Record Cleaning Tips

I own the KLAudio cleaner. Yes, they have gone out of business but I believe will continue to service existing units if needed. While I think the A Deske is effective, one of the reasons I did not buy it was specifically for the moving parts referenced here in the form of the brushes and the need for a surfactant. With good reason the pricing of replacement parts is very high as detailed by Michael.

Pre Clean step with surfactant is key. I use a Spin Clean to remove most debris, and emulsify surface contaminants. I use "rushton's" formula in my DIY US system to very good effect. I end with a vac dry.

Seems simple enough to make. Or you could pull off that piece of plastic and find a center punch that fits the existing hole and use it to locate the hole. Not sure what size the hole is, but here's an entire set for $19. One of them should fit. If you know the size of the hole, you might be able to buy a single punch. But, $19 isn't a lot of money. These things are handy, so a set is nice to have.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07PNS2ZSY

I would mark the hole using the center punch to make a dimple at the right location. Use a smaller drill bit to make the through hole through the dimple. A smaller drill bit won't walk out the dimple. Then use the correct size bit to finish off the hole. A larger bit will find center on the smaller hole.

I raised the pricing of rollers,filters and wipers with the U.k. distributor a couple of years ago. I was advised these are specialist items and reasonably priced, Hmmm...
I have been popping both the rollers and the filters in the washing machine and they come out clean,fresh and sweet smelling,just like my smalls.....
As DIY is not my forté I’ll excuse myself from drilling etc.
BTW I have found the newer black wipers to be considerably more effective and durable than the older white ones. The distributor didn’t know whether they would fit my early Pro machine or be any better but an email direct to AudioDeske confirmed they would fit and should be better. Aren’t distributors supposed to know this stuff?
Keep up the good work Michael.
Alastair in London.

The first question would be: “If the AudioDesk is an ultrasonic cleaner, then why the brushes in the first place”? What are they for? Stabilization? Surfactant spreading? Part of the drying cycle?

One reason the parts are so expensive is because the logic (in the manufacture’s mind) follows that if one can afford $5K for the machine, then one can afford $100 for a part. (In my personal view, this is faulty logic from the start, but I’m not the one selling or using these things).

Surfactants are not just for emulsifying oil and grease; in fact, it depends on the composition of the surfactant as to the range of function. Primarily, surfactants are compounds that lower the surface tension (or interfacial tension) between two liquids, between a gas and a liquid, or between a liquid and a solid. Surfactants may act as detergents, wetting agents, emulsifiers, foaming agents (this is what you see happening with the Kirmuss surfactant when you aggressively apply it), and dispersants. In cavitation, surfactants aid in evenly dispersing the energy of the bubbles allowing more of them to get to the object being cleaned (an attraction-like action). I personally find I get better results using a surfactant (for this very reason). One also needs to be careful what they use as a surfactant. For example, I have read suggestions by some who sell or make USRCMS to use Photoflo as a surfactant. However, Photoflo is kind of like JetDry and neither are really surfactants because they actually raise the surface tension between two liquids. They are used to prevent hard water spots from etching glass(or photos)and such, etc. Not a concern with plastic (PVC). I do not recommend their use for records.

I could not agree more with the idea of a wet pre-clean with a botanical or natural based enzymatic fluid purpose built for record cleaning. I have been preaching this for a very long time. Even before clogging the filters and pumps by putting dirty or heavily soiled records in a cavitation machine, the other risk is within a couple of such records you will be sand-blasting your records because all that stuff gets churned up again in the water and becomes projectiles hitting your records. Just at the basic level, you are using dirty water at that point to try to clean records. Sure, one could change the water at each record, but who is going to do that? Besides all that, cavitation cleaning is more effective if you pre-clean, surfactant or not.

Nice find!

I think that I, he of twelve left thumbs, could even do that.

These are on my hit list.

__

Regarding cleaning:

I start with a Nitty gritty cleaning, then to the Audio Desk.

