cleaning a stylus ultrasonically

[hagzo]

Hi all. first post which is a question and possibly a really dumb one.

I've got a small ultrasonic bath and I thought it might be a good way to clean a very grubby stylus once removed from the cart (technics epc-205).

I checked t'inet and drew a blank which probably means it's a stupid idea.

But I've got to ask if anyone here has tried it?

If I protected the tip and maybe used isopropyl instead of distilled water and dried thoroughly afterward would it work?

Any thoughts would be very appreciated.

Keith

[Audio Al]

My advice is

NO DON'T DO IT

[hagzo]

Ok i'll maybe look into the gel pad thing

Out of interest why not? I looked everywhere and couldn't get a definitive answer.

Cheers

[CageyH]

Isopropyl may dissolve the glue if the diamond is bonded to the cantilever.

[Yomanze]

Keep it simple, get a "Magic Eraser" and gently glide the stylus across it like it's going across a record.

[walpurgis]

Keeping a stylus clean can be tricky.

Liquids are not a good idea. If the stylus cantilever is tubular the fluid will enter the tube and possibly cause corrosion and as mentioned stylu are bonded in and the glue can be affected.

Ultrasonic cleaning sounds like a recipe for disaster. Diamonds are crystaline and can have flaws. Ultrasonic vibration could induce a sheering off. I just had a £1200 cartridge lose a tip because of a sheer, so be very careful. Also some styli are 'shank' mounted and can separate from the shank. I've had that happen too.

[karma67]

Keep it simple, get a "Magic Eraser" and gently glide the stylus across it like it's going across a record.
+1

[tlscapital]

Keep it simple, get a "Magic Eraser" and gently glide the stylus across it like it's going across a record.

Magic Eraser ! The sponge or the pen ?

[struth]

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Nagaoka-RC-401-Roundcleaner-Record-Weight-/311665555429?hash=item4890b6f7e5:g:GgAAAOSwZd1VYFc P

this is a great solution. Got one as has Marco i think.

http://i.ebayimg.com/images/g/GgAAAOSwZd1VYFcP/s-l500.jpg

[Spider]

Keep it simple, get a "Magic Eraser" and gently glide the stylus across it like it's going across a record.


Magic Eraser ! The sponge or the pen ?

The sponge

[sbank]

The sponge

+another one

[tlscapital]

The sponge

:thumbsup:

[Simon_LDT]

Zerodust is the one. I also use the ''green paper'' every 4-5 albums, just gently to get off any stubborn gunk.

[hagzo]

I thinks it's a magic eraser pad for me!

thanks to everyone for their reply's - seriously good and most welcome advice.

[Yomanze]

I thinks it's a magic eraser pad for me!

thanks to everyone for their reply's - seriously good and most welcome advice.

To be safe, use it by lowering the tonearm onto the pad, up and down, rather than dragging the pad across the stylus. Whilst I didn't have problems, I was using a spherical stylus at the time, line contact stylii for example could shear off.

[Manicatel]

For no particular reason I tend to alternate between the ubiquitous Green paper, an AT vibrating cleaner & sometimes the Onzow zerodust gel pot.
Currently thinking about getting a proper vacuum RCM as well. Even some of the brand new LP's I buy look like they could benefit from a proper clean.

[Stratmangler]

https://www.audiovisualonline.co.uk/media/pro-ject/clean-it/pro-ject_clean_it_large_1-large.jpg

[Barry]

For no particular reason I tend to alternate between the ubiquitous Green paper, an AT vibrating cleaner & sometimes the Onzow zerodust gel pot.
Currently thinking about getting a proper vacuum RCM as well. Even some of the brand new LP's I buy look like they could benefit from a proper clean.

An RCM is well worth having, especially if you have more than say 200 LPs in your collection. Even brand new LPs benefit from cleaning, if only to remove excess stamper release agent.

As regards stylus cleaning, I use a Goldring electronic cleaner with a carbon-fibre bristle pad.

[ReggieB]

An RCM is well worth having

Stylus cleaning becomes much less of an issue, the cleaner your records are.