How clean should your stylus be?

The stylus on the Exact does look a little wide from the front.

 

((frown)) whaddya clean with that thing, your chia-pet?

 

(sigh) Apparently the gel does leave residue on the stylus, which then picks up more stuff, and encourages more than usual buildup. A stylus THAT dirty as shown in the zerodust photo above, probably begins distorting and sounding muffled DURING play of an LP. Don,t clean your stylus like this folks!

If some of the gel deposits on the stylus, and dust adheres to it, where could some of the gel end up? In the groove !!!!

I will buy some, and prove myself right or wrong, take photos. No way the gel can not leave residue on a stylus. (it has to) If I am wrong, then someone think of a fair public ridicule thread about "The FRiNgE who seems to not believe in zerodust.... haha!

There's nothing better than:
1) a clean record
2) a clean stylus starting with a wet clean
3) maintain cleanliness by a stylus brush, dry for removal of loose debris
4) a clean stylus does not adhere dust to itself... the dust practically falls off with a good stylus brush
5) after approx 100 to 200 hours, wet clean periodically as recommended by Peter Lederman (he never said to never use isopropyl occasionally)

For better fidelity, longer record life, stylus life, do it the old way... nothing "fancy".

 

You need a different brush to deal with tiny threads. It should be a very soft very small brush that can get up on top of the cantilever as well as the stylus from various angles. To repeat the bristles need to be Very soft and floppy so they don't pull on the stylus or cantilever. With a longer thread it might take 5 minutes or so to get it unwound.

 

I agree, but.. the Signet brush DOES pull on the cantilever slightly, does a beautiful job. A slight pull side to side does not harm the cantilever nor the suspension, but is effective in cleaning the stylus. A brush too soft does not clean well.

 

My record playback has vastly improved since I've used the Zerodust—far better than my old stylus brush. Those of us on a budget might have to use a Spin Clean, etc., instead of a $1000+ vacuum set. The world's got dust, dirt, and grime in it. That's okay. So does rock 'n' roll. It ain't that fancy.

If my Zerodust picks up those dirt marks, then as far as I'm concerned it's doing its job. I'm sorry if my stylus cleaner actually cleaning my stylus offended you in any way. Next time I will post a picture of an unused one.

Best,

Bill

 

I meant a soft brush Only for threads caught on the stylus, not for stylus cleaning per se. Yes a small stiff brush is required for the stylus that has dust or gunk on it rather than threads.

 

Better stated Bill, I think it's picking up the dirt it's making.
This and blu-tak, and magic sponge are in vogue, the stylish way haha!
I have been cleaning styli for the past (lost count) since 1973. When we had our local stereo shops until about 1987, the techs said.. as they did a free stylus wear inspection, my styli were the cleanest they had ever seen. I do it the old hard way, but it's not that difficult

rock on
Steve VK

Don't listen to me... I'm an old silly audiophile!

 

I don’t use the Dust Buster Gel on this stylus (I used it on my previous Ortofon) as I read that it can leave residue. I only use the brush, and every record I buy gets a clean in my Knosti before it's played. I also brush the stylus after every record. So maybe I'm expecting to see the stylus more defined than is possible with my magnifying glass. The one thing I don't do it wet clean the stylus, as I’ve also read to avoid isopropyl as it can affect the attachment.

What’s the recommended wet clean method?

 

Very true it can. The warnings apply only to the manufacturers who issue them. There isn't a wet cleaning method recommended by Ortofon. However according to Peter Lederman, isopropyl can be used on a Soundsmith sparingly if all else fails. He stresses that it should not be used regularly. Many other manufacturers are not averse to wet cleaning. I've never had a Shure, Signet, Nagatron, Stanton, nor Grado, nor AT stylus fall off because the glue failed. I clean with isopropyl only if needed, and it's seldom needed.

A clean stylus playing a clean record IME does not accumulate sludge. Usually after maybe 100 hours or more, a wet cleaning with a high quality stylus brush will keep it spic n' span. Any loose dust on the stylus will not be adhered, except by a low static charge, and practically falls off over a stylus brush.

The recommended wet cleaning... I've always used isopropyl with perfect results. A Shure M95-HE original nude, natural gem diamond is clear. When it is clean light passes through and it literally gleams. I know it needs wet cleaning when light does not pass through, or not as much, but still does not show any sludge buildup. There's nothing like a clean stylus, really clean. The only way I have been able to achieve that is by occasional wet cleaning with a stylus brush, and dry cleaning for regular maintenance.

 

Thanks. The brush I have seems pretty good (Pro-ject) and I’ll check what the manufacturers of the Exact cartridge say in terms of wet cleaning, but would I simply dip the brush into isopropyl (99.9%) and after brushing leave the brush to air dry?

 

Yes, that's what I do. I have a small eye dropper for applying the isopropyl to the stylus brush. I saturate the brush. It can be rinsed with water if the handle is waterproof (such as the plastic Signet brush) then air dried. Sometimes this process needs to be repeated as one wet cleaning can leave a film of residue

 

I use a little D4 fluid on a soft art brush followed by a light, careful dry brushing with the supplied Shure stylus brush after every few records. keeps it quite clean as checked with a magnifying glass.

 

I may buy a new art brush for the wet clean to preserve the Pro-Ject brush

 

I keep seeing folks state that a clean record should not accumulate dirt and grime, yet these same folks state that they have to clean their needle of dirt and grime. So, what gives? Either it gets dirty or it doesn't. Am I missing something? Am I misinterpreting what's being stated?

