Magic Eraser - How often do you use it on your records?

[Jazz Junkie]

I use DS Audio ST-50 on the stylus every time I flip the record. I use ME occasionally. I have friends that use ME every time they play a record - both sides. They have some very expensive carts … So, IMO if used properly ME is a good stylus cleaner.

 

[AvFan]

I just looked up the DAP Blue Stik on DAP's website, and in one of the comments a person said she used it to tack some of her child's art up on the walls, and after it was removed the wall has round, oily residue marks where the DAP was used.
I don't believe I'd want that on my stylus.

https://www.dap.com/products-projects/product-categories/adhesives/glues-epoxies/blue-stik/

I understand your hesitancy given comments about oily residue. This is the detail behind Soundsmith's recommendation to clean a cartridge stylus with Blue Stik and when to wet clean.

 

[cgutz]

i clean my records before each play using carbon fiber Hunt style brush. I only have to drop stylus into ME once every few months as the stylus stays clean. Not sure I would ever use ME on a record as it is slightly abrasive.

 

[kwayde]

I understand your hesitancy given comments about oily residue. This is the detail behind Soundsmith's recommendation to clean a cartridge stylus with Blue Stik and when to wet clean.

He doesn't say anything about the oily residue so I'm guessing he doesn't know about it. He then states that one should use the wet clean if the DAP doesn't remove debris that's causing the distortion. I still wouldn't use it just because of the oil that could build up.

I like Soundsmith, and his recommendation on setting anti-skating which I use, but the DAP is something I won't use or recommend. I didn't think the Moongel would leave any residue either, until I looked closer at my stylus.
I sent Peter an email asking his take on the matter.

 

[DavidTT]

The ME doesn't effectively 'snag' the stylus tip even if you drag it through the material. I suspect that it doesn't because of one of the most important principles of their use in general, which is that they only provide extremely gentle abrasion even when pushing hard on a surface. The ME material itself just sort of disappears as you use it to, say, clean a smudge on a painted wall. The strength of those 'tangles' in your picture must be minuscule.

I normally dip my stylus into the ME but have, intentionally a few times but unintentionally at others, dragged a stylus through the ME material and there was zero sensation that it might rip the diamond from the cantilever. I believe it to be entirely safe and prefer it to dipping into anything gel-like. But I understand others who are not comfortable doing so. For me the proof has been in the long term use.

The danger is not in the cleaning, it's in the accidental snagging in this:

 

[AvFan]

I sent Peter an email asking his take on the matter.

Thanks for asking him and I'm curious what he says. I changed from ME to Blue Stik when Soundsmith retipped my Cadenza Red; I figured it was best to routinely clean the new stylus with what they recommended. I also use his method to set anti skate as it gets me pretty close and only minor tweaks are needed from there.

 

[Ken Boyd]

The cleaner you keep your vinyl, the less you need to clean your stylus. I use a stylus brush and a specific cleaner made by audio technica just for cleaning stylus.

A small bottle last a long time.

 

[GChief]

I use a ME before I spin the first vinyls of a sit down. Then as needed.

 

[JesusChrysler]

Que Vinyls rage lol.


Matt

 

[kirk57]

The danger is not in the cleaning, it's in the accidental snagging in this:

Yeah that looks scary… until you compare this magnification of ME with the same magnification of a stylus.

 

[Hajidub]

The cleaner you keep your vinyl, the less you need to clean your stylus. I use a stylus brush and a specific cleaner made by audio technica just for cleaning stylus.

A small bottle last a long time.

Been using the same bottle of SC-2 for over 15 years, so I agree. My TT is at eye level, so I get a bird-eye at every record switch. I've recently used US for most albums, but still require a styli cleaning when using records I haven't US cleaned (using older cleaning methods). If I notice crud I throw them into the "to-do" US pile.

 

[dfunghi]

Moongel stuck to my stylus and turned it blue. I'll never use it again.

