Records noisier after a clean?!

[Macca]

Mate expensive doesn't even come close, £500 for what it essentially a hoover and a turntable in a box, you still have to apply the cleaning fluid with a brush, if all you did was fill the machine with fluid and it was like a dishwasher i.e. you load the dirty vinyl in and take it out when its clean i could understand the astronomic price as it stands i'll wait for my step dad

Fair point Mike - It took me a couple of months to psyche up to buying one - I think what you are really paying for is the high torque motor and gear box so you can scrub the vinyl as it rotates without stopping the motion. You will need that in your home made one or it will not be as good.

[Jac Hawk]

i wouldn't have thought it was massive market either Martin, this will all add to the price unfortunately good advice about the motor though, i guess the LP is clamped down while cleaning as well?

[Macca]

i wouldn't have thought it was massive market either Martin, this will all add to the price unfortunately good advice about the motor though, i guess the LP is clamped down while cleaning as well?

Yes you have to clamp it down tight. You could look at the Moth kit which is a lot cheaper - you just have to build your own box - Keith S did this don't know if you saw that thread? I'm too cack handed to do it myself so I had to pony up the extra.

[Jac Hawk]

With a large chunk of my wage going to the ex and kids it doesn't leave much for poor old me

[lovejoy]

I had similar problems to the OP using my Moth RCM. I tried different fluids, different brushes, different methods of cleaning, but always seemed to end up with some records more noisy than they were before a clean.

After a while I came to the conclusion that it was newer records that were suffering from this problem the most, so I had a chat with the guys from Keith Monks. Their conclusion was that newer records use increasing amounts of Mould Release Agent just to get the discs out of the press that little bit quicker and MRA, being a grease is getting smeared around the grooves rather than shifted out. The vacuum isn't doing enough to get it unstuck either.

So what I started doing for newer records was a pre-wash using nothing more than washing up liquid and water - I also find that the cheap microfibre cloths you can pick up from any supermarket for 99p a pack work wonders on this part of the cleaning process too. After a couple of spins on each side, a light rinse, then the proper cleaning cycle using your record cleaning fluid. I'm using paint pads for the application of the fluid which is easily as good (if not better) than the Discwasher brush I had been using.

I now have very quiet, very clean records.

[colinB]

My findings too. I will try the washing up liquid tonight.

[Audioman]

The mould release agent audiofool myth raises its ugly head once again. This is always put forward by makers of record cleaning products. Do you actualy think it is practical or possible to spray some substance on the stampers each time they open and close to press another disc from a vinyl blob ?

There are apparantly additives in the vinyl to aid flow but these are claimed to leave no residue. I have read information from vinyl manufacturers denying the use of MRA. There are also internet discussions elsewhere such as Vinyl Asylum dealing with this subject. I have found apparant marks and patina on new vinyl are not deposits and remain after cleaning being part of the vinyl surface.

You should not get noisier records if you use cleaning fluids with an RCM as directed. If new vinyl remains noisy it is due to poor pressing quality. I clean new vinyl to remove static and particles deposited after the pressing operation.

[Macca]

I've always suspected the Mould Release Agent thing was total bollocks -

Why would you need it? What mould is there to be released? They just spray your new record with some crap after it's pressed that makes it sound rubbish then you buy it and immediately clean the stuff off.

If it does have a purpose then why is it okay to clean it off?

Never made sense to me.

[MartinT]

What mould is there to be released?

Not that kind of mould! It's supposed to help release the hot pressed vinyl from the stamper (or mould) without sticking.

[Slippershod]

I have found apparant marks and patina on new vinyl are not deposits and remain after cleaning being part of the vinyl surface.

yes, I've had a number of new pressings like that - looks like someone's had a miniature,'Potty Time'-like, dirt-track meeting on the record surface...