Cleaning Records and Replacing Needles

[Dwain Chambers]

Heya

I've had my turntables for a few months now and I've been pondering for a while the best way to clean my records, I've done a few google searches but see alot of people critising the way the person washes their records etc so I was wondering what is the most legit way inorder to maintain longevity of my records? and how often should I clean them etc

One other thing that I was wondering about is the replacing of needles. I bought my turntables second-hand so was wondering when I should replace the needle as I'm worried it may be causing my records harm, due to being new to vinyl I don't really have a clue of when I should change them

If you could recommend any products what work well for cleaning my records and perhaps a website where I can find a new needle etc I'd be extremely grateful!

Thanks!

Dwain!

[Sigma]

There's various ways to clean records, depending on how dirty they are and whether anything has been spilled on them

A carbon fibre brush is a must-own item for basic cleaning IMO, as it's good for getting dust and other bits of crap out of the record's groove.

For deeper cleaning I use a product called Record Revirginizer, which I made a thread about here: -

http://www.djforums.com/forums/showt...cleaning-vinyl

You can actually use wood glue and do pretty much the same thing. Basically you apply it to the surface of the vinyl, let it dry, then when you peel it off it comes off in one go and pulls all of the shite out of the groove with it. Be careful you don't get any on the record label though.

There are also machines you can buy for wet cleaning vinyl, although they tend to be expensive so I've never owned one.

As for when to change the needle, it's hard to say. If you can hear degradation in sound quality then it's time, or if you're getting excess skipping that wasn't happening originally. It's common for people on the web to say "change it every 500 hours", but the problem with that is that people use different tracking forces, or some people may not keep their records clean and both of those things can affect stylus wear. I think the 500 hours thing is just something that people read and then pass on, without really thinking about it. There really isn't any "you must change your stylus every X hours/months" advice that I can give you. Changing them when you first buy a pair of used decks is a good time to do it though IMO, because as you've got nothing to compare the sound of your decks too at the moment, the styli may be quite worn and you won't know until you fit new ones and think "this sounds much better". Even if it sounds the same, I would still do it personally just in case.

One thing you can do is clean the stylus tip as it can collect dust and crap. You can use a brush for this (you can buy one online) and brush gently from back to front so that you don't bend the needle. There are also liquid cleaning solutions, but again, I've never used one.

[Dwain Chambers]

Sounds brilliant! I'll order a brush and clean them before every use and before I put them away. When I notice any clicks/skips/pops etc I'll order some of that solution, 3 bottles for £8.50 is not bad at all!

Cheers for the hastey reply once again!

[Panotaker]

The easiest way to see if your needle is worn out is to buy an extra stylus and use it as a reference. Look at the tip of the new stylus with a magnifying glass, then look at the tip of your old stylus and see how they compare. Every so often, put the new stylus on and see if it sounds better than the old stylus. If it does, buy another stylus. It takes a lot of plays to wear out a stylus. Most of the time I replace my stylus because I accidentally broke it, not because I wore it out.

I have tried just about every method of cleaning my records, from a couple of terry cloths, to the glue method, to the way I do it now, a steam cleaner and a VPI 16.5 record cleaning machine. The cheapest best way is to go to the auto parts store and buy two suction cup dent pullers. They are about $5 to $10 each. They are about 4" in diameter, and just big enough to put one on each side of the record and cover up the labels. You then wash the records in the kitchen sink and dry them with a terry cloth towel. You can wash a lot of records fast this way and it does an excellent job. To clean the stylus, I use a Magic Eraser. Google Magic Eraser stylus cleaning for the instructions.

I started collecting old records, so I buy a lot of old used records. Those old records are filthy, so I invested in a VPI 16.5 professional record cleaning machine and a hand held steam cleaner. Google steam cleaning records and you will see a youtube video on how to steam clean records. I'm not as anal as the guy in the video, but I am pretty close. If a record doesn't sound like new after steam cleaning, it is usually beyond repair.

[Synergy]

I have heard tell of getting one of those magic erasers, putting it down where the needle would go on the record and lowering the lever so the needle drops on the eraser, then you lift and do it again, CAREFULLY. making sure of course not to move the platter at all.