I cleaned 3 records today. One was a NF++ Pete, Paul and Mary from 1968, the worst one in my collection. It is so bad, that you just heard tics, tacs and pops so loud that you can't resist. After steaming it and do my thing, I can said, it's listenable now. The noise is still there, but softer and the music and voices are much better. I also did a Jackie Terrason and Ruben Blades records. Both sound great with much less noise and can play them at a higher volume. I can said the noise is non-offensive and you can deal with them. Once you steam a record, they look like new albuns.
It will take a bit more practice to master the steaming technic but itsn't that complicated neither. A tool I use and reccomend to you guys is to buy a Lazy Susan from WalMart, at the kitchen accesories section. They are about 13-14" circunference and made out of wood. Just turn then, take out the screw ( with care not to loose the small bearings). Then drill a bigger hole, enough to use a new threaded screw that can be used with the record hole. Set everything again and use a round cap/wood/top whatever do the trick, and clamp it. This will protect your record label, your hands and you could turn/spin the record around for scrubbing and steaming. If you have an extra rubber mat around use it between the record and susan. This makes everything much easier.
