Craig's Record Cleaning Concoction

[Craig Maier]

Craig's Record Cleaner Formulation

Absolutely No Patents Pending

This forumlation is based on the Discwasher patent, assuming that all ingredients have the same density as Distilled Water which is a pretty reasonable assumption.

(For Cleaning Vinyl Records)

All of these ingredients can be purchased from a supermarket.

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Ingredients:

1. One Gallon of Steam Iron Water (consists of Distilled Water)

2. 70 % Isopropyl Rubbing Alcohol (Part of our Emulsifier)

3. Automatic Diswasher Cleaning Liquid {Like "Cascade Complete" brand - - - be sure that you DO NOT use the type that includes chlorine bleach as an ingredient} (Part of our Surfacant)

4. Antibacterial Liquid Hand Soap such as "Softsoap" (Our Antimicrobe agent and another part of our Surfacant)

5. Small amount of Prestone anti-freeze or equivalent (This is the other part of our Emulsifier)*

*Note: Prestone Antifreeze consists of the following and is toxic to humans and pets:

- Ethylene Glycol (107-21-1)
- Diethylene Glycol (111-46-6)

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Recipe: (produces 1 gallon of Record Cleaning Fluid)

1. Remove 1/2 of a cup of water from the Gallon of Distilled Water and discard down the drain. This water is not used. All of the following ingredients are added to the remaining distilled water in the 1 gallon container via a funnel.

2. Add 3 Teaspoons of Prestone Anti-Freeze to the Water.

3. Add 4 Teaspoons of 70% Isopropyl Rubbing Alcohol to the concoction.

4. Add 5 Teaspoons of Automatic Diswasher Liquid to the concoction.

5. Add 5 Teaspoons of Liquid Antibacterial Soap to the concoction.

6. Put the cap back on the Water bottle.

7. Stir thoroughly for 5 minutes.

8. Let it settle for one hour.

9. Stir Again.

10 Done

Note: Store at temperatures between 35 to 100 degrees F. Keep bottlecap on tightly when not in use.

WARNING:

THIS FORMULATION IS MADE FROM INGREDIENTS THAT ARE TOXIC TO HUMANS AND PETS. BE CAREFUL IN HANDLING THESE INGREDIENTS BY AVOIDING SKIN CONTACT AND KEEP ALL OF THEM OUT OF THE REACH OF CHILDREN. DO NOT DRINK THIS SOLUTION OR ANY OF ITS CONSTITUENT COMPONENTS.

We offer no guarantees as to the effectiveness of this formulation in its stated application. The user assumes all liability associated with its use.

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[Craig Maier]

I whipped up a gallon of the abovementioned record cleaner compound / solution last night. I tested it out on a very grimey LP which had old fingerprints and other dirt on both sides. I tested and compared this solution vs. plain distilled water on the record. One side of the record was cleaned with the distilled water while the other was cleaned with the record cleaner solution. Here is what I observed:

1. The side cleaned with Distilled water still had some smudges and fingerprints on it after the cleaning while the side cleaned with the solution did not. The record cleaner solution completely cleaned the record.

2. I noticed that the distilled water "beaded up" and "puddled" on the record while the record cleaner solution did not. The reason for that is probably due to the higher surface tension of the cleaner solution.

3. The record cleaner solution did not leave behind any apparent residue. The distilled water probably did not leave behind any of its own residue either, but it left behind a lot of dirt. It may be advisable to rinse the record with distilled water after cleaning with the cleaning solution, just to be sure that any residue from the cleaning solution is removed.

Try it; it is inexpensive to make and seems to be effective at removing dirt and grime from Vinyl LP records.

[sus4chord]

Hi, Craig -

I've been a long time lurker here and a DC user (since version 3.11) and have upgraded through DC6 over time. It's definitely one of my favorite music-related programs and I do recommend it heartily when the opportunity presents itself.

The formula sounds great and I'm wanting to try it, but what you didn't post was how you actually cleaned the record.

