This is my personal method of cleaning vinly records.The formula below is based on the DiscWasherIII patent and from my personal use over time, will not adversely affect the surface of your pieces and will restore a beautiful lustre and shine as well as help remove much deeply laid sediment and the like. Please note that most records aren't dirty enough to need to resort to the wand on my Shop Vac, but when they are I use it. It is a delicate soft brushed microcrevice tool that i will use if needed to remove hard grime or anti-bacterial agents from the mfg. This is in conjunction with my now up and running vacuum rig. Its not like a normal rig from an old turntable. i actually put foam pads on a wide mouthed tool on my old Kirby Gen 6 vacuum. it works great. removes surface residues and leaves it buffed without any scratches or blemishes added. I used foam rubber weather stripping from the hardware store for this purpose. You can also use it to remove the first scrub liquid. Just a note. Anyways, here's what i compiled. All pics are during the actual cleaning process and the photog credits are due my Mrs.
This forumlation is based on the Discwasher patent, assuming that all ingredients have the same density as Distilled Water which is a pretty reasonable assumption.
(For Cleaning Vinyl Records)
All of these ingredients can be purchased from a supermarket.
Ingredients:
1. One Gallon of Steam Iron Water (consists of Distilled Water)
2. 91% + Isopropyl Rubbing Alcohol (Part of our Emulsifier) [CLEAR!!!]
3. Automatic Diswasher Cleaning Liquid {Like "Cascade Complete" brand - - - be sure that you DO NOT use the type that includes chlorine bleach as an ingredient} (Part of our Surfacant)
4. Antibacterial Liquid Hand Soap such as "Softsoap" (Our Antimicrobe agent and another part of our Surfacant)
***CLEAR UNSCENTED IS BEST!!!!*****
5. Small amount of Prestone anti-freeze or equivalent (This is the other part of our Emulsifier)***Green! Orange can be used but must be 1/2 the green formulation***
*Note: Prestone Antifreeze consists of the following and is toxic to humans and pets:
- Ethylene Glycol (107-21-1)
- Diethylene Glycol (111-46-6)
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Recipe: (produces 1 gallon of Record Cleaning Fluid)
1. Remove 1/2 of a cup of water from the Gallon of Distilled Water and discard down the drain. This water is not used. All of the following ingredients are added to the remaining distilled water in the 1 gallon container via a funnel.
2. Add 3 Teaspoons of Prestone Anti-Freeze to the Water.
3. Add 4 Teaspoons of 70% Isopropyl Rubbing Alcohol to the concoction.
4. Add 5 Teaspoons of Automatic Diswasher Liquid to the concoction.
5. Add 5 Teaspoons of Liquid Antibacterial Soap to the concoction.
6. Put the cap back on the Water bottle.
7. Stir thoroughly for 5 minutes.
8. Let it settle for one hour.
9. Stir Again.
10 Done
Note: Store at temperatures between 35 to 100 degrees F. Keep bottlecap on tightly when not in use.
I personally use two of the yellow and black auto tire cleaner pads
by first rinsing the vinyl under the tap then lying flay on a towel or newspaper (cover paper w/ plastic so no ink gets deep in your grooves)
and then liberally applying the above cleaner using a 20 oz. water bottle w/ the lid that has had an 'x' pattern cut into the top as a sprinkler.
allow to lay still for two minutes or longer to work into the groovespace depending on how dirty and dingy your piece happens to be. if you have a ceiling or small table fan, turn it on BUT NOT DIRECTLY. the small airflow from above will help the fluid swirl around the surface of the vinyl.
to clean,
mark the first pad 'wet' and the second pad 'dry' and use the wet one to scrub in a straight motion going with the flow of the groove. by using tire scrubbers, you know that the foam is just at the perfect pressure point cause the pad lies flat. apply just enough pressure to make the pad lie flat to the surface. not hard enough and the scrubbing doesnt get deep enough, too hard and you may theoretically damage the groove or create scratches deep in the fragile depths of the groove.
to rinse, run under tap gently on luke setting.
then mist with a spray bottle of just distilled water
and use the dry pad in the same way.
once rinsed and clean thoroughly, use a rubber or silicone chamoise to dry, or a lint and static free cloth. its a good idea to replace the liner sleeve with a new one once clean.
I hope you enjoy this now clean piece of vinyl.
The ingredients and recipe were taken from an article called 'Craigs Record Cleaning Concoction'found here
http://www.diamondcut.com/vforum/archive/index.php?t-1775.html but the way in which I use it were my addition.
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