Proper "Care and Feeding" of ones LP's !!

[twitch54]

On another thread 'Vatulee' expressed intrest in the cleaning of ones viynl, and procedures we all use, he openly admitted that he was only using a carbon fibre brush, so let's try and help him out !!

My procedure is pretty straight forward: wether it be new or used I intially hand brush with a wet solution from 'Disc Doctor' and then rinse with distilled water. This removes mold release agents from new LP's and helps to get rid of the 'grunge' from older ones. Once that's done I wet vacum with 'Disc Doctor - quick wash' in my VPI 16.5 machine. Depending on ones enviroment and handling etiquite this procedure is only done every 10-15 playings for me. Prior to each playing I use the Decca Care 2+2 brush for a 'final sweep' before the tonearm is lowered.

Stylus care is done via Stylast cleaner and treatment.

Hope this helps !!

[Thelonious Funk]

I was told that the Nitty Gritty record cleaner worked well, but I haven't had a chance to test it out. Just checked out their website and it looks like they have stuff for 500 and up. I like the idea of the vaccum and the automatic controls.

[twitch54]

Eric, FWIW, the avg "street" price for the VPI 16.5 is around $450.

I can say without reservation that for those into viynl and that don't own a vacum machine......make the investment, it is the single best thing you can do for your analog "peace of mind" !!

[David Meek]

Here's a thread I started back in '04 on my Nitty Gritty 1.5 cleaner. It didn't get too far, but there may be something of interest to you.