Ok guys,
Time for yet another LP cleaning thread
No wonder the CD brigade thinks we're bonkers hehe.
Finally got some free time so mixed the Disc Doc cleaning fluid. http://www.discdoc.com/
Basically it comes as a concentrate in a big bottle which you have to fill up to a line (almost the brim) with your choice of distilled/RO water. I chose RO water from my Aquaguard. Then they give you a smaller bottle with a nice little nozzle in which you dilute the cleaner again 2:1. Or you could choose to use full strength cleaner for really bad records.
Method:
1. I cleaned some LPs which have been lying outside, with a cosmetic brush I had picked up. This took off the loose dust lying on the LP.
2. Dunk the LP in a shallow container of RO water to get rid of the loose dust, wipe with a microfiber cloth.
3. Spread Disc Doc cleaning fluid on the Disc Doc pads and some on the LP, scrub the LP, rotating it in my hand, rinse the pad in the container and apply fresh fluid for other side.
4. Dunk LP in container to get rid of most of cleaning fluid, generously bathe LP from bottle of RO water from Aquaguard and do final drying with second microfiber cloth. It helps to have two cloths here, one to absorb most of the wetness and a second one to get it close to bone dry.
5. Place in rack to dry!
6. After some time, zap it with the Milty Zerostat gun so no dust settles on the LP.
I've omitted the manual vacuum cos it was a pain, taking up too much time!
Results:
I've only tested a few minutes of songs on both sides of an LP cos it had dried only for an hour or two but couldn't wait
Initial results seem quite impressive compared to the isopropyl alcohol + RO/distilled water + couple of drops of Pril dishwashing liquid mix I was using earlier. Inspite of drying only with a microfiber cloth and no vacuum, the sound seems clearer, fresher and crisper. This particular LP is a compilation of old hits and was quite noisy and crackly. While the crackling is still there, it is immensely subdued and in my experience repeated plays get rid of most of the crackling except in really bad discs so I'll play it about 4-5 times and see how it improves and post again.
Overall, seems to be worth it, will have to clean a few more discs and play em to see!
Without the vacuum part the cleaning gets done much faster and with less of a headache. Also the pungent acrid smell of isopropyl alcohol is missing so that's a big bonus!!
Meanwhile, some nice new polylined paper sleeves are waiting for their new owners to move in...
What it didn't do:
There was a nasty small line of some sort of glue in the lead in grooves of one LP and this did not come off. Soaking it a bit lessened some of the stickiness but it's still there. If it was on a track I'd probably soak it some more, but note that the fluid does not seem to take away heavy duty glue marks.
Overall seems to be worth it considering one would probably be cleaning an LP once in one's lifetime but will have to clean at least 20 various discs to come to some sort of final verdict.
Time for yet another LP cleaning thread
No wonder the CD brigade thinks we're bonkers hehe.Finally got some free time so mixed the Disc Doc cleaning fluid. http://www.discdoc.com/
Basically it comes as a concentrate in a big bottle which you have to fill up to a line (almost the brim) with your choice of distilled/RO water. I chose RO water from my Aquaguard. Then they give you a smaller bottle with a nice little nozzle in which you dilute the cleaner again 2:1. Or you could choose to use full strength cleaner for really bad records.
Method:
1. I cleaned some LPs which have been lying outside, with a cosmetic brush I had picked up. This took off the loose dust lying on the LP.
2. Dunk the LP in a shallow container of RO water to get rid of the loose dust, wipe with a microfiber cloth.
3. Spread Disc Doc cleaning fluid on the Disc Doc pads and some on the LP, scrub the LP, rotating it in my hand, rinse the pad in the container and apply fresh fluid for other side.
4. Dunk LP in container to get rid of most of cleaning fluid, generously bathe LP from bottle of RO water from Aquaguard and do final drying with second microfiber cloth. It helps to have two cloths here, one to absorb most of the wetness and a second one to get it close to bone dry.
5. Place in rack to dry!
6. After some time, zap it with the Milty Zerostat gun so no dust settles on the LP.
I've omitted the manual vacuum cos it was a pain, taking up too much time!
Results:
I've only tested a few minutes of songs on both sides of an LP cos it had dried only for an hour or two but couldn't wait
Initial results seem quite impressive compared to the isopropyl alcohol + RO/distilled water + couple of drops of Pril dishwashing liquid mix I was using earlier. Inspite of drying only with a microfiber cloth and no vacuum, the sound seems clearer, fresher and crisper. This particular LP is a compilation of old hits and was quite noisy and crackly. While the crackling is still there, it is immensely subdued and in my experience repeated plays get rid of most of the crackling except in really bad discs so I'll play it about 4-5 times and see how it improves and post again.
Overall, seems to be worth it, will have to clean a few more discs and play em to see!
Without the vacuum part the cleaning gets done much faster and with less of a headache. Also the pungent acrid smell of isopropyl alcohol is missing so that's a big bonus!!
Meanwhile, some nice new polylined paper sleeves are waiting for their new owners to move in...
What it didn't do:
There was a nasty small line of some sort of glue in the lead in grooves of one LP and this did not come off. Soaking it a bit lessened some of the stickiness but it's still there. If it was on a track I'd probably soak it some more, but note that the fluid does not seem to take away heavy duty glue marks.
Overall seems to be worth it considering one would probably be cleaning an LP once in one's lifetime but will have to clean at least 20 various discs to come to some sort of final verdict.
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