I just picked up _____ on vinyl!

Ok - this is what I have been doing! No doubt I will get told off by someone for doing it wrongly - but I am still learning. I have read around, asked a few people who know about these things, and done some trials on various old records - and I this is the safest and simplest method I have found, without the need for specialist products, just using household items.

My method basically involves washing the records in warm water, using a mild dishwashing liquid (more on this below), but using your clean hands to clean the surface of the record, rather than any cloth. Soft fingers like mine and Lisa's work brilliantly - do not scratch anything, and you can feel any residue, and rub away in the soapy water really well. I definitely think using soft hands is the best part of my method.

I read quite a bit about the soap you should use, and a lot of people were recommending a cheap basic 'Lemon' washing up liquid - with no extra hand softeners or anything else in. I read some people saying using washing up liquid will damage your records, but these comments were mainly from people who were selling a specialist product. I have read people making up solutions using parts of alcohol etc, but I have been trying to keep things simple. The thing you want to avoid is damaging the record, which also has a protective layer which is applied when the record is made. Too many chemicals and your record will deteriorate over time - although records are also pretty tough things.

I have actually settled on using one squirt of the Ecover, 'Eco' washing up liquid - as this is mild, vegetable based, biodegradable.

My method also uses the tap, so you can take care that the record is well rinsed. Ideally you would use distilled water, but I think this is a bit excessive.

This is what I do:

Run a hot 'mixer tap' - to get the water to the same temperature as you would wash your hands in - quite hot, but not scalding. Too hot and your records will warp (especially thin ones), too cold, and you won't get the benefits of the hot water lifting out grease etc.

Wash my hands well using the same washing up liquid as I'm using for the records.

Take a deep and wide washing up bowl (big enough to insert the record vertically so that half of it is covered in water). Put in one squirt of Eco washing up liquid (use less if you are worried about the effects of this - a small drop will still work for records that are not too grimy). Fill the bowl with the hot water - to the level where you can insert the record up to the start of the label. You want to avoid getting the labels overly wet, since they will leak glue etc which will go onto the record.

Leave the tap running at this temperature.

Take the record and soak it well under the tap, avoiding the label, and swirling round both sides until you will see the sheen of the water. I spend two minutes doing this, and it is probably enough to start to improve the record already.

I then take the record away and submerge it in the bowl vertically up to the edge of the label. I have it so there is some lather in the bowl.

With my finger tips I start to swirl round the surface of the record, rotating the record and covering it all systematically. You can feel any areas where it needs a bit more attention. I do about three rotations on each side for a dirty record.

Take the record out of the bowl and rinse it very well under the tap which I left running - for a couple of minutes.

Drying

The drying is a bit complicated, and has a big effect on the sound you are going to get left with. I am using my clean dish rack currently! - to rest the records in carefully - but you have to be very careful not to scratch the records.

The records will need drying with a cloth before you leave them to dry in the air - and I am still trying to find the best way of doing this - I think Lisa's suggestion of a well washed soft cotton t-shirt is probably a good one (avoid fabric softeners). I think using a special cloth for this would probably work well - but I'm not sure which cloth would work best. As soft as possible. The record will take about two hours to dry completely - even if it looks dry.

If you wipe the record well before leaving it to dry, then it really does improve the sound of the record, the tones - etc etc, and it will dry with a an amazing shine. The thing I am most worried about at this stage though, is adding crackle to the record with the fibres of the cloth. I did a trial using 4 different copies of Rumours by fleetwood mac, copies I had given up on because of poor sound. I listened to each before and after different drying methods, and the best sound was definitely one I had wiped a good few times with a household J-cloth, but it also introduced a bit of noise, which is why I am currently trying to find the best cloth.

A safer alternative, which leaves absolutely no extra surface noise is to just 'press' the record between two ultra dry cloths / t-shirts - to remove all the excess liquid - and then leave it to air dry. The sound of the record is great after this, but a tiny but duller than if you wipe it - probably due to deposits in the water as it evaporates. This would probably be rectified by afterwards getting the records to a shine with a record cloth you can buy. Currently this is the drying method I am using - pressing the record between two dry cloths for a while, and then letting the air do its business.



