Vinyl Asylum: Guess my cleaning arsenal is complete... need some advice (w/pics and sorta long) by beto

At last, after dealing with lots of red tape and killer import tariffs, mostly because of the RRL fluids (getting some high end analog accesories by mail is no kid's play in Paradise!) I finally have the mentioned cleaners in my possesion. First thought was "well, this better be good for all the hassle!". You can see here most of the cleaning accesories I have tried out. Notice the None-Felt Mat (donut) on bottom - it came in the same package as the RRL's.

Anyway, on with the cleaning process I'm currently trying out. I wanted to get a set of the Disc Doctor brushes for this, but getting the DD's in stock is tough luck most of the time (I have yet to try buying direct from Mr. Goldman) so I'm using a couple of LAST brushes I had stored and unused for this. They actually work well for this.

First off, since I still don't have a RCM (I'd wish, but that's some serious bucks I can't afford right now) I adopted a method of using a canister vacuum I saw here on VA (credited to Brian Weitzel, the inventor of RRL no less). I got 5 pieces of 6" x 6" velvet with a 3/4" hole in each.

These pieces wrap around the hose in this fashion, kept together with two rubber bands:

First application is that of the Super Deep Cleaner, as per instructions. I put this stuff on the first LAST brush until throughly saturated.

Then apply it in circular motion for about 3-4 turns so cleaner is uniformingly applied in a thin, continous film. These brushes are great for this task.

After 5-10 seconds, I start vacuuming the Super Deep Cleaner with the doctored canister vacuum, in a center to edge spiral movement. I spend at least 2-3 mins vacuuming each side/fluid slowly so it can take me up to 10-15 mins to throughly clean a record with this method. Note: These tasks usually involve two hands, but for this case one of them had to take the pictures :)

Repeat same fluid applying procedure with other LAST brush and Super Vinyl Wash, then vacuum again.

Once both sides are throughly cleaned, just to stay on the safe side I zap them with the Zerostat 1-2 times per side.

Then, if original sleeve is not up to snuff or looks stained (or is a paper-only one), I replace it with one of a bunch of poly/paper sleeves I bought together with the RRL's.

Whew... well this is so far the best I can do in regards to record cleaning at this moment. On to the questions:

After listening to a few cleaned records, however, I did notice a significant reduction in ticks, pops and surface noise, but it is not close to the "Whoa, Mama!" kind of noise reduction I was expecting (perhaps being put through so much red tape crap made me expect nothing short of a miracle). Soundstage is greatly enhanced though, but I guess it has a lot more to do with the new None-Felt mat than with the RRL fluids themelves.

Speaking about the None-Felt Mat, that thing's definitely working sound-wise on my MMF-5, but I am also getting some residue of the sticky, oily thing this seems to have on some of my records. It seems to have no sonic effects, but it is visually awful. Could it have to do with room temperature? We're currently roasting under the April sun, hitting close to 90 degrees during the day and about 80 at night (think August in the USA), or should I clean it as per instructions before continuing using it?

Also, practically all my records are on good cleaning shape and it's not like I have to clean tons of dirt from them every time. The RRL method says you use the Super Deep Cleaner first, then the Super Vinyl Wash. But the Deep Cleaner bottle is just 16 oz. vs the Vinyl Wash's 32 oz. I guess the Vinyl Wash should suffice in most cases - or I'd always need to use the two? Since cleaning records this way is such a lengthy procedure, I hope this has not to be made with every play and be able to clean minor debris with the carbon brush instead. Besides, those special sleeves should have a reason of being...

Just your typical newbie-to-real-record-cleaning questions... :)