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Record supplies

J

jamus

Active Member
I posted on dollars and sense the other night, but didn't get any replies.

I have decided to get a little more serious with my vinyl. Up until now I have been playing dirty records using a 20 year old stylus. Just ordered a new stylus and before I use it, I want to get the right set up.

here is what I plan on buying, mostly from amazon:

A cheap carbon fiber brush for dust - 10.00
A not so cheap Nitty Gritty nylon brush for wet cleaning - 25.00
100 plastic lp inner sleeves - 25.00
100 plastic 45 sleeves - 7.00
Novus plastic polish for scratches on dust cover - 6.00


If anyone can give advice on the purchases I am making it would be much appreciated.
Are there better deals available?
Am I buying the right products?
Do I really have to shell out for a Nitty Gritty nylon brush?
Everything has to ship to Canada.

Thank you.
 
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You can use a good quality natural hair paint brush instead of the nitty gritty. I'm old-school and still prefer the Discwasher D3 brush to my CF brush for dusting. YMMV.
Sleevecity.com is cheap and has a good variety of inner sleeves, don't know about shipping to Canada though. You can also get plastic polish at most auto parts stores.
 
Which inner liners are you getting? I used to buy the straight plastic ones, but now I'm favoring the plastic lined paper sleeves. The paper gives it some stiffness and helps keep the bag from wadding up. I got them from amazon as well, maybe through sleevecity or something. I'm actually about due for a re-up since my box is getting low. I like the outer bags too, seems to help keep the jackets from wearing against one another, though considering almost everything I have is already well used, its probably a moot point.
 
jamus said:
I posted on dollars and sense the other night, but didn't get any replies.

I have decided to get a little more serious with my vinyl. Up until now I have been playing dirty records using a 20 year old stylus. Just ordered a new stylus and before I use it, I want to get the right set up.

here is what I plan on buying, mostly from amazon:

A cheap carbon fiber brush for dust - 10.00
A not so cheap Nitty Gritty nylon brush for wet cleaning - 25.00
100 plastic lp inner sleeves - 25.00
100 plastic 45 sleeves - 7.00
Novus plastic polish for scratches on dust cover - 6.00


If anyone can give advice on the purchases I am making it would be much appreciated.
Are there better deals available?
Am I buying the right products?
Do I really have to shell out for a Nitty Gritty nylon brush?
Everything has to ship to Canada.

Thank you.
Click to expand...

I've recently gone down this road myself. I bought a Discwasher D4 kit at a local record store then the next day I stopped by the folks place and my dad said "Hey I've got an old record cleaning kit you can have" You guessed it, Discwasher D4. Oy! The one I got was covered in a kind of corduroy material. His was older and covered in more of a velvet material. much better in my opinion. at least for dusting purposes.

I also then bought a CF brush from sleevecity. It's claimed to have a million bristles. It started shedding immediately, I'd say I'm currently down to about 700k. the shedding has now slowed down considerably and it actually works great but it didn't inspire much confidence at first.

I bought 50 of the plain Diskeeper poly inner sleeves (also from Sleevecity). They seem to work great as far as controlling static electricity. But I'm seeing a few problems. One is they have no offset to the opening so they're hard to get open with one hand. And then they're just a little bit too big so they're hard to get back into some jackets.

I also bought 50 of the poly outer sleeves. They work great for double albums and gatefold types but they're a little big for regular single albums.

For wet washing I like the little rectangular fuzzy foam brushes with a plastic handle used for painting trim and the like, 5 bucks or so. They're nice and soft but give you a little scrubbing ability. And if you have any older albums you're really going to need some kind of a label-saver. No matter how careful you are your labels will get wet. And older labels don't tolerate water like newer ones do. If I had it to do over again I'd skip the Discwasher D4 and stick to wet washing and the CF brush.

Have fun!

Cheers................Todd
 
Dirty records do benefit from wet washing, sad to say. It's a messy hassle. I have a VPI machine for that, but I don't think it's warranted at the current high price.
And a natural bristle brush does do a very good job for wet cleaning, as stated above.
I have a D4 and a carbon fiber brush. I think the carbon fiber one does a better job. For one thing, it acts as a ground to drain off static electricity through your hand. The Discwasher doesn't. Plus I've had some kinds of dirt smear and get worse from the discwasher's moisture.
I wet-clean every record once and re-sleeve it in a paper/vinyl sleeve. I think mine came from Bags Unlimited. After that they just get the carbon fiber brush before every play.
 
I have found my Record Cleaning Machine to be indispensable. But as Bauhausler said, they can become very pricey. That's why I went with the cheapest one available; a Nitty Gritty 1.0. I mean, what's the difference if you wash your family car with a $100 sponge or a clean old towel. :dunno: Put your money into cartridge upgrades and the like. The Nitty Gritty does a great job and used ones become available from time to time. There was one here in Barter Town last week.
 
