A GOOD dry record cleaning device

I have tried many brushes. I even have one of the ridiculously priced German ones… ~$500 (all the rage a couple years ago). None have worked for me. They mostly push around the dust. I use Last general cleaner (2 -3 drops) on the last “brush” (the white plastic handled one). It works great, the record is generally dry by the time I drop the needle. I use a toothbrush to bush the dust from the Last brush.

I use a Klaudio record cleaner and don't have much use for a dry brush. If your LPs are truly clean you don't have much use for a stylus cleaner, either.

I have the Hart brush and it seems to clean better (more stuff visible) than an Audioquest.

I have lots of different "dry" brushes- I’ve always had mixed results- I know some people "mist" them with some IPA and pure water to better pick up the surface detritus but I don’t do that. Most of the brushes can get the dust all lined up nicely, but then it seems like you are pushing the lint, particulates, whatever, sideways across the grooves- something that seems counterproductive to preserving the surface.

Some years ago, I got into using a big bulb air puffer like the Giotto Rocket Blaster. Neil @antinn turned me on to another one, not much pricier (cheapish) which has a Hepa filter intake and it isn’t cumbersome to use. His suggestion of the KinetronicsTiger Cloth to spot clean (not wipe) a piece of lint or sleeve shed is also a good one-- I used to use a piece of silk. The Tiger Cloth is better. Also pretty inexpensive. Both on the Bezos site.

But it also starts with a record that has been wet cleaned on a big Monks, followed by an ultrasonic bath.

However clean the record is after that-- no static either-- dust seems to be an inevitable part of handling records in a normal, not "clean room" environment. I do clean the area around the turntable before every use and use one of those lint rollers periodically to clean the textured mat, which is bonded to the platter.

Back in the day before RCMs (I saw my first Monks in the very early ’70s),Bruce Maier’s Discwasher was kind of brilliant-- convex surface + wetting agent. As Miller said in "Repo Man," you found one in every car (home) back in the day.

I don't believe you should ever touch the surface of an LP with anything.  I use an ultrasonic cleaner to get everything out of the grooves.  Why would you ever use a brush or cloth that could push stuff back into the grooves?  Defies logic IMHO.

Dry brush is like using a dry cloth to clean mud from your car's paintwork. 

Back in the late 70's my friend Les swore that the Pix Off was the best dry record cleaning device. The Pix Off was a sticky roller on a handle that one would apply to a stationary record's surface. Anybody else ever heard of this?

I have always used a vintage Discwasher brush (the original not the newly marketed ones of the same name), with a little D4 fluid (which I ran out of but now use Mobile Fidelity’s One record cleaning solution). I use a ZeroStat before the brush. This has worked quite well for me for decades.  Any solution that was on the brush is evaporated almost instantly so the stylus never touches any moisture.

@whart IPA and water? That's a new one! 🍻😂

@jasonbourne71  Sounds like the roller I used to get lint on my suit. Put it under the tap and the lint washed right off.  

@j-wall -Isopropyl Alcohol, not India Pale Ale. Not that I'm advocating its use in the context but it is not an uncommon approach. Acronyms are dangerous, aren't they? 

@larryincmh  +1  I have done exactly the same thing for decades.  This brush actually pics up dust off the record.  Single most cost effective brush out there.  Can't believe this has not been resurrected.  

@corelli I would agree. Very simple and effective. I do also use a very basic ultrasonic cleaner ($200 on Amazon) to get rid of major crud on new purchases I make (of older albums I buy very few new reissues) but then use my Discwasher/Zerostat process from then on. 
 

I looked at a review of the Big Fudge brush @3607 says he has, it seems like it does a good job and he might already have a more than adequate solution.

…when ii said “dry” brush in my original post i neglected to say “with a cleaning solution”.  I too feel the original  Discwasher was the best system.  I have never used the Zerostat but will consider that option.

thx 

I use the Yukimu ASB-1 Brush, very similar to the Furutech ASB-1.

It is made using CORBRID Fibres as part of the Brush Make Up, which are known for Anti Static Properties.

The Brush Bristles are extremely fine and soft. 

To use this, I do two inner to outer dead wax cleans, with the bristles laid flat going with the flow of LP's rotation.

I have yet to have a LP show a level of surface particulate immediately following a clean that will be a concern.

This is such a soft Brush, and easy to keep the Bristles tangle free, I even use it   as a Styli Cleaner.

Maybe Neil Antin in another update, can show methods to keep Cleaning Bristles in their cleanest condition.  

@whart Isopropyl Alcohol, not India Pale Ale. Not that I'm advocating its use in the context but it is not an uncommon approach. Acronyms are dangerous, aren't they? 

I've never cleaned a record with a double IPA, though I may have listened under those conditions. Probably not carefully.

@dogberry   +1

Maybe Neil Antin in another update, can show methods to keep Cleaning Bristles in their cleanest condition.  

@pindac,

I gave up using any dry brush on a record over a year ago.  I just use the Teflon rod that I address in the book with current updates.  For me it works good enough and is easy to keep clean. 

To clean a dry brush using a dry process you may want to try a low-tack silicone roller - Amazon.com: YYQTGG Dust Removal Roller Plastic Handle Electrostatic Safe Low Tack Silicone Film Roller for Fiber Removal Circuit Board (10in) : Tools & Home Improvement.  I use the 4-in version to clean the platter mat that I use.  It does not appear to leave any residue and they last a long time.  The roller is easy to clean under flowing water (use your fingers to gently clean) and then rinse with DIW, shake and let dry.  

Take care,

Neil

bigtwin

1,100 posts

04-06-2024 at 10:21pm 

@jasonbourne71  Sounds like the roller I used to get lint on my suit. Put it under the tap and the lint washed right off. 

These sticky rollers are excellent for “big” stuff like pet hair or bits of paper sleeve. If you find they introduce static (sometimes can) then an anti-static gun may be on order. An absolutely dry solution (because the rollers won’t work if wet from cleaning, until they dry).

OP, a brush with cleaning solution is not a dry brush “solution,” per se. 😉

I won’t use any dry brush on a record for the same reason I won’t use a broom without a dustpan on the floor, FWIW.

The RECORD RESCUE lint roller is a nice size and works well.  I got mine on Amazon.

If the records have been washed, what you are doing after that is dust removal. I do that bit without touching the disc, firstly removing static with a Furutech Destat III and then, once dust is no longer attracted to the vinyl surface, blow it off with a photographic rocket blower. That removes 99% of visible particles, but if there is something stubborn I'll take it off with the corner of a Goldring "Super Exstatic" velvet/fibre cleaner. It is rare that I have to do that, and I'd probably be better off if I took such a record down to the basement and ran it through the cleaning machines again.