CLEANING VINYL - The AK compendium of fact, fiction and collective wisdom

Have you ever used glue to clean a record?

  • Yes

    Votes: 231 19.9%
  • No

    Votes: 927 80.1%

  • Total voters
    1,158
Of the thousand or so records I have, experimenting cleaning them based on other people's choice and my own has been fun and tiresome. Cleaning a crate a used records takes a day. I mean clean and sanitize the record, cover, pages, everything- each one hand by hand. I have asthma and allergies and lived (short lived) in a home in Colorado that was partially damaged by a rare flooding in 1995 or 96. So I'm anal and don't want strangers dust particles/mold/whatever in my home disrupting my ecosystem. I'm a trained chef too.
All in all, here is my kit and recipe to clean records.........

Short version- spray paper towel with sanitizer rinse and wipe jacket/cover in one direction. Use a dry paper towel to remove any solution and gunk. Repeat step as needed. Clean the inside too. Place cover/jacket in sunlight (not the record). The actual record..Spray paper towel then wipe following the groves/edges and label. Solution will evaporate fast. When dry use the Swiffer duster. Now the record should appear glistening. Then place record into new/ clean inner sleeve.

Long version with details. Please read.
Tools:
1. Spray bottle with Solution.
I use a 32 ounce spray bottle filled with 31oz. distilled water with 1/2oz. concentrated "First Street " brand Sanitizer Rinse (Alkyl dimethyl benzyl ammonium chloride- 5.0% and Alkyl dimethyl ethylbenzyl ammonium -5.0% and inert ingredients-90.0%) [disinfectant-sanitizer, fungicide-virucide].
2. Target store brand paper towels.
They are cloth like. Soft and minimal paper towel dust.
3. Swiffer brand dusters.
4. Oreck brand hand held vacuum. As needed.
5. Wood glue type 2. As needed.
6. Sunlight. As needed.
7. Portable beach/camping chair. As needed.
8. Disposable gloves. Mandatory. Best to use non-powder style.
9. Dust mask and protective eyewear. Mandatory. Common sense. I don't want to breath the stuff I'm trying to remove.

Method:
1. Find a place to work. Pull up a chair, it gonna been awhile. Enjoy a beer and play music. Wear gloves.
2. Vacuum album cover and record if needed. Place some fingers on the tip of vacuum to act as a buffer when using on the record.
3. Spray solution on paper towel till moist, not wet! (Caution: don't say the word 'moist' in the company of any females.)
4. Remove record from jacket covers. Wipe quickly in one direction cover to remove mold and dirt. Repeat step with a newly sprayed clean paper towel. Wipe inside and pages if applicable. Place cover in sunlight.
For the record-Wipe gently around with the grooves and outer edge and label. Solution will attract and pull dirt out then solution will quickly evaporate leaving the record clean and dry. Do not wipe perpendicular to the grooves. For seriously dirty records, use wood glue and that technique first.
5. If particles are remaining then use the Swiffer duster, wipe also in accordance with the grooves.
6. Place record in new sleeve or cleaned sleeve. Then back into the cleaned jacket. Then place into clean outer protector.

Total cost of spray bottle, gallon of First Street sanitizer, Swiffer refills, disposable gloves, dust mask, pack of paper towels, a gallon of distilled water, and type 2 wood glue.....around $30.
It sounds like a lot of effort and time, but it's not. However it's worth it and cheap to do.

Enjoy.
 
Of the thousand or so records I have, experimenting cleaning them based on other people's choice and my own has been fun and tiresome. Cleaning a crate a used records takes a day. I mean clean and sanitize the record, cover, pages, everything- each one hand by hand. I have asthma and allergies and lived (short lived) in a home in Colorado that was partially damaged by a rare flooding in 1995 or 96. So I'm anal and don't want strangers dust particles/mold/whatever in my home disrupting my ecosystem. I'm a trained chef too.
All in all, here is my kit and recipe to clean records.........

Short version- spray paper towel with sanitizer rinse and wipe jacket/cover in one direction. Use a dry paper towel to remove any solution and gunk. Repeat step as needed. Clean the inside too. Place cover/jacket in sunlight (not the record). The actual record..Spray paper towel then wipe following the groves/edges and label. Solution will evaporate fast. When dry use the Swiffer duster. Now the record should appear glistening. Then place record into new/ clean inner sleeve.