I also have found a record cleaning machine to be indispensable. I have a VPI but Nitty Gritty also makes excellent machines. When ever I get a record new or used I give it a good cleaning. I also use a carbon fiber brush before I play a record side. After every session I also use an elixir to clean my stylus.

My vinyl supplies.

record cleaning machine
cleaning fluid
wet brush
carbon fiber brush
stylus brush
stylus cleaner
 
Record brushes do a better job of lining up the dust than actually lifting it off. Especially staticky records.
I hold the carbon fiber brush at a low angle with the bristles pointed against the direction of rotation, and diagonally angled. After one or two rotations I slowly move it toward teh record edge, sweeping the crud off.
 
for cleaning, an economical and effective unit is the Spin Clean kit. there have been several positive reviews of the Spin.

a cheap brush is the lint brush for a buck at dollar stores. its just about the same as a discwasher brush with directional (usually red) fibers over a pad with a handle.
http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/21-iG71am8L._SL500_AA300_.jpg
dont be afraid to get it wet. i use one with a drop of dawn on one side and wash the wet record on both sides and rinse with the sink sprayer, dry with paper towels.

but aside from that method, the brush can be used in conjunction with a RCM for scrubbing rather than a nitty brush or vpi brush.

buying a used vpi is a thought. meanwhile, try the way affordable spin clean.

LPGear.com can be a good source for some of the things you are looking for too.
 
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The thing that keeps me from using my VPI more is it's frikkin' deafening. The vac motor draws 7 amps out of the wall and seems to turn all of it into noise.
I work on vacuum cleaners 5 days a week and this thing is louder than any commercial carpet sweeper I've repaired.
It works great, but when you're listening to music, a machine that makes your ears ring is kind of a mood killer.
 
Bauhausler said:
The thing that keeps me from using my VPI more is it's frikkin' deafening. The vac motor draws 7 amps out of the wall and seems to turn all of it into noise.
I work on vacuum cleaners 5 days a week and this thing is louder than any commercial carpet sweeper I've repaired.
It works great, but when you're listening to music, a machine that makes your ears ring is kind of a mood killer.
Click to expand...

Move up from a HW16.5 to a HW17 and it will be a bit quieter. I think not only does it have less noise but more suction too.:yes:
 
Ok, thanks for all the help. Sleevecity looks like a good place to get my sleeves and the carbon brush. I may get some stylus cleaner too.

I suppose I should have explained. To clean the records, I plan on mixing an alcohol distilled water solution with a few drops of dish soap, spinning them on an old turntable I have on the 16rpm setting, using the brush, and then vacuuming up the fluid through a tube with a slit. Basically a vpi.

As for my records, I don't think they are beyond usage. We underestimate how much of a beating a record can take. Any records I obtain were already mistreated in the 60's and 70's. I have a Dual cs 607 with ortofon cart and stylus, has an ulm tonearm, I think my records will be fine. Even if they are not, I bought most of them for about a dollar.
 
Bauhausler : yeah, i know the RCMs are noisy but this is when you put on some headphones or put in earplugs. some etymotic ear bluds isolate nicely and sound just excellent. you will probably miss some phone calls but thats ok, you probably have voice mail.
 
Good to hear you have sorted a vacuum RCM cheaply. Sucking the dirt off makes a difference.
Consider getting an Onzow Zerodust to get the stylus cleaned properly. Others will say a Magic Eraser will do the job but I prefer the Zerodust because I feel the danger of getting it wrong and damaging a stylus is lower.
 
the onzo is WAY expensive for what it does. were it 20 bucks, it MIGHT be worth it but still i dont like the idea of goo on my stylus.

no need to fear the ME and it IS the best method.
 
I concur on the magic eraser. Just cut off a small 1'' by 1/2'' corner, round up the most powerful magnifying glass you have in the house and go to town on it. I like to do it while I have the turntable active that way I can hear what I'm doing & I know I'm not over-doing it. Once you get it clean the first time it only takes a few light touches to keep it clean. Then just stick the chunk in a baggy & stash it away.

Then you can spend the money you saved on a stylus force gauge and a cartridge alignment tool.

Cheers...................Todd
 
Bauhausler said:
The thing that keeps me from using my VPI more is it's frikkin' deafening. The vac motor draws 7 amps out of the wall and seems to turn all of it into noise.
I work on vacuum cleaners 5 days a week and this thing is louder than any commercial carpet sweeper I've repaired.
It works great, but when you're listening to music, a machine that makes your ears ring is kind of a mood killer.
Click to expand...

They are noisey for sure. I try to clean 2-3 records at a time, and then listen. Maybe I am wierd, but the sound does not bother me. I guess I associate it with the relief that I am not dragging my stylus through crud, and not smashing dust and dirt particles down into the groove. My guilt is thus relieved. :yes:
 
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