 

I own both the Dust Buster and the Zero Dust.

In my experience the Zero Dust is much more effective at removing debris from the stylus.

 

Poster puddy and Magic Eraser. Just used these for the first time with great results.

 

Wish I still had my Discwasher stylus brush. Do they still make these?

 

Good question and speaking for myself, try to keep my posts as brief as possible and to the point. As a clean record is tracked by a stylus, the stylus remains clean for many many plays. If any dust accumulates on the stylus, it should be loose dust and can be easily removed with a dry stylus brush. If the dust is adhered after one or two plays, then the groove contains some sort of sticky residue. (-or- the cleaning method is wrong, such as blu-tak which can and does adhere to the stylus)

Air contains natural resin from trees, cooking grease, industrial fallout, dust will over time adhere to a stylus. The occasional wet clean will remove that. Also, there may be the occasional used record which was treated with the old discwasher system. This product always leaves residue in the groove which collects on the stylus during one play, in some cases does not make it through the first track without sounding muddy. The "sludge" remnant is tough to remove. There are threads on this forum which address this exact problem. Sludge can build up that quickly from a dirty groove. The wet clean is for that. A cleaned record is not always clean. Such records may require more than one cleaning. The stylus "tells the truth". So, a dry cleaning will not remove this type of deposit, but a wet clean will.

So, even though a clean record does not sludge up a stylus, it's not a perfect world!

The causes of sludge buildup are many. Some records may have insect refuse, even a brand new record... the insect doesn't care the record is new... who left a nice sticky present in the groove. This will adhere to the stylus (and cause an audible "pop") dust + resin= sludge. Dry brushing will not remove that, since insect refuse is as sticky as resin.

Fingerprints on a record will transfer oil onto the stylus. Dust adheres to oil.
Think fingerprints are no big deal? humph!!!

It is true a clean record does not cause buildup on a stylus.
Not all records are clean, many causes for that
The air is not clean.

Two analogies:
A bathroom mirror will eventually become cloudy and dusty.. adhered dust, when not cleaned periodically. Why does the dust not adhere at first but eventually does? Resin and smoke (oil particles) in the air (the mirror then must be wet cleaned with Windex,)
An undriven automobile sitting in a driveway for days may become dusty, but the dust will not be adhered to the finish. A feather duster would wisk it off. After several months, the paint develops a dirty film on its surface, with adhered dust. A feather duster would never remove that. Common sense, the car must be washed.

The air does not discriminate between a mirror, a car, or a stylus. It is all the same. A stylus must be wet cleaned periodically.

 

I think it is a misconception that cleaning a record keeps the stylus clean. It helps, yes, however I have seen some ultrasonic cleaned records (both new and used) dump a layer of crap on the stylus.

I actually took some of the crap and looked at it with a microscope-it's dirt.

Since I ultrasonic my records, I have found that a rocket blaster takes off most stuff off the stylus. Records do play cleaner after they have been ultrasonically cleaned and played once.

Dry brushing is OK at best. That crap on the stylus-guess where it goes- on the dry brush. Unless your washing your dry brushes it's kinda like dusting with a dirty rag.

I have tried and use a zero dust. It's not perfect. But it is excellent at removing fibers that get stuck or crimped around the stylus. I really have not seen any specific data that says that it leaves 'gel' or residue on the stylus that attracts more dust. I believe this is an oversimplified theory. I am curious if anyone has proof of this?

Thinking of buying one of those mini ultrasonic stylus cleaners.

 

A rcm is a godsend,sometimes the occasional soft brush and very very occasionally linn green paper for baked on crud.

 

RCM, dry stylus brush and maybe once a month a wet cleaning using the AT liquid. I don't use a record brush anymore, I found those just create static. I also use ME when I see gunk, 2 or 3 dunks (straight up and down) in ME and my stylus is clean.
I use a jewelers loupe to inspect stylus on every flip, it does not take much time and has become my ritual. If I see light thru the diamond then I am good.

I would NEVER brush front to back, I have zero desire in testing my cantilever in that manner.

 

Thanks for the constructive tips people gave, I gave it a clean using a fine art brush and my homemade record cleaning fluid (distlled water/isopropyl/ilford ifotol) and removed whatever the gunk was (presumable residue still left in a used record after cleaning). And now my stylus is pointed and I can see the yellow of the Exact cartridge rflected in it. 100% improvement!

I'm going to air on the side of caution with wet cleaning and stick with my brush (I still don't trust the Dust Buster gel) and at Christmas think I'll treat myself to a proper RCM as opposed to the knosti which has been great up to now but I'd like to get either the Pro-ject vacuum machine or the okki nokki.

 

Nope, and they are surprisingly expensive on Ebay when they are available at all.

I use my Discwasher SC-2 many times a day when I'm playing records. As said upthread, a good RCM cleaning doesn't guarantee a clean stylus. In fact, the opposite can often take place. I think having a clean stylus is the biggest contributor to long needle life.

 

I have an AT150MLX. I clean my records very well. I was using the supplied brush and Magic Eraser and after about 1 year I thought the stylus needed replacing. So I replaced it. Same thing one year later. Only difference is that this time I experimented with blu-tak. I should have never tossed the first stylus. The blu-tak immediately got the second stylus sounding better than it ever sounded before. I'm approaching two years with the second stylus and it still sounds great. Get some blu-tak, roll some up in a ball and flatten it on a quarter. Dip the stylus into it 2-3 times every 10 LPs in addition to brushing and ME.