View attachment 2463796

FWIW the piece I use shows zero signs of any of it shedding and no re tipper has ever commented or asked me about blue stuff on stylus. I do not drag it, I simply drop it straight down and lift straight up with little to no added pressure beyond its tracking weight.

I used Moongel on my drum heads and cymbals and in time it turns to sticky slimy mush, no way I'm using that on my stylus. I use a brush before each record and ME after 6 or so, no problems.

Maybe that is a heat issue or age but I have never experienced that. Tomorrow if I remember I will post pictures.

 

[kwayde]

FWIW the piece I use shows zero signs of any of it shedding and no re tipper has ever commented or asked me about blue stuff on stylus. I do not drag it, I simply drop it straight down and lift straight up with little to no added pressure beyond its tracking weight.

I did the same, didn't drag, just dropped once before playing each side. My pads were newer, plus I rotated the pads to keep the drop zone clean. If I were you I'd get a real close look at that stylus to see how clean it is. I used a digital microscope given to me by a customer who had no use for it.

 

[T68]

I wish I just could use magic to keep my stylus clean. Still working on that.

 

[kwayde]

Thanks for asking him and I'm curious what he says. I changed from ME to Blue Stik when Soundsmith retipped my Cadenza Red; I figured it was best to routinely clean the new stylus with what they recommended. I also use his method to set anti skate as it gets me pretty close and only minor tweaks are needed from there.

Peter got back to me and said the following:
I have been using Blu-Stik for 20 years. It is less aggressive than cross-linked silicones and does not snap cantilevers as the other products can if the arm is raised too quickly.

A VERY thin coating on a quarter works best.

The tiny amount of oil in the material does NOT wet to diamond – diamond sheds oil. It is not like a “wall” in terms of its affinity to oil. The oil in fact helps to clean the stylus.

My opinions now:
I'm hoping that the DAP product doesn't do what the Moongel did to my stylus. Being that the DAP is more of a solid unlike the gel the Moongel is, it may hold together better than the gel and not break down as readily leaving residue deposits on the stylus, only a slight oily film that is repelled.. Peter said the oil in the DAP doesn't wet to the diamond, that the diamond repels oil. But I wonder if the oil will build up with dirt from the grooves that may have stuck to the stylus, causing a crusty deposit. Only way to know is to try it myself, but I won't use anything oily anymore. Hoping my concerns are a non issue and that I never hear of the DAP casing any problems.

 

[MRL_Audio]

The ME doesn't effectively 'snag' the stylus tip even if you drag it through the material.

I’ll let you run that test…

 

[grillebilly]

I keep a strong magnifying glass and flashlight handy. I only drop it on the ME when it looks like it needs it.

 

[Doug G.]

Like many other factors in playing records, this is made WAY too complex. It needn't be.

Doug

 

[AvFan]

Peter got back to me and said the following:
I have been using Blu-Stik for 20 years. It is less aggressive than cross-linked silicones and does not snap cantilevers as the other products can if the arm is raised too quickly.

A VERY thin coating on a quarter works best.

The tiny amount of oil in the material does NOT wet to diamond – diamond sheds oil. It is not like a “wall” in terms of its affinity to oil. The oil in fact helps to clean the stylus.

My opinions now:
I'm hoping that the DAP product doesn't do what the Moongel did to my stylus. Being that the DAP is more of a solid unlike the gel the Moongel is, it may hold together better than the gel and not break down as readily leaving residue deposits on the stylus, only a slight oily film that is repelled.. Peter said the oil in the DAP doesn't wet to the diamond, that the diamond repels oil. But I wonder if the oil will build up with dirt from the grooves that may have stuck to the stylus, causing a crusty deposit. Only way to know is to try it myself, but I won't use anything oily anymore. Hoping my concerns are a non issue and that I never hear of the DAP casing any problems.

Thanks for relaying Peter's response. I will reduce the thickness of Blue Stik I have applied to a quarter.

 

[jn229]

I use the D S Audio every side, love the leather back on the D S. I have and use the ME now and again. I glued the M E to a heavy washers to hold it steady, cue the cart into and out of the ME, never hand held.