Optical cleaner for vinyl

[loheswaran]

Dear all

Has anyone tried a non alcoholic optical cleaner on their vinyl? A very good cartridge retipper said to use it do clean your stylus - so why not use it on your records?

Fyi anti reflective coating are often very delicate Nd they draw oil towards them - hence my logic

Thanks

[Audio Al]

I don't need to clean my styli as I only use cleaned records
Would not use any fluid type cleaners , NO WAY :eek:

[loheswaran]

I don't need to clean my styli as I only use cleaned records
Would not use any fluid type cleaners , NO WAY :eek:

Dear Audio Al

You have clearly mis-understood my question, hence you giving an answer to a wholly different question. Ie not what do you use to clean your stylus

My question was not if i should use a liquid cleaner on my stylus - nor indeed the state of your records - and that all your vinyl is so pristine that you never have to clean your stylus.

I was trying elicit a response by anybody who had tried a non-alcoholic optical cleaner on a record.

FYI the cartridge tipper does happen to know his stuff.

[Gazjam]

What are you Sellin’?

[loheswaran]

Nothing - audio ain't a place to make money...

I was thinking of experimenting with some optical cleaner on some records - have you tried it?

[Barry]

I don't need to clean my styli as I only use cleaned records
Would not use any fluid type cleaners , NO WAY :eek:

So how were your records cleaned?

[Audio Al]

So how were your records cleaned?

1st they go in the ultrasonice RCM one time only , Then I use my Loricraft PRC4 and allways use a new vinyl sleeve

[guy]

I would have thought it would work out quite an expensive way to clean records?

Anyway, I thought that I would look them up and found this strange claim:

https://www.zeiss.com/vision-care/int/spectacle-lenses-from-zeiss/lens-cleaning-solution-for-glasses/display-cleaning-wipes.html

The alconol free cleaning wipes contain Propanol and Ethanol according to the Zeiss data sheet :scratch:

[phonomac]

No alcohol in the Display Cleaning Wipes, alcohol in the Lens Cleaning Wipes.

[Jac Hawk]

1st they go in the ultrasonice RCM one time only , Then I use my Loricraft PRC4 and allways use a new vinyl sleeve

Both use fluid don't they:scratch::scratch::eek:

[Barry]

1st they go in the ultrasonice RCM one time only , Then I use my Loricraft PRC4 and allways use a new vinyl sleeve


Would not use any fluid type cleaners , NO WAY

And no fluid was used?

[Audio Al]

Both use fluid don't they:scratch::scratch::eek:

Indeed the records get wet but I dry them in a rack before use , No wet stylus

[Barry]

The OP is referring to lens cleaning cloths being used to clean a record just before it is played. These cloths do contain alcohol, but from experience in using them to clean my glasses, the moisture evaporates quickly so when the record is played it ought to be quite dry.

It seems an expensive route to take, and one which appears to me not to be that effective. Much better to invest in an RCM; especially if you have a sizeable record collection (say over 200 records).

[Jac Hawk]

Indeed the records get wet but I dry them in a rack before use , No wet stylus

Well of course that's what you're meant to do, but the way you phrased it you didn't use any liquid

[Audio Al]

Well of course that's what you're meant to do, but the way you phrased it you didn't use any liquid

My comment re NO fluid was re cleaning a stylus , That I don't have to do as my records are clean

[AJSki2fly]

Dear all

Has anyone tried a non alcoholic optical cleaner on their vinyl? A very good cartridge retipper said to use it do clean your stylus - so why not use it on your records?

Fyi anti reflective coating are often very delicate Nd they draw oil towards them - hence my logic

Thanks

What sort of optical cleaner are you referring to, a cloth or a liquid?

I have tried many ways to clean records, documented in a thread on here. I do use a non-alcoholic cleaner as part of my cleaning regime called L'Art du Son, some like it other don't there are host of posts about it, first stage is a mix of 99.9% Isopropyl Alchohol mixed 25% to 75% Distilled Water and a Ilford Ilkotil grease agent, after using it I vacuum dry and then rinse with distilled water and then vacuum again, I then repeat with the L'Art du Son mix and then a final Distlled water runs and vacuum. Takes about 6 minutes per record but generally give a good result. Poorly soiled records may need to go through this several time, if still noisy after that get another copy.

[Haselsh1]

The last time I was involved in cleaning my vinyl records I used 80 of IPA to 20 of De-ionised water plus a tiny splash of wetting agent. Worked very well on my Moth cleaner.

[loheswaran]

What sort of optical cleaner are you referring to, a cloth or a liquid?

I have tried many ways to clean records, documented in a thread on here. I do use a non-alcoholic cleaner as part of my cleaning regime called L'Art du Son, some like it other don't there are host of posts about it, first stage is a mix of 99.9% Isopropyl Alchohol mixed 25% to 75% Distilled Water and a Ilford Ilkotil grease agent, after using it I vacuum dry and then rinse with distilled water and then vacuum again, I then repeat with the L'Art du Son mix and then a final Distlled water runs and vacuum. Takes about 6 minutes per record but generally give a good result. Poorly soiled records may need to go through this several time, if still noisy after that get another copy.

Hi AJ

Well FYI

I am getting an ultrasonic cleaner. I don't have a vacuum based cleaning machine, as such the record will be air dried. I was considering to use a non-alcoholic cleaning spray with an optical cloth (as used for anti-reflective coatings.

You aren't the only person that has recommended L'Art du son - I understand that some use it with ultrasonic cleaners diluted, and nothing else. My concern is that there may be a residue.

if i was to use distilled water at the end it would mean that i empty the ultrasonic bath then refill with distilled water. I just think that's a bit clumsy.

An option i have is to use a wetting agent as used in photography as water apparently doesn't settle and just comes off.

I still have my Disco Antistat and that may be worth deploying as the final stage with distilled water at the end.

So my proposed regime could be one of the following:

1. L'art du son with disstilled water in the ultrasonic bath - then air dry
2. Isopropyl alcohol and wetting agent with distilled water - then air dry

as above plus:

a. optical cleaner and cloth, or
b. distilled water rinse on the disco antistat

with two young kids and very long hours I don't want to spend forever cleaning and perfecting. Hence all the questions now by those who've done it and experimented.

The method with the optical cleaner was to use a toothpick with strands of cotton wool wrapped around it with a bit of optical cleaner used on the stylus after a play - using a magnifying glass. This is because it cleans off the rubbish on a stylus tip without eroding the glue for the stylus.

Thanks for the contributions to the discussion everyone.