Good Clean Tips

[Clive197]

Hi guys

I have been ferreting about and found quite a few stylus cleaning bits, brushes, fluids and a gel which is my currant favourite. This got me wondering what all you vinyl boys and gals do to to keep your precious little tips clean and sparkling?

My current favourite is the VP Dust Buster as it does not involve any fluids to possibly damage the cantilever grommet. I've never had that problem myself but cartridge manufacturers make the point.

Clive

[Roy S]

Stanton SC-4 'kit' (fluid & brush), seems to work ok.

[topoxforddoc]

Wet clean your LPs on a proper vacuum RCM. No need to clean your stylus. Also prevents fluff getting into the stylus generator assembly. Gunge around the coils and suspension can have a major effect on SQ and the lifetime of your expensive cartridge.

Charlie

[AlfaGTV]

Have quite few thingies for cleaning the tip! (the one on my carts, that is..)
The transparent gel.. Nope, does not do it for me..
Ordinary needlebrush, yup, works fine, occasionally wetted with some Clearaudio cleaner.
The Goldring Professional cleaner, this electornic vibrating thingy works good!
Green plastic sandpaper, reallydont like this, but it seems to work fine.
Mr Clean's Magic Eraser, a favourite works very well, but please note:
Only let the tracking force drop the needle onto a thin slice of these. Repeat as necessary. Dont rub!
http://media.mrclean.com/en_US/products/images/products_original232x234.jpg

[Barry]

Wet clean your LPs on a proper vacuum RCM. No need to clean your stylus. Also prevents fluff getting into the stylus generator assembly. Gunge around the coils and suspension can have a major effect on SQ and the lifetime of your expensive cartridge.

Charlie

Rubbish! Unless you clean every LP on a vacuum RCM just before you play them, your stylus will get dirty from the dust present in the air all the time, which will always land on the LP whilst it is playing. I always give the stylus a 'clean' with a dry stylus brush after each side. Occasionally, to remove accumulated 'greasy grime' on the stylus, I will use an electronic stylus cleaner with one drop of pure IPA on the carbon fibre bristle pad.

If you use a Decca cartridge, it is almost mandatory to have to clean the stylus after each side. Decca cartridges 'hoover up' dust like no other cartridge.

[keiths]

I too now vacuum clean my records on my Moth RCM and certainly find I need to clean my stylus very much less frequently than before - once every 3 or 4 LPs vs. after every side before. My favoured stylus cleaner is a thin sliver of melamine foam ('magic eraser') glued to a plastic 'handle' CAREFULLY dragged back-to-front over the stylus tip.

[AlfaGTV]

I too now vacuum clean my records on my Moth RCM and certainly find I need to clean my stylus very much less frequently than before - once every 3 or 4 LPs vs. after every side before. My favoured stylus cleaner is a thin sliver of melamine foam ('magic eraser') glued to a plastic 'handle' CAREFULLY dragged back-to-front over the stylus tip.

I also use the melamine stuff, but i would NEVER EVER rub it on tthe diamond!
I let the diamond lower itself onto a thin slice of melamine using only the tracking force. Then lift up using the cueing lever and repeat process a few times.
Regrads Mike

[keiths]

I also use the melamine stuff, but i would NEVER EVER rub it on tthe diamond!
I let the diamond lower itself onto a thin slice of melamine using only the tracking force. Then lift up using the cueing lever and repeat process a few times.
Regrads Mike

Carefully dragging the foam over the tip seems no more risky than the old trick of using microabrasive lapping film (the infamous Linn-approved 'green sandpaper') . I think the key is to use a thin enough sliver of foam to ensue excessive force bends the foam preventing the stylus 'digging in' and snagging.

[Tarzan]

I too now vacuum clean my records on my Moth RCM and certainly find I need to clean my stylus very much less frequently than before - once every 3 or 4 LPs vs. after every side before. My favoured stylus cleaner is a thin sliver of melamine foam ('magic eraser') glued to a plastic 'handle' CAREFULLY dragged back-to-front over the stylus tip.



x2

[The Grand Wazoo]

I let the diamond lower itself onto a thin slice of melamine using only the tracking force. Then lift up using the cueing lever and repeat process a few times.

I use Mike's method too - I hope you're right about theory of your method Keith, but I'll be sticking with the lift/lower approach.

[AlfaGTV]

Carefully dragging the foam over the tip seems no more risky than the old trick of using microabrasive lapping film (the infamous Linn-approved 'green sandpaper') . I think the key is to use a thin enough sliver of foam to ensue excessive force bends the foam preventing the stylus 'digging in' and snagging.

You may very well be correct Keith, but i'm too soft to try that! ;)
Anyways, since the melamine foam looks like this:
http://www.jm.com/corporate/images/labs_foam.gif

I'd be to worried it'd snag and i'll end up with a dimondless cantilever! :)
Regards Mike