Does anyone know how to recommend some good car to wash vinyl records? The budget is around € 300 / € 400 …
I use this device ans it works well.
I can highly recommend the ProJect VC-S, now in improved VC-S2 form, although you may also find the original being discounted. I had a Nitty Gritty before, but the VC-S is definitely an upgrade on this. A great value machine.
There are quite a number of these home-made looking ultrasonic cleaners cropping up on eBay. They certainly look very affordable, but I’m afraid I have no idea how well (or not) they work. All I can say is that I have bought LPs that have been sold as “ultrasonically cleaned” and then found that they are still quite noisy. Quick run through the VC-S and they are much quieter, which makes me think that something is left behind in the grooves after the ultrasonic process. I guess you need to keep the fluid exceptionally clean and then have some way of vacuuming it out of the grooves afterwards, so would ideally probably have both an ultrasonic cleaner and a regular RCM.
In fact, I don’t trust them. Sorry for the link, I ran away
I think that picture shows the real issue with ultrasonic cleaning
Put several records in and they dont clean properly…put one in …they come out perfect!
1 Like
I agree - the Ultrasonic cavitation process needs to be combined with a mechanical action of some sort.
The AutoDesk has pads and ‘lips’ to scrub the surface and wipe the liquid from the record - but thats a different price point. Plus the pads would need to changed regularly along with the bath of fluid.
Also, I am not sure of the velvet lips used by many of the vacuum-based cleaners, these would also need to be replaced regularly as they are in contact with the record surface and the wash liquid with the dirt in suspension.
I am lucky to have a Keith Monks cleaner, an early one, a CR502 model, which is largely based on a MkII. The string-based approach ensures that only a small length of clean nylon thread is in contact with the record and this facilities the vacuum to remove the cleaning fluid from the record’s surface.
If you could stretch to a 2nd hand Loricraft RCM I would certainly recommend this method.
1 Like
Disc Doctor is shipping again. I believe it was sold. Its products are worth seeking out. I use them on an old VPI 17 with no fan, and a broken pump. But the vacuum is all you need. Acoustic Sounds has them. Check it out and follow the instructions. Cheaper than the cavitation cleaners and works just as well.
This topic was automatically closed 60 days after the last reply. New replies are no longer allowed.