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To clean or not to clean...

Brand new spanking vinyl. When one receives a  brand  new never played album. What is the consensus?
To clean or not to clean?

I  have leaned toward not cleaning until after numerous spins. This may be more out of  hope that conditions at the pressing faculty are on par with a semiconductor factory. Overall  I have not had issues, but once in a  blue moon you do  get that annoying pop that make you cringe and think" I should've cleaned this one".

Or am I simply guilty of the lessening of a mundane task.
idigmusic64

Showing 2 responses by terry9

terry9
2,354 posts
 
Depends on how much you like paying for a cartridge rebuild.

Someone did an analysis of record groove gunk: he reported that it’s a third grease, and third fluff, and a third diamond dust (presumably from a stylus). That’s a grinding compound, ready and able to reshape your stylus.

No record touches my Koetsu until it’s been cleaned ultrasonically. According to a photomicrograph at 1000 hours, the stylus shows minimal wear. Even the authorized dealer advised against a rebuild.

So follow MC’s advice if you like to burn money and destroy precision instruments. I don’t.
terry9
2,354 posts
 
@mijostyn 
I have seen postings from people who claim to have worked in pressing plants. Some of them claim that they used mold release compound. Some claim that it is a residue from the pressing process. Some claim it does not exist. Others claim that it depends on the plant.

I suspect that I have seen an oily substance on newly pressed records. So I clean with an US cleaner and a good lab grade detergent, and rinse heroically.
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