Discwasher D4 vintage

A friend of mine at work gave me his old Discwasher D4 brush a couple of weeks ago. Still in the box with all the accessories (magnifier, liquid, etc). It's obviously been well-taken care of. Still, is there a way to give it a a quick cleaning since it has been sitting unused for twenty-some years?

 

I used to be a big proponent of the D4, but the last 2 bottles of the fliud just reeked of Alchohol. I think the brush does a good job of removing surface debris, but now I just use it dry. Once I clean my lps with my SpinClean they don't seem to need much else.

I just cleaned about 35 lps for a friend and he was amazed at how good they sound now. The solution has never been so dirty in my SpinClean. I think it is the best $79 I've spend in audio.

 

D1 was water.
D2 was watered down D1
D3 was watered down D2...




Like Jim, I still use my old brush to dry records.

 

I still use one of their Anti-Stat turntable mats that I bought back in the eighties. The thing is amazing, gets rid of all static on records and never wears out. I also still use their brush that I bought at the same time. Sometimes you do get your money's worth.
Regards, Sam

 

I have 4 of the original disc washers with either the D3 or D4 fluids and a large refill of D3. I use it dry and also use the Zerostat gun. I would love to have the Anti-Stat mat! Anyways...I have stumbled on these over the years at second hand stores for cheap. The interesting thing is that each of them has a slightly different firmness to them. I tend to use 2 each LP...I start with the least firm one and then a stiffer one...sometimes the other way around....probably in my head but this seems to work well for me.

 

Remember that D4 fluid in the red bottle is an original Discwasher product. The newer fluid in the black bottle is called D4+

If original fluid still smells neutral, it should still be fine to use. All it is is mostly distilled water with a small amount of - what's the word for the stuff that breaks up surface tension? - an anti-microbial to keep unwanted things from growing in the water, and - well, that's about it.

Discwasher made great products for record care and the brushes were/are the best ever for removing dust prior to playing a record.

You can clean a Discwasher record brush in the sink with dishwashing detergent. Just get the brush wet, add a small amount of detergent, scrub with an old toothbrush or the red brush supplied by Discwasher, rinse thoroughly, squeeze as much water out of the pad as possible, press the pad against a terrycloth towel to remove more water, and let dry. It will be like new again.

Doug

 

I have 2 of the brushes and one box..that is it.....haven't used the brushes in awhile...They are sitting here, I need to reuse them

 

With the old red bottle D4 solution, the drops would bead up on top of the brush until you worked them into the brush with the bottom of the bottle. The new black bottle formula is very watery and just soaks right into the brush.

 

Oh yeah, surfactant is the word I was trying to remember.

Doug

 

I think this is the best replacement you'll find. A true, one-step cleaner that works great with the D4. I still use two D4s on my records!

http://www.amazon.com/MOBILE-FIDELITY-RECORD-CLEANING-SOLUTION/dp/B003DX0JPW

I get great results with ONE cleaner. I use one of my D4s to put the fluid on and one to dry. But you could go lightly on the juice and just use one D4 for the whole process.

 

I used a Discwasher for years (literally 15+ years) and was never satisfied with it or any similar brush/liquid system. My opinion was that all it did was reduce surface dust, but it couldn't get deep down into the grooves. Often, I felt like all the brushes did was just move the dust around to different parts of the record. I found the only way to really remove the dirt entirely is with a wet-vacuum system like the VPI, the Nitty-Gritty, or similar systems. Strictly IMHO.

What was the British system that also had a brush? Parastat? It's been a long time. Had one of those, too -- same deal. I did like the Discwasher stylus cleaner (with the little magnifying glass), and that worked fine.

 

There were several Watts (Cecil Watts, an early real audiophile - look him up) record cleaners. The Professional Cleaner was a mechanical brush/rotator thing I've only seen photos of, the Parastat range had velvet pads and a brush in the center and came in a few iterations. The most popular was the last one, a cheap but effective foam sausage with a plush cover and a 'humidifier' center tube. I used on of those, the Parostatik disc preener, for about ten years myself. You really had to control the dampness, but if you got it right it removed light fluff and dust very well. Too damp, and like the Discwasher you got mud all over your records and a gummed up stylus.

These things could certainly keep records clean, but did little if your discs were actually dirty. Washing, rinsing and drying does that. (as Watts well knew, I've got one of his care of records leaflets)

 

I still have a original Discwasher brush with one bottle of D4 fluid(in the red bottle). But I haven't used it in years. I shared Vidiot's thoughts on its effectiveness. Make me an offer if anyone wants it via PM.

 

I have the set that came in the wooden bottom, plastic top. Big brush, stylus brush, fluid, zerostat (since replaced), D3 fluid bottle...
Probably bought in HS in mid 70s, still use big brush, stylus brush. Fluid now 90% pure isoalky/10% distilled h2o.
I've worn that big brush shiny with my hand - too many years to count...

 

Once again, the misunderstanding occurs thinking those of us Discwasher advocates are trying to say they are the best for deep cleaning. I can't speak for others but I do not mean that. I am saying the Discwasher brush is best for removing dust prior to playing a record and that is true. It doesn't just spread the dust around. The dust is captured by the bristles and lifted into them and the backing material.

This happens in every single Discwasher thread.

Doug

 

I have one of these sets.
I use it with my vacuum record cleaning machine as the cleaning pad and put a 70/30 water/alcohol mix in the bottle
No quite the intended use but it works well.

 

I still have my original Discwasher - and like most here, the original fluid has long since been used, but the brush works great just prior to dropping the needle on an LP.

Anyone remember this?


It had a 'radioactive' insert that was an anti-static treament.

Still have this as well - I prefer the Discwasher brush to this one for the last brush up before the needle drop.

 

Mine is 37 years old and still going strong. Bottle is still half full. I just use it dry

 

What do people think of more common carbon fibre brushes?

I've used one for years but I' not convinced they actually lift much dust from a record.
They seem great at ordering it all into a nice line, then if you try swiping it to the edge it just redistributes again across the disc.

I've never actually tried using my old Discwasher as per the instruction. The point made in the video linked earlier about the bristles orientated in one direction and this helping lift the dust makes some sense. I might just give it a go.

 

Ah, the Watts Parastat record cleaner was the one I couldn't remember.



I had both the Watts and Discwasher -- the Watts was a class act, heavy-duty chrome, very nice; the Discwasher brush wasn't quite as cool, but it came with a Zerostat in a very cool plastic & wood box:



It was cool in the 1970s and 1980s, but the reality was the entire ritual was ineffectual and frustrating. The VPI-16 does a thousand times more thorough cleaning job without any of the BS.

 

I once heard Dr. Bruce Maier, the inventor and (then) owner of Discwasher at a conference. It was one of those lunch meetings in a hotel ballroom where you eat a baked chicken breast served with rice and a salad. He started his talk with the line, "You meat eaters have dirtier records than vegetarians," going on about how oils in our skin are making our records dirty. His point has stayed with me. I now wash my hands before I clean a record...on a VPI 16.5 (sorry, Dr. Maier).

 

I agree. I've been using one for years. I use microfiber towels instead of the ones SC sells. I use a carbon fiber brush before each play.

 

In 35+ years of using DiscWasher record brush systems I have never once put any liquid other than water and sometimes soap on any vinyl record.

 

Fortunately, those I've put on have come off again with.. soap and water. Except SoundGuard, which required multiple alcohol scrubbings.

 

I think I just saw someone introduce a $200 vacuum lp cleaning machine. I'll post if if I can find the link. That is my next move.