That's it basically - has been working really well - although cleaning does change the sound of an old record, making it a bit 'brighter', and sometimes revealing any scratches more clearly - so I am not doing this with records that could benefit, but where I'm already enjoying the current sound. With some lousy sounding records though, I have been getting stunning results doing this!

theserialthrilla wrote:

wish me luck im getting my marigolds on


blur up first..got it for £1..but scrackles like mad...lets give it a test your method

Go for it! Sometimes the crackles are due to deterioration in the grooves etc, but when you hit the jackpot doing this - it's when all the noise is coming from deposits. I hit gold with this recently - where I got an original 'Layla' from a record fair, and playing it you could tell that the sound was brilliant, but there was a hell of a lot of noise. After I did this it eliminated almost every bit of noise - and sounded as clear as a shop bought record - with all the advantages of an early pressing sound wise.

Good luck - let me know how you get on. I'm worried about your hands though Kev - you probably don't have 'girl's hands' like I do - cos I avoid all manual activity as a rule. Use the softest parts of your hands!

Thanks, tremors! I tried that kind of method once with some old really dirty Polish Jazz lps. They were so dirty, they almost looked like they were rotten. I could get rid of a lot of the stuff, but no everything, though. I always hesitate to "rub" the record with my fingers, as soft as they may be, though :? And I kind of damaged a red label, it became a little wet and didn't look as nice as before :(

My record store dealer has a Knosti record cleaning machine. It's almost the same method, but you can protect the labels. Using the dish drying rack is a good idea, you might want to put a towel on top of it to avoid scratches ...

tremors wrote:

Leeze wrote:

Thanks, tremors! I tried that kind of method once with some old really dirty Polish Jazz lps. They were so dirty, they almost looked like they were rotten. I could get rid of a lot of the stuff, but no everything, though. I always hesitate to "rub" the record with my fingers, as soft as they may be, though :? And I kind of damaged a red label, it became a little wet and didn't look as nice as before :(

My record store dealer has a Knosti record cleaning machine. It's almost the same method, but you can protect the labels. Using the dish drying rack is a good idea, you might want to put a towel on top of it to avoid scratches ...

Yes a towel would make sense! doh!

I honestly don't think you can do any damage at all with soft fingertips in soapy water - you can feel the record is very slippery. Many of the records I have done this way have come out with barely a noise to them, once the surface grime has gone. I'm pretty confident in the fingertips bit of this - it's the drying in the optimum way which is giving me more of a headache. I think I need to find the perfect cloth to wipe around with!

Did you try those micro fibre things? Don't know if that is the correct term :?

My Ukulele Songs vinyl arrived in Germany today! Listening to it right now - love it!

boyo79 wrote:

Leeze wrote:

My Ukulele Songs vinyl arrived in Germany today! Listening to it right now - love it!

Wow, thats quick! I got a 'missed parcel' thingy through the letterbox today, I wonder if its Ukelele Songs?!?!? I was thinking it was the Dissident boxset I bought the other day but could it be Uke Songs! Gotta go the mail centre tomorrow, I'm excited now!!

Good luck to you!

Leeze wrote:

My Ukulele Songs vinyl arrived in Germany today! Listening to it right now - love it!

:thumbup: :thumbup:


It's on my list, and I'm not playing the CD again until after I get the record. I'm looking forward to hearing it too!

Todays arrivals







Only disc 1 and 2 in the Dissident set unfortunately :(

Jokertt wrote:

I cant believe how great these sound . $28.00 with shipping to my door
the name on these make me laugh ever time !!

i saw a few of these on ebay the other day....packaging looks a lot similar to a nirvana radio show from 92. I wonder if these are actual bootlegs like the soldier field LP's that have come out in red, yellow and whatever else or an actual pressing for a radio station as a promo LP?