Long version with details. Please read.
Tools:
1. Spray bottle with Solution.
I use a 32 ounce spray bottle filled with 31oz. distilled water with 1/2oz. concentrated "First Street " brand Sanitizer Rinse (Alkyl dimethyl benzyl ammonium chloride- 5.0% and Alkyl dimethyl ethylbenzyl ammonium -5.0% and inert ingredients-90.0%) [disinfectant-sanitizer, fungicide-virucide].
2. Target store brand paper towels.
They are cloth like. Soft and minimal paper towel dust.
3. Swiffer brand dusters.
4. Oreck brand hand held vacuum. As needed.
5. Wood glue type 2. As needed.
6. Sunlight. As needed.
7. Portable beach/camping chair. As needed.
8. Disposable gloves. Mandatory. Best to use non-powder style.
9. Dust mask and protective eyewear. Mandatory. Common sense. I don't want to breath the stuff I'm trying to remove.

Method:
1. Find a place to work. Pull up a chair, it gonna been awhile. Enjoy a beer and play music. Wear gloves.
2. Vacuum album cover and record if needed. Place some fingers on the tip of vacuum to act as a buffer when using on the record.
3. Spray solution on paper towel till moist, not wet! (Caution: don't say the word 'moist' in the company of any females.)
4. Remove record from jacket covers. Wipe quickly in one direction cover to remove mold and dirt. Repeat step with a newly sprayed clean paper towel. Wipe inside and pages if applicable. Place cover in sunlight.
For the record-Wipe gently around with the grooves and outer edge and label. Solution will attract and pull dirt out then solution will quickly evaporate leaving the record clean and dry. Do not wipe perpendicular to the grooves. For seriously dirty records, use wood glue and that technique first.
5. If particles are remaining then use the Swiffer duster, wipe also in accordance with the grooves.
6. Place record in new sleeve or cleaned sleeve. Then back into the cleaned jacket. Then place into clean outer protector.

Total cost of spray bottle, gallon of First Street sanitizer, Swiffer refills, disposable gloves, dust mask, pack of paper towels, a gallon of distilled water, and type 2 wood glue.....around $30.
It sounds like a lot of effort and time, but it's not. However it's worth it and cheap to do.

Enjoy.

Nice writeup.

I can't find any reference to the "First Street" you mention. Do you know of a substitute?
 
Nice writeup.

I can't find any reference to the "First Street" you mention. Do you know of a substitute?

Thank you. "First Street Sanitzer Rinse" is a product I bought originally for doing dishes from a local 'Smart and Final' store. I figured it works for kitchen use with similar materials and compounds similar to vinyl records, might as well try it. And it turns out to work the best. Look up www.smartandfinal.com then type 'first street Rinse" in the search box. It came up. Otherwise I don't know what to tell you as a substitute.
 

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It looks like it's rebranded from Maintex. But I don't find an exact match for the product under that name either. So would you characterize it as dish detergent? Is there anything that would distinguish it from other varieties of dish soap? AFAICT, it's only available from the brick and mortar store.
 
Dimethyl benzyl ammonium chloride is the active ingredient in Odoban. But Odoban also has really strong scent added, so I don't think it would be suitable.
 
Did my first run with the KM. Picked out a Michael Jackson album that prior to cleaning one could hear the "static" come through while playing rather loudly. Annoying to say the least.
Did a Tergitol based cleaning then a double distilled water rinse nothing fancy and threw it on for a spin.
Impressive. Quieter by HUGE margins and I suspect with more cleanings it'll improve a tiny bit more.
I have to laugh at myself. First time I used the pump on the KM to wet the record water went everywhere. NOTHING like the "pro's" do it in video. Same with the rinse.
Also I'm VERY pleased with the noise level of the KMAL compared to other machines I researched extensively.
Happy with the purchase.
 
I picked up a bottle of Windex "Crystal Rain" or whatever it is called. Gotta say I'm very impressed with this and a paint pad, then a rinse and shop vac. Gets most of the crud the first time.
 
Gave this a try a couple nights ago. I like the results. Much quieter records. I'm considering give Triton a shot too.

I read the first couple pages of that thread. What shampoo/conditioner did you use, and how? The guy's post seems a bit bold, and I'm not completely convinced of his arguments about various other methods.
 
