Magic Eraser as a stylus cleaner?

Discussion in 'Audio Hardware' started by Bryan, Dec 30, 2011.

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  1. Bryan

    Bryan Starman Jr. Thread Starter

    Location:
    Berkeley, CA
    I'm speaking of this product, for those of you unfamiliar with it:

    [​IMG]

    Supposedly a small, dry square of it can be used as stylus cleaner. I read that you should gently lower and raise the stylus into it using the cueing lever.

    Anyone have any experience with this? Good idea? Bad idea?
     
  2. ti-triodes

    ti-triodes Senior Member

    Location:
    Paz Chin-in
    I'd probably stick with a dedicated stylus cleaner. You can get one fairly cheap- at least "cheap" in audio terms. I thought the Magic Eraser has some chemicals on it which would lead me to stay away. It did a great cleaning job on an old aluminum reel for my reel to reel tape deck though!
     
  3. markshan

    markshan Forum Resident

    Location:
    Pittsburgh, PA
    The one pictured has no chemicals. Some other varieties do. I have used the original Magic Eraser as a stylus cleaner for a year now and it does a great job.

    There is a very long thread on the subject over at AK.
     
  4. DaveN

    DaveN Music Glutton

    Location:
    Apex, NC
    I've used this product for years with good results. One box will last you a lifetime!
     
  5. SirAngus

    SirAngus Forum Resident

    Location:
    Virginia
    Suppose those Magic Eraser fibers land on your vinyl record after you stroked your stylus and you then dust the album with a brush. That can't be good. I use the brush that came with my DV cartridge very carefully and:shh: if I'm intoxicated, I just play the record.
     
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  6. DaveN

    DaveN Music Glutton

    Location:
    Apex, NC
    First, there are no fibers. ME looks like a fine sponge. Second, you do not scrub or rub the stylus. Rather, you simply lower the stylus onto the ME several times. I've never noticed any residue that would give me pause. In the worst case, you give the stylus a quick pass with a traditional brush after the ME treatment.

    Intoxication and lp playback do not go together. Heartbreak is sure to follow.
     
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  7. Bryan

    Bryan Starman Jr. Thread Starter

    Location:
    Berkeley, CA
    Okay I am going to try this some time this weekend. I think I already have a clean, unused Magic Eraser at home.
     
  8. SirAngus

    SirAngus Forum Resident

    Location:
    Virginia
    I'll betcha that some will drag that ME across the stylus and it's gonna leave residue (fibers) somewhere. I'd just be careful. I forgot to mention that I use a Zerodust dip.
    Music can be intoxicating.
     
  9. MikeyH

    MikeyH Stamper King

    Location:
    Berkeley, CA
    No fibers. When it breaks up, you get dust.

    Google should show .. http://home.howstuffworks.com/magic-eraser1.htm

    Yeah. The key with stylus cleaning is that the bubbles are actually smaller than the tip, and when lowered the tip 'breaks and scrapes' on the structure.
     
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  10. SirAngus

    SirAngus Forum Resident

    Location:
    Virginia
    by Jessika Toothman? The dealer I bought a tt and cartridge from three years ago suggested the ME and instructed me to drag it from back to front . He gave me a 1/4" x 1" strip to go with my purchase. I tossed it.
     
  11. mne563

    mne563 Senior Member

    Location:
    DFW, Texas
    I use a Magic Eraser before every spin; I just use a small strip trimmed off of the big sponge. Remember to set the stylus onto it, don't pull. It works great, no muss, no fuss.
     
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  12. Mikey679

    Mikey679 Forum Resident

    Location:
    Worcester, MA
    Yeah, definitely don't want to drag the ME across the stylus. The ME would rip the stylus right off the cantilever, the best thing is to slowly and steadily drop the stylus straight down into the ME and lift it straight up again, do this a few times and you're stylus will be nice and clean. I've done this for a year or so now without any issues.
     
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  13. mne563

    mne563 Senior Member

    Location:
    DFW, Texas
    Good idea. Being under the influence and messing with an expensive cart don't mix well.

    If you're really loaded, just play cds.
     
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  14. npc210

    npc210 Forum Resident

    Yup.

    I made the mistake of applying the ME to the stylus manually and then (lightly) dragging it across. Totally wrecked the stylus.