Then, I put a sticker on the record cover to remind me that it has been cleaned and, from then on, just carbon brushes in the future.

I also use PhotoFlo as a surfactant. It works great with a Small amount of Dove detergent in my ultrasonic cleaner.

I was going to guess, looking at the photo, that one was a maki sushi roll, and the other was a rolled up Japanese towel that they gave to you before serving up the sushi. Sorry. My bad.

I tried to post a data-filled scientific explanation of photoflo as a former black and white photographer who developed his own films and prints, along with chemical data. I also figured out where to find the data Mr. Kirmuss speaks of on his site (it is hidden in the FAQs).
However, something went wonky and I got an error when I posted and it put it up three times with just two words as the title.
Sorry, but I don't have time to re-write everything. However, one can google for info as one should anyway. (Just choose the source carefully).

Hey Michael, it sounds like you just need to find a plastic sleeve to fit over the capstan to snug up the fit between the capstan and the inner dimension of the roller, yes? Something like a plastic straw of the right size? Maybe I'll get the rollers and see what I can find that might work as it would be worth it to save the $99 stock item price.
I do recommend washing the rollers with a bit of Dawn dishwashing detergent when they start to look less than a nice white color. Make sure you rinse really well before reinserting in your cleaner. Works for me.

lol

I've just bought ten of these for £6.50 at my local decorators shop and they seem to be available for half that price from China (including postage!). I have drilled a hole in one (and it does rotate a bit wonkily but practice will make perfect, I hope!) and it works without coming loose (so far). Perhaps your hole is too wide : I measured its diameter as 2.7mm with a digital caliper so I drilled with a 2.5mm bit and reamed the top of the hole by hand with a 3mm bit. 1/8" is a little wider than that.
I'm intrigued by your dangling statement, "But there is an issue..". What is the issue?

I've just bought ten of these for £6.50 at my local decorators shop and they seem to be available for half that price from China (including postage!). I have drilled a hole in one (and it does rotate a bit wonkily but practice will make perfect, I hope!) and it works without coming loose (so far). Perhaps your hole is too wide : I measured its diameter as 2.7mm with a digital caliper so I drilled with a 2.5mm bit and reamed the top of the hole by hand with a 3mm bit. 1/8" is a little wider than that.
I'm intrigued by your dangling statement, "But there is an issue..". What is the issue?

If you have a drill press and the right round-over router bit, you might be able to add the ridge yourself to the cheaper rollers. Also, the drill press will help a ton in getting the hole off to the side drilled parallel to the roller. I've never run a router bit in something as slow as a drill press, but I'm sure it's feasible, if you make a sturdy jig to hold the roller, set the press to a slow speed, and don't apply too much pressure at once (take your time).

If I sell my very fancy drill press, I'd get about 1/5 of the way to being able to buy that nice German RCM....

Michael, you do seem to take your hobby to obsessional levels. Next you’ll be saying that different roller materials make a noticeable difference to the sound of a cleaned record.

I don't think it's obsessional to want to spend less money! Anyway I have now cleaned about 20 LPs with the "new" cheap rollers and they haven't stopped spinning or risen up off their post. I was joking when I said your hole was too wide but perhaps I'm right. The 2.5mm hole seems to grip the rollers OK with the 3mm widening at the top aiding the shoving down of the roller. You should change from imperial to metric!

Actually the costly ridge is the reason behind the high price of the Audio Desk rollers, which seems unnecessary considering the cheaper alternative works just as well.

The only noticeable distinction is a tiny ridge in the plastic insert of the expensive rollers, which provides a snug fit onto the Audio Desk shaft. Without this ridge, the Home Depot rollers can lift up and fail to spin when the water level rises. Although one needs to drill a hole in the Home Depot rollers, they work just as well as the costly ones. The inflated price of the Audio Desk rollers seems unnecessary, especially when affordable alternatives exist. Also check out www.elevatortechnicians.com they offer high-standard elevator service in Denver, CO.

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