rooster18
05-19-2009, 07:21 PM
Just tried out my homemade record cleaning machine. What I did was build a little frame out of PVC, and used 2 ABS 4"-2" adapters with plugs on them, 1/4" holes drilled through, and a 8" 1/4"-20 bolt with an aircleaner wingnut on the end to hold the record. I bought some of the Gem Daddy record cleaning fluid to get into the grooves and bring up the nasties.
Next, I adapted from the sink faucet down to a piece of 3/8" vinyl tubing, and put a 25-degree pressure washer fixture into it.
So, I sprayed on the Gem Daddy cleaning fluid, let it sit for a minute or so, and then sprayed it off with the pressure washer at about a 30-degree angle to the grooves. Did both sides this way. Then, I rinsed the record with distilled water (haven't gotten any triple-distilled yet), and set the record in the dish drainer to dry.
The guinea pig record is a copy of Simon & Garfunkel's "Sounds of Silence" that I picked up at a thrift store about 10 years ago, and it's always been very noisy and crackely. I've tried various methods to clean this album, including dishsoap with a paintbrush, regular Phoenix record fluid with a MFSL cleaning pad, and just about everything else apart from a record vacuum, which I don't have, and can't really afford right now.
I gotta say that this method works very well. There is still some slight residual crackling in some of the tracks, but not a lot. Keep in mind that this particular record has huge dynamics going from very quiet to very loud, and has a LOT of open space in it, so any noise on this record will jump right out. Total cost, about $50 so far. I need to build an arm with several pressure washer fixtures on it to allow for faster cleaning.
Good stuff.
rooster.
Next, I adapted from the sink faucet down to a piece of 3/8" vinyl tubing, and put a 25-degree pressure washer fixture into it.
So, I sprayed on the Gem Daddy cleaning fluid, let it sit for a minute or so, and then sprayed it off with the pressure washer at about a 30-degree angle to the grooves. Did both sides this way. Then, I rinsed the record with distilled water (haven't gotten any triple-distilled yet), and set the record in the dish drainer to dry.
The guinea pig record is a copy of Simon & Garfunkel's "Sounds of Silence" that I picked up at a thrift store about 10 years ago, and it's always been very noisy and crackely. I've tried various methods to clean this album, including dishsoap with a paintbrush, regular Phoenix record fluid with a MFSL cleaning pad, and just about everything else apart from a record vacuum, which I don't have, and can't really afford right now.
I gotta say that this method works very well. There is still some slight residual crackling in some of the tracks, but not a lot. Keep in mind that this particular record has huge dynamics going from very quiet to very loud, and has a LOT of open space in it, so any noise on this record will jump right out. Total cost, about $50 so far. I need to build an arm with several pressure washer fixtures on it to allow for faster cleaning.
Good stuff.
rooster.