Where to buy record cleaning fluids

This thread is becoming the engergizer bunny, going on, and on, the BS, and erroneous information is getting deeper, and deeper, and has no relation at all to the original poster's queries.

But before I end my post, I'd like saying that your knowledge, and command of chemistry is incorrect Bill. This is NOT why Alcohols are used in some record cleaning products. What end users may "think", with a DIY formula, with all of the crazy ingredients in a mix, they can believe what they wish.

Why would anyone design a cleaner, with alcohols, so the filthy product "dries" on the surface before it has a chance to be removed, makes no logical sense.
I think it's time for you to hit the books, (or consult with some of the manufacturers) before more mis-information gets spread, and that others start to believe these false asumptions as gospel. Mark

At our home, we often use alcohol to clean glue (label residue, etc) from glass and sometimes from plastic.

It dissolves the glue without harming the surface, and works very well in this application.

I've used the AIVS stuff, the three step and the one step, with a VPI 16 machine. Results are pretty good, sometimes night and day vs. using a manual brush, for instance. I check enjoythemusic.com today and saw a new product that seems to provide ultrasonic cleaning of LPs. I had not heard of this product before, but it sounds interesting. Has anybody tried it? To bad, it is expensive...around $3,500. For that price, the performance better be phenomenal.

Hello,

Radiohead, Markd51's point is well taken. In an effort to help I would offer up a DIY solution for you. Mix one gallon of distilled water to 16 ounces of Isopropyl alcohol, it will say like 90% or better concentration on the alcohol bottle itself. Then add about 10 drops of Photoflo, which can be had at most camera shops, to this solution. It will last a long time and cost pennies per use . The greatest initial outlay will be for the Photoflo, but it will last forever, or longer. Sorry for not helping out sooner. I have used this very recipe for about a year now and have suffered no ill effects to my vinyl. They sound great!

Hello Ibog1,
This is an awful lot of alcohol to be adding to a mix.
As I understand it, other than being wet, your DIY is really not that effective a cleaner.

There was a fairly good, but very lengthy article here some time back, can be found in the archives, called "A very lengthy primer of record cleaning fluids", written by Justin_Time, that might give some insight, and ideas what a cleaner, or I should say way a "good cleaner" should do, and not do.

When one gets right down to it, even the most costly, state of the art cleaners that are made today are figured on a "per record basis", they too really don't come out to costing much more.

The problems I see with many DIY formulas, is off the shelf products, which are not optimum for use on records, and the entailing difficulties for an end user acquiring very high quality, and high purity ingredients.

Although I haven't tried every single commercially available cleaning product on the market today, I would venture a very good guess that "all" of them (The best known brands) do do a very good job as far as cleaning, as far as leaving little, to no sonic signature, or residues, and last but not least, causing little-no harm to precious vinyl.

Yes, there's no denying that DIY can, and will be less expensive, but you'll find for various reasons, many, and many here in this forum have perhaps gone that route, have discovered-recognized the certain shortcomings, and for the quality of sound they wish to achieve-attain, many of the DIY cleaners they find, and have tried, fell considerably short.

You would find that once they "hit" on thier product of choice, they would never consider going back to DIY.

I'm no chemist, but have been in the hobby long enough, to prefer the use of highly trusted, and reputeable cleaning products.

And, it was many of the highly knowledgable members here in this forum who have helped me have a better understanding of vinyl, and analog playback. Mark