Contact Line stylus - gathering dust on stylus. Help!

This a typical thread found here with lots of the same well meaning advice given over and over again and once in a while a dispute develops between two of the well meaning responders that takes the thread in a whole new direction. I can only agree with several who have stated that your problem is very unusual. I use a Grace Ruby re-tipped by Sound Smith with one of their OCL styli, and I have no unusual problem with dust or dirt. In fact, you’ve reminded me that I have not cleaned this stylus in ages. The sound is too gorgeous to mess with.

The scientific approach would be to stop using that gel and stop using your current record cleaner. My bet is that one of those two cleaners is doing more harm than good. You could use Magic Eraser on your stylus, which seems to be sort of a gold standard among vinylphiles. (The very idea of a "gel" seems suspect to me. You say that you see dust particles in the gel after using it on your stylus; it makes sense to me that the gel also in turn must leave a residue on your stylus.) You could try cleaning one of your LPs that tends to gunk up the stylus with crud using some mild detergent and tap water. Then rinse with plain water afterwards. See if these new approaches do not at least reduce the problem. There is no amount of static electricity in the universe that can attract that much dust during the course of playing half an LP side. Unless your listening room is in a woodworking shop. If the gel is at fault, it may be a real problem to get it off  the stylus.

@lewm Thanks for the response.  The moon gel isn't the issue here, as this cart is only a couple of months old and has had problems from the very first play.  Today I put my old cartridge in (which has been cleaned with moon gel for a couple of years) and it is sailing through record after record with no issue, even ones that I've not cleaned in a long time.  I imagine there's something wrong with the stylus that I can't see with my magnifying glass.  I might send it to be retipped or explore another cartridge.  Oh well, stuff happens.

Cheers, Scott

This last comment leads me to think that the problematic cartridge's stylus is poorly polished.  Of course, a USB microscope would reveal more.

Regards,
Thom @ Galibier Design

I too have some doubts about the moon gel being the sole cause of this dust issue.  But, if it is true that it uses silicone that can be transferred to the stylus, this is a very bad deal.  Silicone, like the stuff used in some lubricants is particularly adept at migrating.  It will spread until it is almost only a single molecular layer.  That film is somewhat tacky and will hold on to dust.  My concern with a cartridge is that this stuff will migrate up the cantilever and end up gumming the interior of the cartridge. 

Folks,
There's LOTS of things can be done with silicone and silicon gels aren't only moongel product.
Silicon properties aren't news for most. One of the similar example is roller that you can dust out your clothes than wash it with water, dry and it's ready for another suit or dress. Someone's smart arz decided to use it instead of trivial carbon fiber brush on records like in the link shown: https://www.amazon.com/In-The-Groove-Record-Cleaner/dp/B004MG9YYQ
Guess what? If you roll that thingie on your records you will DEFINITELY see trace. The marketing notes that it doesn't leave trace are full of krap, once you roll it on your precious MFSL vinyl and see for yourself that oily and sticky trace and it STAYS ON. 
Now all you have to do is realize that micro-surface area of stylus is affected affected affected weather you notice or don't that sticky oily silicon trace.
You can also stick moongel to your window and it will show the trace for a while and when it dries you won't notice it. Therefore you see the marketing notes that it doesn't leave trace...
By all common sense means using silicone to clean records or stylus is FOOLISH.