Generic Record Cleaning Solutions
TNT Audio has a paper on cleaning fluids (and other things) that includes many fluid recipes. I've had pretty good success with them. Here it is: http://www.tnt-audio.com/clinica/fluids.html As for 99% Isopropyl, I'm not sure where the reference came from but it can also be purchased at Safeway. |
I have experimented with several "solutions" and i have found a mixture of isopropyl alcohol, (or methanol, ethanol), mild dish soap, and water works pretty well. The key is to get the mixture into the grooves and the alcohol breaks down the surface tension of water so it gets into the groove easier. The soap acts as a surfactant and helps lift the gunk (dirt, grease, etc) out of the grooves. The key is to use mostly distilled water and a small amount of soap. Too much soap will leave a residue. I usually mix a pint of water with maybe 1 cc or 2cc of liquid soap. Then I add about 1 ounce of alcohol. The way i know i have about the right amount of alcohol is to put a drop on a record. If the drop spreads out into the grooves well, i have the right amount of alcohol. If it beads up, I add a little more alcohol. I have been using this generic solution for about 30 years. I use a simple (but old) discwasher brush and it works pretty well. I have used a friends VPI record cleaner when I have a record that I can not clean well with the disc washer brush. Those machines are great but most of my albums were brought new and since I clean them each time i use them, i never seemed to convince myself I needed a vpi. But they work extremely well. |
Threaders : The key to cleaning solutions is the purity of the water and should you use iso alcohol the percentage of pure iso in the bottle. My personal favorite is GC Electronics , cat # 10-1507, 100% isopropyl alcohol , anhydrous pure that sells for under $10. There are many , many web sites offering record cleaning formula's, just google a bit to locate them. Lloyd Walker said he buys his water from a company that sells H2O for reactor based power plants. Personally, I buy auto battery water from Prestone or Peak. I'm obcessive about record cleanlyness. The clearner the vinyl the more potential information in the groves. In my opinion there are only 15 or 20 truly remarkable articles on the subject. One of the best is located on Michael Fremers web site just google until you find it. Lastly, no matter how clean your records , should your reproduction chain be grunged with a poor/dirty preamp , phono section , etc., you may be hard pressed to enjoy the effort. Its all a part of a process. Enjoy the music. |
First of all soap is an anionic surfactant by definition. That is, it has an negative electrical charge in water which enables it to reduce the surface tension of the water which in turn enables it to break down the grease, oil, and dirt molecules. Secondly, alcohol despite smelling like it does something and accelerating evaporation, serves no actual cleaning function. It DOES NOT break down the surface tension of the water. Most record cleaning solutions are 99.5% water, a small amount of surfactant, and then whatever fu fu dust, alcohol, or special ingredient is added to justify the seller's $35/pint price. Remember folks, we're cleaning plastic here not cashmere. |