I've got my old DiscWasher brush that I've used for many years, but when my son was young, he got into my big bottle of fluid and decided it would be fun to pour it out on the carpet and now I'm about out of the small bottle that fits in the handle. I recently ordered the RCA stuff, but haven't opened it yet (and don't know if I want to after reading the other thread).

So, to complete the posting, what did you use to actually clean the record and what do you find as the best method? Something like the discwasher brush, some other kind of brush, a cloth of some kind, etc.? Any special technique? If it's already in a previous posting, I'd be happy to be referred to that link.

Thanks,

John

[Craig Maier]

Hi John,

I just used a cotton cloth to apply and rub the solution(s) onto the record surface. Then, I let the solution do its thing for about 2 minutes. Lastly, I used a bathroom towel to remove the remaining solution - - - nothing too fancy.

[DougMac]

Record Cleaning Technique

John,

You may find these articles informative:
http://www.smartdev.com/Cleaning-tutorial.html
http://www.soundstage.com/synergize/synergize041998.htm
http://www.soundstage.com/upton05.htm
http://www.musicangle.com/feat.php?id=54

Based on these and other articles, my cleaning regimen goes like this:

First, I use an old turntable that I bought for $15 to spin the record. It is destined to become part of my DIY vacuum system.

I gently dry brush the record to remove any loose dirt. I use a left over photo negative brush from my darkroom days.

I place the record on the turntable. I have two mats, one for uncleaned records and one for when the first side has been cleaned.

I start the turntable and apply my cleaner of choice using Kimwipe pads. These are used by printers to clean printing plates. I think quilted cotton makeup pads work at least as well and will cut over when my bulk supply of Kimwipes is exhausted.

Right now I'm using a series of cleaners starting with my homebrew made from Labtone. I think I'm going to modify my cleaner by adding a little Photo Flo, again left over from the darkroom. I may or may not follow this with some left over Discwasher D3 just for the heck of it. Finally I rinse with distilled water, again applied with a Kimwipe. Right now, I'm using a final dry Kimwipe to gently remove the rinse water.

When finished, the record gets a new clean sleeve.

It's amazing how much gunk can be removed from a seemingly clean record. On some garage sale records it's taken several applications before the Kimwipe comes back clean and not covered by a sickly yellow residue. It's also amazing how much difference there is in restoration working from a clean record.

As I mentioned earlier, I have plans to build my own vacuum system. It will be loosely based on this one: http://www.diyaudio.com/forums/showthread/t-39608.html I've bought the turntable and ordered the VPI parts.

Since ordering the VPI parts, I've become fascinated with the Keith Monks type cleaner that use a vacuum wand. In theory, they make more sense. I'm considering building my own wand, but mounting it on the carriage of an old inkjet printer and have it move tangiently. I may use the printer stepper motor or I may use a DC motor, which would be easier. I found there's plenty of parts including motors, gearboxes and controllers that are used for hobby robotics. I like to tinker and this may be a fun project.

Doug

[Craig Maier]

Doug,

We used to own one of those Keith Monks machines when we were doing the Edison Laterals Restoration project. We cleaned a few thousand sides with it. It was a fairly complicated and expensive machine, but it was very effective. After the project was completed, we could not justify keeping it because of its value, but if you can build one, you would not be disappointed in the results. Keep in mind that there is also a string that is driven down into the groove via the wand/stylus assembly which aids in lifting the dirt from down deep.

[DougMac]

Doug,
Keep in mind that there is also a string that is driven down into the groove via the wand/stylus assembly which aids in lifting the dirt from down deep.

From the Loricraft web site:

"The nylon nozzle tip of the vacuum arm does not touch the record. A fine filament nylon thread threads through the center of the arm and nozzle that allows the arm to lie very close the record. This un-calendared thread acts as a "ski" to support the arm and keep it a small fraction of an inch from the record. In fact, the distance is the thickness of the 30 gauge thread. Terrific suction is developed at the nozzle because of this proximity effect."