I read the first couple pages of that thread. What shampoo/conditioner did you use, and how? The guy's post seems a bit bold, and I'm not completely convinced of his arguments about various other methods.

I wouldn't say his argument was exactly air-tight chemically. But I think the method itself has some merit. And there were enough anecdotal good reports in the thread to encourage me to at least try it. My own results have been good so far. I think the end result should be similar to anionic soap followed by quat.

I used Suave 2-in-1 from the dollar store. My method to-date goes a little like this:
  1. Clamp a record between dent pullers.
  2. Rinse under the tap.
  3. Apply a small glob of Suave
  4. Massage and agitate both sides with with disposable paint pad, alternating sides.
  5. Rinse *very* thoroughly under tap
  6. Rinse with distilled water
  7. Vacuum surfaces with vacuum wand
  8. Rack to dry
I'm working on an idea for a better device for the vacuuming part (stay tuned). I think it's the weakest part of the procedure right now. But I'd like to be able to vacuum them thoroughly enough to be able to sleeve them immediately after so as not to collect any dust while air-drying (which they tend to do in a dog house such as mine).

Also, I think this might work better if the shampoo and conditioner were two separate steps. But, of course, it's more work. I think convenience is supposed to be one of the selling points of the 2-in-1.

Still thinking about the Triton followed by quat too.
 
And, of course, need I say it? "Rinse and repeat as necessary" :) And if one were to use one's head to scrub, even more efficient!
 
I have several old albums that were treated with a protector product call "Lifesaver" by Protec back in the early 80's. They sounded very good then, and for many years after, but now it is easy to tell the ones that had this applied as they now have a high noise floor. It is sharper than normal surface noise. Normal cleaning has not helped. Has anyone had any experience remove said treatments, or am I screwed?
 
Anyone have any experience with Rochester Midland Enviro Care Neutral Disinfectant as a quat?

Whole lotta quat, neutral pH.
 
I have several old albums that were treated with a protector product call "Lifesaver" by Protec back in the early 80's. They sounded very good then, and for many years after, but now it is easy to tell the ones that had this applied as they now have a high noise floor. It is sharper than normal surface noise. Normal cleaning has not helped. Has anyone had any experience remove said treatments, or am I screwed?

Others may scoff at this, but I'd try the titebond II treatment. Laborious, possibly damaging to the vinyl (haven't experienced this, but chemists here are pretty concerned) but damned effective at removing whatever.

First I'd try, in stages, the less aggressive tactics. Best of luck.
 
Well, guys and gals, I'd have NEVER thunk this would have worked, but I have proof.

I have a battered copy of "Stingray" by Joe Cocker. Track one, "The Jealous Kind" looks like someone mashed many of the grooves down. Scratches and pops. Needle always leaping out of the grooves.

I figured, what the hell. I've read about sandpaper to knock off those tabs at the TOP of the groove, and thought perhaps a melamine pad (MAGIC ERASER) might knock that off.

Now remember, this was an album that I'd given up on.

I went lightly, then with increasing pressure around the entire side one. Probably made about 8-10 full passes.


As I type, I'm enjoying the late Mr. Cocker. Still has a click or two, but is easily tracking and sounding just fine.

Caveats - DO NOT DO THIS TO GOOD VINYL, only those that are a loss, anyway.

What a funny and fun hobby this is.
 
Well, guys and gals, I'd have NEVER thunk this would have worked, but I have proof.

I have a battered copy of "Stingray" by Joe Cocker. Track one, "The Jealous Kind" looks like someone mashed many of the grooves down. Scratches and pops. Needle always leaping out of the grooves.

I figured, what the hell. I've read about sandpaper to knock off those tabs at the TOP of the groove, and thought perhaps a melamine pad (MAGIC ERASER) might knock that off.

Now remember, this was an album that I'd given up on.

I went lightly, then with increasing pressure around the entire side one. Probably made about 8-10 full passes.


As I type, I'm enjoying the late Mr. Cocker. Still has a click or two, but is easily tracking and sounding just fine.

Caveats - DO NOT DO THIS TO GOOD VINYL, only those that are a loss, anyway.

What a funny and fun hobby this is.

Always *one* more thing to try. :)

What grit sandpaper did you use?
 
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