Ultrasonic record cleaners

Most of the art/science of record cleaning is in method and good practices. It doesn't hurt to have robust equipment that you like, but a lot of very effective cleaning can be done manually, at low cost.

I've been poking around at this subject since around 2012 or so and have done some field trips, including to the Library of Congress, gotten with people that knew much more about archival preservation and/or restoration or in one instance, developed Mil-Spec methods for cleaning the 02 systems on naval submarines. (That's Neil Antin, whose name some of you may know). 

I had a VPI (an ancient one that started life as a 16 and was modified to a 16.5) which did a fine job, especially once I figured out the simplest of steps- a good fluid (I used to use Walker but switched to AIVS #15 years ago), a rinse step using some level of purified water (you don't want the minerals) and separate wands and applicators for both steps.

I eventually got an Audio Desk and was delighted with the ease of using it. No more slaving over a noisy vacuum machine. Thing was, the AD could not clean certain records effectively. Granted, most of you would say, just replace the record, but these were fairly obscure Vertigo Swirls that commanded money and were not easily replaced. 

So I did the opposite of what @Lewm asked about-- where ultrasonic didn't do the job, I resorted to manual cleaning on the VPI. And after several passes, including more US, was able to get some, not all of these "problem" records to a high state of play. 

Cleaning will obviously not salvage damaged records, including those suffering from "groove chew" (records that got played on old, misaligned equipment). I started to use the combination of manual cleaning and ultrasonic for these problem records-- 10/1 I'm buying old pressings so the ability to clean (and to flatten, where necessary) is important to me. 

I did up my game on equipment- I use a big Monks Omni (the old style with the thread) and a KL that I bought some years ago and is still chugging. But it is still down to method. 

Here's a cookie for gear porn: 

If you want to start at the very beginning, in terms of chemistry, materials science and how to get records clean using industrial chemistry, Neil's work is invaluable. (I published it but he's gotten tons of feedback from users-- the most current edition is the 3d. It is not a light read but it is extremely well organized and is encyclopedic in scope). You'll find it under the title Precision Aqueous Cleaning of Vinyl Records-3rd Edition. (I don't make any money from this, nor does Neil). 

If I had to choose one machine-- it would probably be the Monks. It is a better all-arounder for my purposes. For those of you who have only pristine records that have been well cared for, you may be able to get away with US cleaning only, with only the very limited need to engage in manual cleaning. 

I'm not a scientist and claim no guru status. I do value quiet record playback and seek out hard to find records that interest me. My conclusions are based mostly on my experience, combined with input from some of the much more knowledgeable people I've talked to about the subject over the years. 

Good luck, have fun. 

@Harpo75- just a word of caution- isopropyl alcohol fumes can be explosive in an ultrasonic setting. Glad so many people have found Neil. Be well.

Hi, Terry. Thanks for the kind words, Neil really deserves the credit for his experience and effort. @antinn 

great to see you here too! 

@drbond - loved the bread commercial if you remember it.

I cannot control the web, but I use Cloudflare and have a really good IT guy here in the States. If you have access to a robust computer/printer system (work?), you might ask them to print for you. I’m sure there are other alternatives- get a commercial print shop to do it for you, at a fee. Interesting issue, never had it raised before, but I get where you are coming from.

Bill Hart

Oh, PS: I guess I should mention that in more than a year of different versions being available on TheVinylPress, I have not once received any message that there was a problem, virus, etc. with respect to the download. But I don't want to twist your arm here. 

I’ll throw one more log on the fire--using surfactants in an ultrasonic should also involve some method to rinse and remove the fluid/contaminants once the cleaning is done. Some of the made for LP ultrasonics use forced air. When I had an Audio Desk (older model), I had, at the suggestion of some early adopters, reduced the amount of AD fluid from a bottle to just a capful. I could still see what I believed was a function of fluid residue when the same record was recleaned later on the KL--- the way the water behaved on the record surface in the KL.

I think Neil addresses this as well in the book- it’s been a while since I read it. And @antinn, I know you and @jtimothya went back and forth on the value of a rinse step- he was at the time using a formula he had adapted from the London Jazz Collector site. Don’t know where that left things which is why I flagged him here as well.

Glad Dr. Bond got the book. It would cost to produce a decent print copy and I’m not sure people want to bear that cost. And then Neil would have to autograph them for deluxe editions, etc. :)

Thanks, Neil (@antinn) -that does sum it up nicely.

@kennyc said" "KL is out of the USRCM business." They were. But Chad at Acoustic Sounds struck a deal to distribute a version of the smaller unit that has a separate reservoir. It also offers a connection to a household water supply.

I have no details on the effectiveness of the filtering. It is quite expensive.

Neil Antin, upthread, posted a link to What’sBest where a question of mine was answered regarding the use of a second bath. This one is DIY, using high grade hardware, filtering, possibly cooling as well. Not cheap either, but high "throughput" as Neil would say. (@antinn).

I use a Monks Omni for pre-cleaning, have the older, bigger KL (with the tank integrated into the unit) and will rinse the record and vac it on the Monks in some cases rather than "blow dry."

There are many DIY approaches that work well, but not all are money savers. :)