I took some "Before & After" microscope shots of a record I cleaned this morning. Wow

[Lost Monkey]

Yes i would love to see a shootout with microscope photo's as evidence.That would sort the wheat from the chafe.

Well done "the nines" nice post.

It would be hard to establish a "baseline" though... meaning a similar starting point for two cleaning methods to start at.

Sure, 2 records could be filthy, but how they each got filthy, and what they are filthy with would be different.

Having said that, I am planning on buying a microscope in the next while and will probably not be able to resist performing this type of side by side test... Maybe do one side of a filthy old thrift find with the RCM and the other with glue... :scratch2:

 

[steelgtr]

It would be hard to establish a "baseline" though... meaning a similar starting point for two cleaning methods to start at.

Sure, 2 records could be filthy, but how they each got filthy, and what they are filthy with would be different.

Having said that, I am planning on buying a microscope in the next while and will probably not be able to resist performing this type of side by side test... Maybe do one side of a filthy old thrift find with the RCM and the other with glue... :scratch2:

Well, you could cut an old test record in half if the methods would allow?

bob

 

[DarkAudit]

*looks up Okki Nokki and SmartMatrix prices*

*cries*

 

[wushuliu]

Tell you what .....

My posts were not referring to you since as you said you are not advocating a method - however others are. Yes a comparison between different methods would obviously be of value.

 

[the_nines]

My posts were not referring to you since as you said you are not advocating a method - however others are. Yes a comparison between different methods would obviously be of value.

I misread your post. And yes, a comparison would be fun.

 

[ssmith3046]

*looks up Okki Nokki and SmartMatrix prices*

*cries*

I've invested a lot of money in records over the years so I had to give it considerable thought before I bought an Okki Nokki. I saved the money and rationalized that it would be a one time investment and went for it and I'm very happy that I did.

 

[fredj]

*looks up Okki Nokki and SmartMatrix prices*

*cries*

Simply slot a vacuum crevice tool from a cheap plastic wet/ dry vac
and clean the records on a cheap thrift store Table to do it manually or
get an old Idler table for a powered base
A simple DIY rig like this is actually more effective than any commercial record cleaning machine except for the Loricraft or Minks Vacuum pump based RCM's
the critical part is using effective commercial record cleaning solvents not
DIY bullshit, I prefer RRL but there are others Audio intelligent Disc Dr etc.

 

[Thunderbox]

I just picked up a USB microscope last week and I've been having a blast with it. :tresbon:

Thought I would take some shots of a used record I bought last week which looks to be in VG+ condition, no scratches, fairly shiny, a bit of dust on it. Obviously needs a wash.




Here's the record:

This is what the record looks like under the scope at 150x magnification:

This is what the record looks like after I have used the carbon fiber brush for a few revolutions. Some of the dust seems to have gone away but there are still particles in the grooves:

And this is what the record looks like after being washed and vacuumed on my record cleaning machine:

I'm still learning how to use the scope at higher magnification. Apologies if the pics are not "crisp enough".

Just thought I would share what I saw.

Thanks for viewing.


......

This is a great idea but is not magnified enough to really see into the grooves. Why is the "after" picture shown at less magnification than the "before" picture. It's hard to compare them with different magnification. To really see what is in the grooves you need to use a magnification that will allow you to see not only the grooves but the info on them.

 

[Thunderbox]

Very cool. The RCM manufacturers should use this type of comparison in their advertising.

They wouldn't dare. What if we actually discovered what cleaner was the best.

 

[Thunderbox]

I would think that if the spot is hard, it will probably make a pop and worst will probably damage the groove and perhaps the stylus itself. If the spot is soft you may not hear a pop, but it will almost surely accumulate on the stylus.

Distilled water will not leave any mineral spots on a record. Good rinsing is critical in record cleaning. If you don't use some pressure you will not rinse into the bottom of the grooves.

