Cleaning vinyl - am I using this thing right???


I have owned a VPI 16.5 for a couple of years, but only in the past two months have I been (re)immersed in vinyl. Now I'm wondering just how to get rid of all that junk in the grooves. I spin each side in the 16.5 with a few drops of RR Vinyl Wash, then use the VPI brush to spread the drops out and hopefully disloge the junk. Then I run two revolutions with the vaccuum on and repeat for the other side.

The problem is that there are STILL pretty fair ticks and pops, and sometimes I can actually see the junk. It just doesn't get the junk out (and neither does the Hunt fibre brush). I *thought* I was using the VPI per directions - is there some other secret handshake necessary to get these things cleaner?
blw

Showing 2 responses by blw

LOL... well, I'm glad I asked the question.

In my industry, there's an old saying... if it doesn't work, Read The [Fine] Manual - abbreviated RTFM. I've definitely RTFM'ed, and I interpreted the manual as "two revolutions is enough, don't overdo it." It's obvious from others' experience that two is often NOT enough.

I'll try the Deep Cleaner (sure I'll write a review!). The LPs I'm complaining of are used, often very lightly, but often very old; but sometimes they're not that good, although I generally buy only near-mint selections. I never dreamed that there might be another type of cleaner, since the VW works very well on *my* records. On the other hand, mine have been lovingly cared for over the course of 30 years, and there isn't any junk in them except maybe 30-y-o release compound.

Where does one buy a ZeroStat? I had one 20 years go, but it died or disappeared when the expensive gear left the house and the wife, kids and house payments came in. (Now that the kids are leaving, and I can afford the house payments, I am back in the audio hobby!) Anyway, I haven't seen one since about 1988, as far as I can remember.

I'll take the light thing under advisement. I still have to design the area of my dedicated concert hall/theatre for the equipment, so I have the opportunity to put in the right lighting.

Thanks for a LOT of useful information!
Marakanetz: I'm surprised that you say that the Zerostat has no effect. This one is, in my experience, trivially demonstrable. In fact, I remember doing this once for my distinctly non-technical mom. She asked me why I was "shooting" my records, so I stuck a wad of cat fur to a magazine using static electricity and then shot the paper with the Zerostat, returning the kitty fur to random distribution...