Thad Biggerstaff wrote:
quoted 6 lines I have an old discwasher brush to clean records with
> I have an old discwasher brush to clean records with
> but no more dishwasher fluid. I am wondering what
> would make a good cleaning fluid for records... any
> suggestions? Id try using rubbing alchohol but
> something tells me that wouldnt be good for the
> vinyl-is this correct? advice appreciated...
A small amount of alcohol diluted with distilled water will not harm the
record, but you still need a surfactant detergent. Dish soap is not good
because it leaves behind quite a bit of residue.
When I worked at a used record store, we always had a fully automatic Nitty
Gritty machine -- see
http://www.nittygrittyinc.com/page2.htm -- that worked
great. These are pricey pieces of machinery, but well worth it if you have
a large collection. A friend of mine bought one and swears by it. I've talked
to some anal-retentive jazz collectors who hate them, though, so YMMV.
At the store, we got tired of shelling out money for their cleaning solution.
We had a chemist analyze the fluid and figure out that we could duplicate it
and have an even better solution by mixing alcohol, distilled water, and a
small amount of the lab detergent that they use to clean test tubes. He said
the detergent they normally use in the record cleaning fluid leaves behind
more residue than the lab detergent. Unfortunately I can't give you the ratios
of substances; I don't have the formula, myself, plus it was a well-guarded
secret. For my own records I just use a DiscWasher brush and fluid, I don't
care so much.
Anyway if we weren't busy, we'd charge people $1 a record to use the Nitty
Gritty on their own records. You might see if a collectible record store near
you has one and will so something like this.
Mike
--
Denver, Colorado, USA
http://hyperreal.org/~mike/
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