And from the Keith Monks Page:

"The nozzle is highly polished to avoid any marks on the record surface, and is supported above the record surface by a slow moving nylon thread that acts as a buffer between the nozzle and the surface. In addition this thread takes with it dirt lodged around the nozzle and in the tubes. A motor reels out the thread so that it is continuously changed.

I was aware of the thread and had already investigated alternate sources. From the descriptions I had read earlier, I thought that the thread rode on the groove ridges and its purpose was twofold; to keep the head of the wand from contacting the record surface and to provide spacing to create a venturi effect to increase the velocity of the suction, thereby making the vacuuming more effective.

Doug

[DJBohn]

Hi Craig,
One last little point concerning your cleaning formula before you send it out in the Tracer news letter. You forgot to mention in the recipe to pour that half cup mixture back into the gallon bottle of distilled water, or the solution would be way too strong. The only hint to that was the 1 gal. of distilled water in the ingredient list. (Someone could end up trying to use some pretty thick stew!) I'll be making up a batch yet this week.

Have not heard anything more from the Discwasher inventor since I talked to him. It doesn't look as if he has joined the forum yet either. He may have forgotten about us. On my search I found he's about 63 and he said he's still working. Seems to be very sharp yet as well. (He sounded like a very buisy and active person) Oh well, maybe one of these days he'll pop in on us. He may have possibly been some help with "tweaking" your formula a bit, but it sounds like it will work OK as is. Would have been really nice if he could have pointed us to a location for some custom brushes to use with it... (glad I still have mine)

[Walter]

Cleaning solutions

Any one have sujestions for cleaning rubber pinch rollers?

[Brian]

Short answer --the highest quality ethyl alcohol (not rubbing alcohol) you can find - probably at your local pharmacy.

Unless your tape transport is REALLY antique, it is probably a synthetic compound - more like a soft plastic than rubber. While there are commercial "capstan ideler roller" cleaners, alcohol works as good as anything. It's probably a good idea to get ethyl alcohol (and as pure as possible) for two reasons: given the variety of formulations used by the industry to make the rollers there is a slight possibility one of them might not like the rubbing alcohol - the only kind sold in a hardware store; and second, if you pay the extra for the pureist type of ETHYL (not rubbing) alcohol - like a drug store pharmacy sells, you can also use it to clean the transports tape heads. And I suppose 3rd, if you're like an audio engineer I used to work with, you can add the ethyl alcohol to your coffee and have a "warmer-upper-er" that won't kill you like adding rubbing alcohol would!

[Craig Maier]

DJ,


Sorry, the recipe was unclear. I just updated it. The one half cup of water is tossed down the drain. All of those ingredients are added to the remainder of the gallon of distilled water. The reason for tossing one half cup of water is just to make room for the other ingredients. I apologize for the confusion.

[Craig Maier]

Doug,


Since you are building your own Keith Monks (KMAL) machine, another important facet of the design seems to be in the fact that the vacuum wand sweeps the record from the inside of the record circumference outwards. Although I am not sure, I think that this action helps assure that the wand does not attempt to "track" the record groove.

[mrsdoyle]

Hello Everyone!

I'm new at this kind of "restoring" our sounds in vinyl. The formula seems to be very effective. However, I was wondering just one thing...Once the concotion is ready, can I put some solution on a smaller bottle? Just thinking of convenience while I clean my precious collection.

[Craig Maier]

Quoting mrsdoyle:

"...Once the concotion is ready, can I put some solution on a smaller bottle?"

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I see no reason not to do that. It is much easier to work with that way. I would make sure that the bottle that I put it in has been thoroughly cleaned first, however. I would not want to contaminate the solution (or my record collection) with some unknown residue from the previous use of the smaller bottle.

ps - welcome to the forum!

[mrsdoyle]

Thanks for your quick response...and thanks for greeting me into the forum