My experience cleaning a Stylus

[p147]

Over the years, experience has taught me to stay clear of the green sandpaper, ultrasonic, gels or putty, I only now use a very fine sable hair artist brush to remove the fluffy stuff and careful use of a magic sponge to remove the more stubborn stuff, and no liquids.

[Barry]

Over the years, experience has taught me to stay clear of the green sandpaper, ultrasonic, gels or putty, I only now use a very fine sable hair artist brush to remove the fluffy stuff and careful use of a magic sponge to remove the more stubborn stuff, and no liquids.

Agreed - some cantilevers (admittedly only used on the cheaper cartridges) take the form of a hollow tube. Capillary action can cause the cleaning fluid to be drawn up into the cartridge body and attack the suspension. This is not a problem with solid boron or gemstone cantilevers, however some stylii are attached to the cantilever with glue, which can be loosened if solvent is used.

My modus operandi is to clean all vinyl on an RCM, use anti-static inner liners, and to use an anti-static brush on the record before cueing. Any 'flecks' that fall onto the record are removed using an artist's brush, which is also used on the stylus after each side.

[scotty38]

Barry's process is more or less what I do now apart from the brush on the record. I bought a "decent" carbon fibre one and it seems to introduce static so I now don't bother with that either.