Economic Record cleaning solutions

Does anyone have any suggestions for economic record cleaning? With such a grand abundance of cleaning materials from cloths to anti static fibre brushes to disc washers to wood glue, who knows what to pick. What seems to work the best for a reasonable cost?

Please, some insight fellow LP enthusiasts!

I've posted YouTube video link that explain how to wet clean record vinyls before (check my post history if you are interested. It was the best tutorial I found so far.)
For dust removal, I recommend getting 3M microfiber clothes that sold at supermarket, K-Mart, Target, etc. and water spray (to make mist).
Microfiber clothes are vinyl enthusiasts' best friend; inexpensive, very effective to remove dust and lint on vinyl.
Here's what I do; spray (mist) to microfiber clothes, so that it is a bit dumpy, wipe record in circular motion. It can even remove light mold on record!
Do you know the worst material on vinyl that is impossible to remove? candle wax. Does anyone know how to remove candle wax from vinyl?

Also, I found on the internet that Mr.Clean Magic Eraser is great for cleaning stylus!
Push down the tip into Magic Eraser (never use Magic Eraser that is wet or has been soaked into water), then lift up the tip. (be careful not to move side, just down, then up.)

Vodka and paper towels. The best I've come across so far and believe me, I used many dedicated products to clean and vinyl over the years.

Vodka is a clean form of alcohol and edible too so its safe for records. Place your record on the turntable and let it spin. Pour a moderate amount on the record so it spreads out but carefully not to wet the label or overspill on your turntable. Let it sit for a minute or two to deep clean the grooves. Then with the paper towels, gently press against the record to soak up the vodka as its spinning and then gradually wiping off the dirt stroking in the opposite direction the turntable is spinning. Never wipe in circular or up-and-down motions, just wipe along the grooves which is why I mentioned to let the record spin.

I don't recommend microfibers, thats like rubbing sandpaper on your records. Alot of cats ended up with their records sounding dull using them.

Ill-Green wrote:Vodka and paper towels. The best I've come across so far and believe me, I used many dedicated products to clean and vinyl over the years.

Vodka is a clean form of alcohol and edible too so its safe for records. Place your record on the turntable and let it spin. Pour a moderate amount on the record so it spreads out but carefully not to wet the label or overspill on your turntable. Let it sit for a minute or two to deep clean the grooves. Then with the paper towels, gently press against the record to soak up the vodka as its spinning and then gradually wiping off the dirt stroking in the opposite direction the turntable is spinning. Never wipe in circular or up-and-down motions, just wipe along the grooves which is why I mentioned to let the record spin.

I don't recommend microfibers, thats like rubbing sandpaper on your records. Alot of cats ended up with their records sounding dull using them.

The microfiber cloth I'm referring is not the one for lens cleaning, it is designed for cleaning tables, etc, and it sort of feels like velvet.
Microfibers does not scratch vinyls, it is made of polyesters, which is not harder than vinyl. However, it might drag dust particles, which might scratch the vinyl. Unlike paper towel, microfiber can reach groove, which means microfiber can damage groove by dragging particles in the groove. So, make sure microfiber cloth is clean before cleaning vinyls.
so if the vinyl has excessively a lot of duct, I recommend to have wet cleaning first.
Paper towels would leave a lot of lint on the vinyl's surface, plus paper fiber would not reach grooves.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microfiber

isopropyl alcohol (preferred) or methylated spirits mixed with distilled water (it's at the supermarket, on the low shelves) at a mixture of around 1 to 10. you don't need to be precise.

Ill-Green wrote:Vodka and paper towels. The best I've come across so far and believe me, I used many dedicated products to clean and vinyl over the years.

Vodka is a clean form of alcohol and edible too so its safe for records.

interesting method
i don't know if vodka is safe for records...
...but i like to drink it mixed in a cocktail!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lR8vJXNSHs8
^
this is the link that JVC provided here:
Home » Production Skills » Crate Diggers » Good stuff to clean records
http://www.mpc-forums.com/viewtopic.php?f=19&t=18519

Ill-Green wrote:Vodka and paper towels. The best I've come across so far and believe me, I used many dedicated products to clean and vinyl over the years.

That's interesting. I'm not sure how effective paper towels would be though. Don't you suppose a paper towel would leave particulates behind?

thx wrote:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lR8vJXNSHs8
^
this is the link that JVC provided here:

He lets his labels get wet too!?!? I'm not sure this is trustworthy.

The problem with cleaning vinyl is that no one seems to actually know a correct or universally accepted method. Everyone just has their own method they claim to be superior.

séance wrote:

thx wrote:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lR8vJXNSHs8
^
this is the link that JVC provided here:

He lets his labels get wet too!?!? I'm not sure this is trustworthy.
The problem with cleaning vinyl is that no one seems to actually know a correct or universally accepted method. Everyone just has their own method they claim to be superior.

His method is pretty good though, and nothing unusual. I wouldn't even call it superior method, but his explanation is dead on.
The method is not really different from using vacuum record cleaner; apply solution, let the nasty residue melt with the solution, then wipe it off or vacuum.
It is very important not to let it dry, you have to wipe (remove) the dirty solution from the vinyl surface, as much as possible.
Record label can be protected by using record label cover tool that some of audiophile shops sell, but generally (I would say most of the case) it can be wet.

There is a method for seriously grubby records, coat them in a pvc/wood glue. google it, it really works. you coat them, dry them then peel it off

MoreBuck$ wrote:There is a method for seriously grubby records, coat them in a pvc/wood glue. google it, it really works. you coat them, dry them then peel it off

I kind of scuffed about it before (it is way too time consuming, and not cheap method to clean up records), but it might work well for removing candle wax off from record!

I'll demonstrate on a video one day how to diy. But papertowels don't leave behind fiber, unless you rip it up then fibers will be flying. Papertowels were meant to suck up liquid and its a one time use. I had records that skipped for years but now plays all the way through. I recommend folding them once or twice and bending them in the shape of the letter 'U' so the curved part is brushed against the record as you swipe it off. Not saying this is the mother of methods but its cheap and shit you can find in the house.