I've heard of using rubbing alcohol to clean records, is this true? On the back of my old classical records, it said to use warm water. Which would be better?

Here's a couple links with good info.

The 10 second summary: use 70% Isopropyl or Denatured Alcohol
and distilled water (Not spring water or tap water), the other guy says just use water and a mild detergent.

http://members.tripod.com/~Vinylville/clean-2.html
http://www.newton.dep.anl.gov/askasci/c ... m00009.htm

Use warm water with a wetting agent (a drop of dish detergent or Kodak Photo Flow in a liter of water). Use soft cloth wet with solution, then a dry soft cloth (lint-free) to dry. Holding the record in one hand by the label, wash one side, then dry that side, then wash the other.

You can also get one of the VPI motorized vacuum record washers, which are really badass. I have one and I really love it.

don't use rubbing alcahol. Use D4 fluid and a discwasher brush, still my favorite method. You can get D4 at most decent record shops or equipment retailers that sell turntables. There are also dry brushes available, but I like a little fluid. Audio advisor will have some fancy shit, and the best is a record vacuum cleaning machine, but they are expensive and the cheap ones aren't worth it.
-n

Handy hint to keep records squeeky clean:
mist a little bit of alcohol based record cleaning fluid onto your record brush each time you play one. this works best with velvety brushes. it becomes part of your routine and you do it automatically before long

I'll second Steve on the VPI vacuum. I got one at a record store that was liquidating their in-store cleaners, and took one home for $25!!!

The VPI vacuums are a serious solution and will restore a record to amazingly low levels of surface noise. I'm alot less picky about the cleanlyness of records I buy now that I've one of these machines. If you buy alot of used vinyl they're definately worth the $450 list price.

For cleaner I use the VPI or Nitty Gritty fluid. I did make some homemade fluid once using 90% distilled water, 10% anhydrous isopropyl alcohol, and a 2-3 drops of Kodak photoflow. It worked OK. Left a little bit of streaking. If I were to do it again I'd use tech-grade deionized water. At that price you might as well just use the VPI or Nitty Gritty though.

Don't use a solution with more than 10-15% isopropyl alcohol. You will start to dissolve the plasticizers in the PVC and acellerate the degradation of the record. All petroleum alkene solvents are a bad idea to. DO NOT use lighter fluid, naptha, or any of that shit. YOU WILL cause the PVC binders to dissolve and each time you play the record the stylus will remove materials from the groove, wearing the record down.

Brushes are OK for regular dusting, but only move the dirt around in the grooves.

Thank You all for such quick responses. I'll look into the VPI vacuum.

VPI 16.5...
Don't freak out over the price (around $500.00 + by the time it's mailed to you). I've had one for 3 years and it's a great investment. I thought it was pricey 'till I figured out what I paid for the first 25 or so records I cleaned on it.
I also wound up keeping lp's I was going to toss.
I bought mines from a Chicago outfit, amusicdirect.com. Nice folks.

http://www.amusicdirect.com/products/sw ... h=vpi+16.5

Jay

geiginni wrote:
Brushes are OK for regular dusting, but only move the dirt around in the grooves.

this is true for the ones with the long carbon fibre bristles, they're pretty useless. the velvet pad ones are a bit better. try to find one that's shaped like a section of a cylinder, that way you can scoop the dust up as you brush. i've got an old audio-technica 'sonic broom' (seriously) that works wonders

A vote here for the vacuum cleaners...

I have a Nitty Gritty 1.5 that serves me quite well.

I go a step further and recommend "pre-cleaning" before using the vacuum machines on visibly soiled records. this prevents dirt and gunk from building up on the vacuum lips and redistributing the gunk on to the next record. Allsop's Orbitrac is great for this purpose.

Those "anti-static" Audioquest-style "longhair" brushes work well for everyday use. when preened properly they should pull light dust off of the playing surface and reduce static.

discwasher can suck my dick!