[afriendofken]

I'm thinking of investing in something to clean my vinyl with. Up until now I've just been using a carbon fibre brush prior to playing a record, however some retain a lot of surface noise despite this.

There seem to be countless arguments for everything from professional machines to warm water and a sponge I wondered what you guys are using?

[rhos]

I use a pair of Disco-Antistat Record Cleaners, first one with the supplied cleaning fluid, second with deionised water to fully remove the cleaning fluid. Works really well and is cost effective. Have had some charity shop finds go from nearly unplayable to practically pristine with this set up - though does no good if they've been used as frisbees! Only complaint is some LPs have labels bigger than the clamp so they can get wet at the edges. Usually no problem with modern records but some older labels (and particularly any Jamaican dub pressings) can take a bit of a hammering if you're not very careful.

[afriendofken]

@rhose Thanks for the advice.

The Disco-Antistat came up a few times in my researching, I shall definitely look into it.

[deathwaltz]

I use a disco antistat too.
Very good and cheap.
I do want a moth though !!

[afriendofken]

Looking forward to picking up an antistat asap (roll on payday), a moth would be great but far too expensive for me!

[orbtastic]

I looked at a okki nokki and moth mkII but decided both were a bit too much for me (despite my volume of vinyl) so went for a disco antistat. I must admit, the results pleased me from something so cheap.

I'd recommend one (for the money, at least). I got all my old Beatles albums that I'd inherited off my mum decades ago and they all came up pretty sparkling...then gave her old Fairport Convention albums that had been languishing in her loft for years a spin and they came out clean as a whistle too. It'll never get rid of scratches or jumps, don't fool yourself into thinking it'll make it sound like a new pressing but it will get rid of that dull colour and a fair amount of cracks and pops.

[freshoj]

I bought a VPI 16.5 about 7 or 8 years ago and have been really really happy with it.

At first I had sticker shock, but after countless clean sides, I just love the thing.

At the time Galen Carol had the best US prices on them, no idea if this is still true.

[tadge]

Nagaoka CL1000 Roll cleaner. Not cheap at £100 but picks up the dust great without a fluid (which can infact damage the vinyl over time). If you clean each side with the roller before every play you should never need to deep clean it. If you buy a record thats really shot the good old wood glue method.

[siforster]

[video]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Egx7QzjvNBY[/video]

[chandler75]

I tried the Disco-Antistat Record Cleaner, but I stopped using it because the labels were getting all wet (although they were covered by the plastic holders, but I could never remove the two holders without water dripping on the labels).

[repulsion]

I think disco-antistat is not even semi-pro. I used it myself long time ago but you don't get rid off the dust.

I used a KAB EV-1 and a vaccum cleaner. Nice combo that will clean your vinyls well.

Now I use a DIY Record Cleaning Machine in the style of Loricraft. Did not want to spend €2.000 so I built myself for about €400. Awesome cleaning and drying results. If interested I could post a photo, but you can find tons of DIY RCMs on the net, they are worth a look.

[Dollarhyde]

I had the disco anti stat some years ago. Definetly better than a cloth and fluid. I found the hairs became worn after several uses though, limiting their cleaning effect. Is also a bit of a performance to use.

Im saving up for a VP1. Why are these things so expensive!?

[hncreature]

Sold some singles way back and got myself a VPI - Kind of blown away with the outcome of some nasty thrift store finds - It is nice to look at records now and just decide I don't want it because of scratches not because of it being dirty - Cleans the muck off new Lps real nice too

[Oswarez]

What's the wood glue method?