 

[Nat]

This is a question, not an implied answer - Is it necessarily so that distilled water will not leave any minearal spots? As soon as the distilled water comes in contact with any other material, there is the possibility of dissolving or leaching out chemicals from that material. I suspect that vinyl itself would be pretty impervious to water (which is a pretty effective solvent for a lot of materials), but mold release, dust (and if you are cleaning old copies of Surrealistic Pillow, bong water residue), and so on might lead to needing careful rinsing and vacuuming.

 

[Thunderbox]

This is a question, not an implied answer - Is it necessarily so that distilled water will not leave any minearal spots? As soon as the distilled water comes in contact with any other material, there is the possibility of dissolving or leaching out chemicals from that material. I suspect that vinyl itself would be pretty impervious to water (which is a pretty effective solvent for a lot of materials), but mold release, dust (and if you are cleaning old copies of Surrealistic Pillow, bong water residue), and so on might lead to needing careful rinsing and vacuuming.

Rinsing is critical to do a thorough job. Imagine trying to rinse the cleaning solution in the bottom of a groove that is only .001 of an inch wide.

 

[Thunderbox]

I just picked up a USB microscope last week and I've been having a blast with it. :tresbon:

Thought I would take some shots of a used record I bought last week which looks to be in VG+ condition, no scratches, fairly shiny, a bit of dust on it. Obviously needs a wash.




Here's the record:

This is what the record looks like under the scope at 150x magnification:

This is what the record looks like after I have used the carbon fiber brush for a few revolutions. Some of the dust seems to have gone away but there are still particles in the grooves:

And this is what the record looks like after being washed and vacuumed on my record cleaning machine:

I'm still learning how to use the scope at higher magnification. Apologies if the pics are not "crisp enough".

Just thought I would share what I saw.

Thanks for viewing.


......

Decided to get a microscope myself. Pictures can be worth a thousand words. Ordered it this morning. Where did you get yours.

 

[Nat]

I assume that was why the Keith Monks RCM, which may have the progenitor of the genre of commercial record cleaners, had a thread system that dragged a fuzzy thread though the bottom of the groove while vacumming it. If I recall correctly - at my age this is a necessary caveat to most of my comments.

 

[Thunderbox]

This is a question, not an implied answer - Is it necessarily so that distilled water will not leave any minearal spots? As soon as the distilled water comes in contact with any other material, there is the possibility of dissolving or leaching out chemicals from that material. I suspect that vinyl itself would be pretty impervious to water (which is a pretty effective solvent for a lot of materials), but mold release, dust (and if you are cleaning old copies of Surrealistic Pillow, bong water residue), and so on might lead to needing careful rinsing and vacuuming.

Wash ,rinse, dry. Rinsing it probably more important than the washing. Maybe a person should try and smoke their old records.

 

[Thunderbox]

People are a funny bunch. Everybody needs a testimonial, opinion and photographic evidence to believe how good some thing can clean, and then they turn around and pay $2500 on interconnects with absolutely no proof at all that they make a difference.

 

[markd51]

It's made by Celestron, hand-held USB scope, comes with a base as well. It's really a great deal for $69. Takes pics & movies.

Cool Beans. From Celestron. Over the years I've bought tons of Celestron stuff, scopes, binos, eyepieces, etc etc.

 

[Doug G.]

I have always thought carbon fiber brushes are pretty much a scam. Dust "removed" from the record is not held in the brush and is just redeposited onto the record. A Discwasher brush with directional fibers is much better. The dust is forced up into the material where it stays.

Doug

 

[cgallery]

Decided to get a microscope myself. Pictures can be worth a thousand words. Ordered it this morning. Where did you get yours.

Huh. The thread you created about not using a vac implied you were already using a scope.

 

[jqp]

A pocket "microscope" is what I use while cleaning records. The adjustable, angled led lamp does not reflect the record surface back into the lens. It is simply a tool used for evaluation of the record before, during and after the cleaning process. Magnifies about 25 or so grooves and you can easily see any white specks on the lands and sometime in the grooves. A mint condition record that is super clean to the naked eye may have hundreds of white specks that can easily be seen with the pocket microscope, even after dry brushing. My goal is to not see any white specks after wet cleaning.