Just bought about 400 45's from the 1960's that are all in nice shape but are SUPER dusty from sitting forever in storage with the original owner.

I'm looking for something better than my record brushes to clean the 200 or so that I plan to keep without spending a fortune.

Anyone have any recommendations? Preferably something that will also clean LP's as well.

Thanks

I use something called a Spin-Clean. I've been rehabbing some LPs that were flooded. Works pretty well.

about 80 bucks on amazon

Look for a DiscWasher brush (from the 70s) in really good condition and make sure ut has the little brush with it.

Amazon sells replacement fluid.

I use something similar to the Spin Clean called Disco-Antistat by Knosti. It works quite well. I make my own cleaning fluid with 3 parts distilled water, 1 part 90% or greater isopropyl alcohol, and 1 drop dawn dish detergent (or similar).

Note that the hub has rubber gaskets but some of the cleaning fluid does reach the label. So far I've seen no evidence of damage, but if I had a truly valuable recording I would not take the chance.

On top of that you'll want a good brush to use each time you put the record on the turntable. The one I have is from Audioquest and it works just fine.

The ZeroStat antistatic gun is a worthwhile investment. It removes static from the vinyl, greatly reducing attraction to dust. I use it after using the Audioquest brush as the record spins on the turntable. Important note is that the last time you release the trigger point it away from the record. It puts out positive ions as the trigger moves one way, and negative ions the other way. I forget which is which, but the ones when releasing the trigger are the ones you do NOT want remaining on the vinyl.

You should also have a stylus brush to get the gunk off of it periodically. A small square of Magic Eraser works, too. Just gently lower and raise the stylus into the Magic Eraser a few times. I have an inexpensive brush that seems to work well.

Check out Joyofvinyl.com and his youtube channel. He is a fanatic about cleaning (and expensive electronics). He uses an ultrasonic cleaner, but now you're talking big bucks. He reviews a variety of products on his channel.

Vinyl has made a come back, sadly the cleaners have not. I looked a few years ago when I bought my daughter a turntable, but didn’t see anything that looked worthwhile. I wish I still had my discwasher.

quote:

Originally posted by 9x18:
I use something called a Spin-Clean. I've been rehabbing some LPs that were flooded. Works pretty well.

about 80 bucks on amazon

I've seen those, wasn't sure if they really worked or not. Sounds like they work.

quote:

Originally posted by LS1 GTO:
Look for a DiscWasher brush (from the 70s) in really good condition and make sure it has the little brush with it.

Amazon sells replacement fluid.

I've got one. It was my dad's and it works well though the little red brush was lost long ago.

That said, I feel like it'll take forever to clean 200 45's with it and I'm also low on juice for it at the moment.

Fly-Sig,

I'll have to check the Disco-Antistat out.

I do have several brushes and a stylus cleaner.

Been meaning get a Zerostat on the recommendation of a guy at work but have not gotten around to it yet.

How about buying one, using it, and reselling it. Something like this: https://a.co/d/02Bf5Ql9 won't break the bank, does multiple albums at a time, and should hold some value after use to sell it.

quote:

Originally posted by LS1 GTO:
Look for a DiscWasher brush (from the 70s) in really good condition and make sure ut has the little brush with it.

Amazon sells replacement fluid.

I had a DiscWasher and lost it along the way. When I got back into vinyl, I looked for a suitable replacement and found it in a GrooveWasher, and I believe that this is the original DiscWasher patent. They also have a cleaning fluid, G2 GrooveWasher, to spray on the brush. Works as good as the original.

The pricing and availability for the Milty Zerostat can be variable. I had to shop around for a while before finding a good price that would ship.

The knock-off brands get bad reviews so I avoided those.

Also, it is well worth buying antistatic plastic sleeves for the records.

I have an old VPI HW 16.5 vacuum record cleaner machine, bought it in the late 80s and still have it. In recent years, I discovered a cleaning concentrate solution on the Steve Hoffman forums called Tergikleen- mix a few drops into a quart of distilled water, spray and brush then vacuum, repeat with distilled water only. I also have the old DiscWasher kit with stylus brush, use it before each play.

https://tergikleen.net/product...ncentrate-p411224362

quote:

Originally posted by petr:
How about buying one, using it, and reselling it. Something like this: https://a.co/d/02Bf5Ql9 won't break the bank, does multiple albums at a time, and should hold some value after use to sell it.

I like this idea. From there go with the more simple DiscWasher-type brush for ongoing maintenance.

The ultrasonic idea is interesting. I have a machine that size already, I wonder if I could rig something up to safely hold and rotate 45's and LP's......

I do store my LP's at least in antistatic sleeves.

My order of 45 sleeves and storage boxes isn't here yet.

The complete combo from back in the unlamented days of spinning plastic to unlock sound included:

Prep/maintenance: courtesy of LAST Factory:

+ Stylus cleaner: brush and fluid

+ Stylus preservative: brush and fluid

+ Record surface preservative

Before each play

+ Disc cleaner: Discwasher D2 and fluid (current model D4, I think?)


+ Antistatic gun: Treat disc surface before each playing to reduce dust-gathering during play. Mine was a Zerostat, I think. Similar to this.

I finished sorting all the 45's I brought home and made a keep pile and a dispose of pile.

My antistatic sleeves showed up along with my storage boxes and dividers.

I've now got everything alphabetized and organized.

I believe I've got a vintage Zerostat (along with another D4 brush and stylus cleaner kit) and a record cleaning motor setup for my ultrasonic cleaner located locally, I just need to find time to go get them.

On topic, but slightly off...

Is the fidelity of old 45's as good as that of old (or current) LP's?

^^^^^^^^^^^

In general, 45s are superior in sound quality than 33 1/3 RPM albums. Factors- higher speed of rotation means higher resolution of audio information, and 45 7" and especially 12" singles have wider grooves for the stylus. On my high resolution audio system, I could distinguish a slight difference on most songs between an album and a single. I also do not buy modern vinyl albums because the technology has gone far more digital than the early analog years of the 50s, 60s, 70,s and early 80s. The days of recording an album through a Neve recording desk onto 2" analog tape, mixed down to a 1/2" master tape and cut onto an analog lathe are gone. Pretty much anything with digital recording/processing I prefer CDs.

oddball, thanks for the reply. I was aware of the rotation speed (and tape speed in tape media) being important in information concentration, but I wondered if the pressing was less critical in the 45's. For some reason, I (wrongly) assumed they weren't made to the same standards...

Like you, today I rely on CD's for quality and wouldn't consider buying an LP.

99+% of my 45's and the majority of my LP's are vintage.

I do have a few things where I bought a 180 or 200 gram reissue LP just to compare to the original as well as a couple "modern" albums.

Sadly, my ears aren't that great anymore. Wear your ear protection kids.

I guess I listen to vinyl for the same reason I carry a pocket watch and drive a stick shift.

I got rid of almost all my CD's some time ago, but I'd pretty much pick the vintage vinyl over the modern CD of the same album about every time if I had both. Played on an old turntable through an old receiver and old speakers of course.