Cleaning vinyl with auto detailing clay


For those who don't know the product, it's a bar of clay that you rub over a car's body to remove all sorts of tiny particles in the paint. Yes, it sounds crazy. But I had a cheapo lp that was very noisy, so I figured why not give it a try?

To use it, you have to spray on some type of lubricant, or else the clay will stick. Auto detailing kits come with this also. So I applied it to the record and then gave it a few passes on the VPI to make sure all residue of clay/lubricant was removed. Of course, I tested it on an old TT/cartridge, but I must say, it seems to have made a noticeable difference. The lp was almost unlistenable before. Now, it's not perfect, but it's definitely possible to enjoy it.

It would be great if others could give this a try, so that we can compare notes.
slanski62
Cool! A few LPs ARE super problematic, and it is a good thing to have in ones arsenal of cleaning products.
Thanks for the tip!
What ingredients were in the lubricant you were using?
i have some clay bars lying around and may give this a try.
May I ask what lubricant you used and how did you get that off? There are cleaning and treatment products that do purposely leave behind lubricants. Folks who use them claim their vinyl has never been so quiet. They also seem to be missing quite a bit from what is actually in the recordings. Thanks for the tip, but I think I'll stick with steam. ;-)
If the proposal is for the auto clay systems the lubricant is Mothers Showtime or Meguiars Quick Detailer. I would think you could also try warm water although the products mentioned do create a slicker surface when using the clay. In my experience neither product leaves residue but my experence is in using them for automobile application only. The clay works very well in removing surface contaminants on a painted surface...not sure how well it can get into grooves. Last...for what its worth I ultimately prefer the Mothers clay product to the Meguiars product. Either lubricant works fine.

Thanks for the idea.