My record cleaning method, version 3.0 (long / pics)

Vinyl Asylum

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Well, it's been a while since I posted here about this. Upon trying different approaches to find an effective, low cost vacuum-based record cleaning device (previous attempts: 1 - 2 ) I think I've finally got something that works... at least until I get enough money for a VPI 16.5. And even then, I doubt that could be much more efficient than my el cheapo method in terms of suction power...

Anyways, since I began using the Sony "toy-table" for record cleaning on v.2, fluid handling was much much improved, but I still was having issues with the fluid pick-up. The velvet-over-hose method left something to be desired, as I wasn't able to vacuum the whole surface of the record at once, and the vacuum itself (a rechargeable Coleman model) usually fainted after about 10 minutes of use or so, which was quite a pain in the butt.
So the other day I bought one of those Micro-cleaning kits for Shop-Vac vacuums (quite pricey for a bunch of plastic pieces, btw) that come with the shown "cone" adaptor to use said micro pieces, and after trying to mod one of the kit pieces (and wrecking it in the process) I conceived the odd-looking device shown above.

Here's a closeup of said device - it's made up of a 12" x 12/32" piece of flexible, clear PVC hose that is soft to touch and that won't scratch records in any way. I cut a 4" x 3/32" (aprox.) slit through the hose using an X-acto knife. Photo above shows it before I finished up smoothing slit edges and stick 2 7/32" pieces of velvet at the sides using cyanoacrylate glue just to minimize eventual friction. The top hose end was sealed with a thick layer of epoxy and left to dry for about 2 hours. I tried using the PVC hose alone, but as I found out it was extremely difficult to hold such a flexible hose into shape and with the vacuuming slit properly open, I thought about using a 5"x13/32" piece cut out from a thin cord cover duct mainly used for in-wall installations. It fit the PVC piece snug perfectly and secured it with epoxy as well. Best thing is that all of these materials are ridiculously cheap and can be found at any decent hardware store.

Just another view of the aforementioned concoction.

Now, this must be the biggest improvement I did so far... I decided to ditch the underpowered Coleman and bring over a brand-new Shop-Vac 1x1 vacuum. Noisy as hell, but man, does this beauty suck! (In a good way). Plus, being electricity-powered means I'm not gonna run out of juice in the middle of a cleaning. And I got it at 15% off store price to boot. That said, I left the Coleman over to do more mundane tasks :)

No great changes on this phase from the previous version - use 1-2 teaspoons of RRL fluid per side, crank up platter with clamp while holding brush, scrub about 5 times clock and counterclockwise...

Time to fire up the Shop-Vac and put the device to do its job... Holy S*&% Batman! most of the fluid is already sucked up on the first 2 turns! (I still give it about 30-40 more seconds worth of turns to dry the record completely).
And now the moment of the truth... playing the records on the TT. May I just announce that the stylus finally makes it to the runoff groove without ANY significant amount of dust! Wahoo!
(Cheering over this definitely confirms my status as a helpless vinyl nerd)
Now I guess what was my problem... as the former vacuum didn't have enough suction power, most of the RRL fluid evaporated without getting really sucked and therefore all suspended dust and dirt ended up back in the record again. I could notice that by the huge dropping in sound quality. With this new method, sound fidelity remains consistent during the whole side play - the clearest sign that there's no dust or dirt in the grooves.
Vacuum cleaning doesn't do miracles though - quality of vinyl pressings varies wildly and while I have some treasured LPs that are beautifully dead quiet on the surface, there are also others on which no amount of vacuuming and fluid will make them sound tick-and pop-less. At least when I get to clean one of these I'll know it's not my fault...
Though practically all of my records are well cared for, I'm trying to clean and listen to at least 2 per night. At this rate, I'll get through my whole collection in about 2 years... I should stop buying for a while :P

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Topic - My record cleaning method, version 3.0 (long / pics) - beto 23:41:47 05/18/04 (5)

theory question - darkstar 05:01:00 05/19/04 (1)

I have several issues . . . - Dan_ed 06:56:09 05/19/04 (0)

Re: My record cleaning method, version 3.0 (long / pics) - Dmitry 00:32:44 05/19/04 (2)

Rig a vac tube to it and you'll have a Loricraft!!! - Doug Deacon 08:23:21 05/19/04 (0)

I'm left-handed, so I don't mind it much (nt) - beto 07:10:38 05/19/04 (0)

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