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Nitty Gritty

The Shocker

The Shocker

Super Member
I found a link to this "ultimate" record cleaning guide on analog planet:

https://www.analogplanet.com/content/most-comprehensive-record-cleaning-article-ever-0

It's a repost of another article and the author claims it's "still valid" even though Nitty Gritty is no longer available.

I tried to look up what Nitty Gritty was, and all I found was Nitty Gritty 2.0, their new product, which appears to be an enzyme cleaner for records.

Can anyone tell me what the original Nitty Gritty was and possibly what was in it?
 
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“Nitty Gritty” was a record cleaning machine, and the brand I like to use.
I actually have 3 NG machines, but use my old 3.5Fi the most. That’s my 3.5 pictured above.

The Nitty Gritty cleaning fluid mentioned in that article was likely their formula known as “Pure 1” or “Pure 2”. It’s no longer available, but you can easily mix up something that also works well. I use my own mix with the NG machines.

If you look up “nitty gritty record cleaning” then their old website still shows up and you can see their last available models.
 
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The Shocker said:
Didn’t they also make a record cleaning fluid? The article talks about something called Nitty Gritty First.
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Yes, they made several. Look at their website.

If you want to make your own it’s easy..

My formula for use with a vacuum machine -

Add to a clean, empty 1 gallon bottle:

1 quart 91% isopropyl alcohol
1 cup distilled, white vinegar
12 drops Triton X-100
Balance distilled water to fill bottle. Shake and serve.

Note: the above is only with a record vacuum cleaning machine, not for hand washing.
 
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MisterDK said:
The Nitty Gritty cleaning fluid mentioned in that article was likely their formula known as “Pure 1” or “Pure 2”. It’s no longer available, but you can easily mix up something that also works well.
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Pure 2 is still listed as in stock at Elusive Disc and Needle Doctor. Has Pure 2 been discontinued that you know of? I haven't shopped for any for a while and still have about half a gallon left.
 
jrtrent said:
Pure 2 is still listed as in stock at Elusive Disc and Needle Doctor. Has Pure 2 been discontinued that you know of? I haven't shopped for any for a while and still have about half a gallon left.
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Well.. as far as I know, everything from Nitty Gritty has been discontinued - at least it was for a while. Maybe their new owners started things up again. Their website is still up but I think you probably wont get any reply if you try contacting them. I used to use “Pure 2” - but I’ve only got 1/2 a small bottle of it left. Been mixing my own cleaner for the past year and it seems to work well.
 
My Nitty Gritty is at least a decade old, and needs an overhaul or replacement, but not at the cost they are now selling them at. :(
 
Got a Nitty Gritty 1.5 back somewhere around 1999-2000. 20 years old and still going strong.
 
I had a NG 2.0FI I think it was called, had the pump to apply fluid. Unfortunately the pump getting failing and after a few emails they told me the pump I had was no longer made. Eventually it completely failed and I had to retire my 40 year old machine. Yeah, I said 40 yr old - that's how long it lasted.
 
KB007 said:
I had a NG 2.0FI I think it was called, had the pump to apply fluid. Unfortunately the pump getting failing and after a few emails they told me the pump I had was no longer made. Eventually it completely failed and I had to retire my 40 year old machine. Yeah, I said 40 yr old - that's how long it lasted.
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.
Based on that - sounds like I got 20 more years to go....

:)
 
They were built pretty good. Main things that went wrong were the particle board cabinet dissolving, and the pumps seizing up with gunk. One thing you can do is when you're not going to use it for a while, don't leave fluid in the reservoir, empty it out and run distilled water thru it to clean it out.
 
KB007 said:
I had a NG 2.0FI I think it was called, had the pump to apply fluid. Unfortunately the pump getting failing and after a few emails they told me the pump I had was no longer made. Eventually it completely failed and I had to retire my 40 year old machine. Yeah, I said 40 yr old - that's how long it lasted.
Click to expand...

You can fix it!
Pull out the original submersible pond pump and put in one of the cheap Chinese diaphragm pumps on ebay. That’s what I did with my 3.5Fi. I also increased the fluid reservoir size so it now holds about 50% more cleaning fluid. It’s working pretty well!
 
It really did give up the ghost. My cabinet was disintegrating cuz at some point it got very wet. The electrics were getting to be a fire hazard. When the pump finally died, it was done. Ended up buying a VPI machine as a replacement.
 
The Deacon has "model one" Nitty Gritty (manual).
Use it all the time.
Unlike other machines, gritty works WITH gravity - cleans underside of record.

VPIs the tubes go. No tubes on Nitty.


....

You use VINEGAR in the mix??? That's a new one on me.
 
A few years back spoke with Gail when I was ordering parts for my two Nitty Gritty 2.5FI and she said many of the issues were due to home brew fluids with high alcohol content. Like any machine they require periodic inspection and minor service changing lips etc and following mfgs instructions. With proper care should be good for minimum of 25 years service.
 
Deacon Beker said:
The Deacon has "model one" Nitty Gritty (manual)...
You use VINEGAR in the mix??? That's a new one on me.
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Indeed; I do.

Just one cup per gallon of mix - and it has to be distilled white vinegar, not the apple cider.
I also use more alcohol than some others do. While some people seem scared to use alcohol (or vinegar), I find that it cleans quite well. I don’t soak records in my cleaner, so the solution is only on there for a few minutes per side, then gets vacuumed completely off. Only drawback about the use of vinegar (remember, it’s only one cup in a gallon), is that the vinegar adds that funny smell. Cleans well though and I’ve had no problems with either the vinyl or my Nitty Gritty since adding vinegar to my mix. The Triton X-100 at 12 drops per gallon, is just enough to make a good surficant so the solution flows well and gets into the grooves. I’ve never see a trace of it on my stylus - and again, it’s pretty much completely vacuumed off. I started adding vinegar when I found that my cleaner (without vinegar) wasn’t getting mildew spots off as well as I liked. The vinegar helps there. (I pick up all kinds of records - some had been poorly stored)

Of course, if I were cleaning shellac or styrene records, my cleaner would be a BIG no-no. Works great on vinyl though.
 
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