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Please critique my new DIY stylus cleaning system.

A sudden brainstorm led me to attempt the following. Collect a box of baking soda, a small watercolor paintbrush, a cup of distilled water and a Kleenex tissue or two. Make brush damp, then get some baking soda on the tip. Brush this over stylus back-to-front, covering stylus in soda and "painting" it in deliberate cleaning action. Then "collect" soda with brush and flick away into trash container. Rinse well with water-saturated brush, moving brush back-to-front again and rewetting a few times to keep brush clean. Dab stylus/cantilever dry with a soft Kleenex, letting moisture absorb into tissue. Wait a few minutes for air-drying, then play. After this procedure my cart simply came back to life (Denon 103D). Amazing! Has this been done before? Is it harmful? It sure was cheap and effective, and not much trouble. Thanks!

Scott
shirasagi

Showing 2 responses by dougdeacon

dougdeacon
3,338 posts
 
Why baking soda? Not odor control I trust. ;)

Even with lots of rinsing I'd worry about residue buildup, on the cantilever more than the stylus.

Twl is currently reviewing my new stylus cleaner. If he likes it as much as I do I'll post a thread. In the meantime I'd follow his suggestion, the striker from a book of matches for the stylus and a soft dry brush for around the cantilever.
dougdeacon
3,338 posts
 
No material is friction-proof, diamonds just abrade relatively less easily than softer ones. If you wanted to wear down a diamond stylus you could easily do so by abrading it for a few 1,000 hours with a piece of vinyl. It would probably go a little quicker with a matchstiker.

Gently and sparingly is the word.

I kind of like the baking soda though. If you add other ingredients does it flavor the sound?
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