Dirt on my stylus.....what to do?

I agree 100 percent with you, Gboren. I wasn't clear enough on my first post, and wasn't singling you out. I realise that both Zerodust and Extreme's products are polymer compounds, perhaps similar to Silly Putty. In my opinion, all 3 may lead to premature cartridge failure; something I'm unwilling to chance with my various cartridges.

Silly Putty is a Polymer compound. Polymer compounds contain petroluem products, the solvent within the solid base. It is the solvent action that will lift newsprint. This petroleum product will not evaporate, so the film is there to stay. Common sense tells me that the film would attract dust and also add mass to the stylus. (Perhaps not a good thing).

Another issue that I have with polymer based stylus cleaners is that they may subject the cartridge to negative forces that may cause premature wear. How often does your stylus stick to the record surface? I'm reminded of cutting a solid wire without wire cutters. You can simply wiggle the wire back and forth, and eventually it will break on the stress point. I'm not certain that this will indeed create a fracture point on the shaft, but with the price of cartridges today, I'm not willing to take the chance. I've had my boot get stuck in the mud in the past ...