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Record cleaning Q's - brushes and fluid

Hi all. I just picked up a VPI 16.5 here on Agon (thanks Lptube) and I've started cleaning 5 years worth of collected vinyl. Hoping to pick up a couple tips from the community here.

What kind of brushes are you using? I have the nylon bristle brush that came with the vpi and I'm not crazy about it. Doesn't do a great job of spreading the fluid and the handle is a hard chunk of smooth plastic. Difficult to hold and seems like it's dangerous to the lp if dropped, which I have done several times. I also have a mfsl brush, which has a nice microfiber velvet pile. Spreads the fluid really well and the handle is a nice soft rubber too. Problem is the brush is like 2" wide and all that fiber soaks up a lot of (expensive) fluid. Does anyone know of a brush type with the microfiber/velvet pile that's not quite as big? Before I spend a 100 bucks buying different brushes figured I'd look for some advice.

This brings me to the next question - how much fluid do you use? I'm using the audio intelligent 3-step (rinsing with whole foods filtered water though, not the AI stuff). I find it takes a lot more than the 1/10th of an ounce AI recommends to really saturate one side of an LP. Since none of my vinyl has ever been wet or vacuum cleaned, I'm using the enzyme cleaner to soak it for a while in step one. It seems to take as much as 1/3 of an ounce to really get the LP wet and keep it that way for a 10 minute soaking session without "dry spots" opening up. Am I using too much fluid? How wet does one need to get the LP to ensure a really good cleaning?

Thanks for any responses.
Jon.
zargoz

Showing 1 response by esoteric-audio

esoteric-audio
20 posts
 
Two points....

1) Static -- I've found that static build-up is more or less of a problem depending on the fluid used. For instance the RRL/MoFi fluids tend to have more of a static problem than the DD fluids. The one thing that will ensure a really bad static problem is if you let the record run for several revolutions under the vacuum wand.

I live in a dry climate and static is always a problem. So far the best solution that I've found is to wipe the record down with a microfiber cloth (dampened with distilled water) immediately before play. I have the cloth rolled up, add a little bit of distilled water, start the platter, and hold the cloth perpendicular to the LP. This picks up any surface dust on the LP and also seems to do a very good job of neutralizing any static. Since I started doing this I haven't had a static problem at all and the relative humidity of my listening room has been dropping into the low teens. I keep the cloth in a ziploc bag to make sure that it doesn't get too dirty.

2) Record cleaning... Please do yourself a favor and wear earplugs when doing a massive cleaning run. The 16.5 is anything but quiet and LPs will be a lot less fun if your hearing is compromised.
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