Record-playing Rituals?

I tried clicking my heels together but I fell over and scratched the record. Say, where can I get a ruby-colored ZeroStat? This orangey-red thing works great but it is sooo ugly.

IME when RRL Deep Cleaner sheets instead of beading up it's usually a sign that:

- I applied too much solution or,

- the record is incredibly, deep-down filthy or,

- the record is groove-damaged.

The less "wet" the RRL solutions act on a record, the cleaner and less damaged it's likely to be.

In previous conversations, Brian told me he prefers to spread RRL fluids with CF brushes, the same kind you dry brush with, using one for DC and one for VW.

I've tried those, the Last brushes, painting pads from Walmart and DD brushes. DD brushes work best and CF brushes are a close second. The CF brushes will occasionally shed a fiber. If your RCM doesn't pull the fiber out of a groove, your stylus will. Still, if I didn't have DD brushes I'd use CF. Those zillions of tiny fibers do a great job of getting the RRL fluids down into the grooves.

I use it on records with obvious mold growth or that don't clean up completely with a couple of RRL passes.

It removes some (never all) mold growth deposits. Not perfect but better than not using it.

Just sharing my experience, confirmed by both listening tests and constant visual inspection of the stylus.

I guess the theories don't interest me as much as the results, and my records have never been cleaner. I can and do go for many, many sides without needing to do more than brush the odd cat hair off the stylus. I have not opened my bottle of LP #9 in months, and even my preferred DIY stylus cleaner isn't needed more than once every 6-10 sides. This tells me my vinyl cleaning methods are working.

If you prefer a solution that makes more sense from a particular theoretical perspective, go for it. Jyprez likes his DIY stuff, I like RRL. Hmm, we live only ten miles apart. Guess we could do a comparison...

Deb,

There have been many reports over the years of VPI's cleaning fluid growing mold. IMO, the best solution is to dispose of it, in an environmentally safe way of course, and use something better.

A perusal of this thread will turn up many, err, solutions. RRL is my preference.

Um, he's wrong.

What he probably meant was, "Any cleaner (that we sell) does the same thing." ;-)

It's been several months since I last ordered RRL, but at that time Galen Carol had the best price IIRC.

http://www.gcaudio.com