, is a complete miss, and other than the Orbitrac pads I haven't found much in the way of towels and pads that seem to dry the record surface fast enough and thoroughly such that not residue is left behind.

I know some people love the wood glue method. I haven't tried it myself, maybe it works but a) I don't have time to it, I want a cleaning method that takes two minuets; and b) I personally wouldn't peel wood glue off a record without subsequently giving the records a wet cleaning and vacuum drying.

I also haven't tried ultrasonic cleaning yet.

But to the extent that the pops and crackles are the result of surface scuffing or record friction, cleaning is not going to help. In fact it might make things worse, certainly it will increase stylus-groove friction.

If all you need to do is remove surface dust and other loose surface stuff, a carbon fiber brush is good.

 

Spin Clean is my choice, as well.

 

Do you use the one step or the multistep method with their chemicals?

 

I wouldn't then call the condition of your vinyl near mint, but maybe I'm nit-picking.

There are many ways to clean vinyl and there are several threads on the subject. I wouldn't call one method better than the other, because so many of us have various ways for cleaning our vinyl. We stick to our own method as it works for us. I use both the Spin-Clean system and my Nitty Gritty 2.5Fi RCM. I would love to try one one the ultrasonics, but that's unlikely to happen and I surely can't afford one.

Have fun!

 

What kind of brushes have everyone been using? I saw a review before where Drdeadwax was talking about how nice the flat pad type were the one's he preferred. I think I like the regular kind of brushes.

He also mentioned the VPI brushes damaged some records? Not sure if that is true or he has a thing for goat hair brushes.

 

I've found that no one single method is the be-all-end-all. For best results, combine two methods. I've found that a wet cleaning followed by wood glue gives the best results. It can be time-consuming but the proof's in the pudding.

 

I use the Goldring Super-Exstatic. It's the same unit as the Hunt EDA Carbon Fiber brush.
http://www.needledoctor.com/Hunt-EDA-Carbon-Fiber-Brush?sc=2&category=1177

 

I'm going to agree with John here, and say that there are as many methods as there are products, various fluids, types of machines and approaches. I've been somewhat obsessed with the subject lately, and without trying every possible machine and fluid on the market, I've been finding continual improvements in sound as a result of varying my approach, using different equipment, fluids and steps. There is certainly an issue of cost (though the DIY club offers reasonable alternatives, including for ultrasonic). I have found that ultrasonic is not a panacea for older grotty vinyl, but there are those who think otherwise whose opinions I respect.
Rather than recommend a particular machine, fluid and methodology, my understanding of the results, and my experience with various cleaning approaches continues to evolve.
There is another interesting thread here that veered in the direction of 'friction' as it affects vinyl playback- the premise being that by 'cleaning,' we are actually treating the record surface in a way that either increases or decreases friction between the groove and stylus. I don't have enough science to reach a firm conclusion on this either, but acknowledge it.
I guess where I come out is:
1. Do no harm;
2. Don't leave fluid residue on the surface of the record or create static in the cleaning process;
3. Find a method or combination of steps that is neither time nor cost prohibitive, given your willingness to commit time and money to the ordeal;
4. Resleeve (keep the old sleeve for artifact value, but don't put a clean record in an old grotty sleeve); and
5. Learn what handling methods (sleeving, carpeted floor with shoes, etc.) contribute to static.

 

I have had one of these since the 70's (not the same one, I keep replacing it with fresh ones). It does a marvelous job of collecting all the surface detritus in a perfect line; the problem I have (maybe 40 years of not using it correctly) is that it doesn't effectively lift the 'stuff' from the surface. (I know that there are various methods to that which I've tried, including 'charging' the felt pad by brushing it against the edge of the metal holder; reverse charging the brushes with a Zerostat, etc. None of those methods have made a great deal of difference in terms of 'lifting' the stuff it collects off the record). The idea of skewing the brush toward the outer rim to 'push' the detritus off the record doesn't seem to be a good answer. Is your experience any different? Anybody? Bueller?

 

Hi Bill....nice to see you again!

One way I've found to reduce static is to reduce the # of vacuum cycles. I only vacuum for 2 rotations now.

 

That's the problem with these and any brush IMO. As I hold the brush I can see it accumulating dust and if I then lift it, a lot of it remains, so I obviously don't do that. I move the brush counter-clockwise and slightly angled, and then bring it outward and off the LP. Visually it looks okay, but I know that by moving it some dust has been redistributed into the grooves. I know this as I can see dust on the stylus after it has been played.

Perhaps someone could develop a hand-held powered vacuum/brush system. Or maybe I could go back to using the "Dustbug".

 

I use multistep method but I don't get too crazy with it......I use the enzymatic cleaner for the first pass on the machine, then vacuum off. Next I use the archivist wash. Last I rinse the LP with their pure water rinse using a different clean brush. It's worked like a charm so far!

- Buck

 

As far as brushes go, I think that the shape of the Discwasher is ideal. put fluid in a line across the leading edge make one rotation, and as the record turns, the wet line picks up the debris, and by the time You have rolled it opposite the fluid line You have dried it and picked up the rest of the residue that was on the album when You started. I have albums that I cleaned with the Discwasher for years, and it didn't harm the LP. Now I'm washing the same albums with the Spin-Clean, and with the MoFi sleeves they sound as good as new, or better.

 

Regarding using the brush. I've had great improvements touching the center pin before placing the brush on the record. A lot more dust gets on the brush compared to leaving this step out. Try it.

I use 2 separate baths for my Knosti. One with Isopropyl mixed with distilled water (30/70 mix) and one with just distilled water. When I first take the record up from the ISO mix I can see the water stays on the record. After the second bath the water just drops of leaving an almost clean record directly. Recommended!

With new records I normally just give them a spin in distilled water to get rid of the statics and then put them into a poly sleeve. The paper sleeves that most records come with should be forbidden.

 

For a budget record cleaner, the KAB EV-1 is a good deal. It's essentially a Nitty Gritty minus the motor. You will need to supply your own vacuum cleaner.
https://www.kabusa.com/ev1.htm

It has transformed some of my dustier records - constant click-n-pop generators - to quiet bliss.

 

That Kab Ev looks like it would be awesome if used in combination with the Spin-Clean. That would eliminate the towels, and the suction on that Kab Ev should really dry them fast.

 

I have used the Disc Doctor system for years with great results. It's manual, but the price is right and the records come out clean.