    Since then, I've dropped the stylus straight down into the ME and had much much better results.
     
  15. Ghostworld

    Ghostworld Senior Member

    Location:
    US
    I now use ME. The only thing I ever had that worked better was this small round plastic container that held some audiophile goo that you dipped the stylus into. You could see the dirt from the stylus from each dip held suspended in the goo. Can't remember the name of it, but it worked great. Only I lost the damn thing and didn't want to shell out high twenty-something bucks again.

    Oh, here it is.

    http://www.extremephono.com/Stylus_Cleaner.htm


    This stuff works.
     
  16. HiFi Guy 008

    HiFi Guy 008 Forum Resident

    Location:
    New England
    I've tried this and tried this, with no noticeable improvement. Maybe it works better on other styli, but the Lyra Stylus Cleaner smokes the Eraser, no contest.
     
  17. TVC15

    TVC15 Forum Resident

    Location:
    New Jersey
    It's stronger than glass but extremely porous. It also wears away.

    It's Melamine Foam. It looks like this:

    [​IMG]
     
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  18. 5-String

    5-String μηδὲν ἄγαν

    Location:
    Sunshine State
    I 've been using ME for years now with absolutely no problems.
     
  19. TVC15

    TVC15 Forum Resident

    Location:
    New Jersey
    "The open cell foam is microporous and its polymeric substance is very hard, so that when used for cleaning it works like extremely fine sandpaper, getting into tiny grooves and pits in the object being cleaned. On a larger scale the material feels soft. Because the bubbles interconnect, its structure is more like a maze of fiberglass strands"

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Melamine_foam


    No thanks. That sh^t can get in the grooves and belongs nowhere near my records.
     
  20. CCrider92

    CCrider92 Senior Member

    Location:
    Cape Cod, MA
    I've been using ME for over 2 years - no issues. Gently dip stylus in a few times.
     
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  21. 5-String

    5-String μηδὲν ἄγαν

    Location:
    Sunshine State
    Wasn't Linn that supplied a very fine sandpaper for cleaning the stylus? It was green IIRC. Essentially the same thing as the ME.
     
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  22. TVC15

    TVC15 Forum Resident

    Location:
    New Jersey
    Linn supplied Melamine Foam? I don't think so. Do you know what the Magic Eraser is? AKA "Basotect". A "fine sandpaper" isn't porous.
     
  23. KT88

    KT88 Senior Member

    That's a great illustration. The stylus is much larger than the spaces in that structure by comparison. I have used and recommended the Magic Eraser for years and supplied free sections to my customers. It's absolutely the best product that I have ever used for cleaning a stylus. I have many different products that have come and gone before it. One that might be a second best is an old Ortofon ultrasonic cleaner. It takes a while to use, requires batteries, and I don't think it would work as efficiently if as well.

    Dipping the stylus in a block of it is for sissies! ;) Seriously, that might work for essentially already clean styli or after many, many repeated dips but it isn't efficient. What I recommend is that you cut off a thin strip of it and use that to very carefully scrape the stylus profile from the back to the front (the same direction the stylus drags through the groove) and you will find that it gets the stylus cleaner, faster, than any other method or product. It also does so with no residue. You do the cleaning with the tonearm on the arm rest and then blow any dust away from the record. No chance of getting anything on the Lp that way.

    I have compared the results of several cleaners and methods before and after under my stereo microscope. The results are clear.
    -Bill
     
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  24. wgriel

    wgriel Forum Resident

    Location:
    bc, canada
    I've got some Linn sandpaper for stylus cleaning -- yes, it's green, and yes, it works and doesn't damage the stylus. It's meant to be gently dragged across the stylus back to front.

    The Magic Eraser (which I've also used) works similarly, but as others have said you don't drag it, you gently lower the stylus onto it, then lift the stylus. The structure of the ME scrapes the stylus clean, which is also the idea behind the sandpaper.

    Note the Linn sandpaper is incredibly fine.
     
  25. wgriel

    wgriel Forum Resident

    Location:
    bc, canada
    Interesting - that's the same method as the Linn sandpaper. I admit I'm a bit too paranoid to drag some of the ME across the stylus, but I could see that working. You'd want to be pretty gentle I'd think.
     
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