Every so often I’m treated to a stack of vinyl which I hope will contain all those taped records I never actually owned back in the ’80s and early ’90s, as well as other interesting nuggets from the ’70s and beyond. Yesterday was one of those days, when I discovered that the nearest decent town does, in fact, have an independent record shop, tucked away in behind an antique shop in a part of the town I don’t normally see.
The problem with used vinyl is, of course, grime and scratches. Nothing much can be done about scratches and dents; visual inspection before buying is a necessity but even that won’t always show up problems within the grooves and so, to a certain extent, it’s a gamble. Dust and grime, though, needs to be carefully removed for obvious reasons but also to minimise further wear. There are expensive solutions to record cleaning with purpose-built machines costing hundreds (there are one or two “cheaper” ones but I’m not convinced of their effectiveness) but I thought I’d come up with my own method, which works very well. Records where the grime in between the grooves would not move with any amount of carbon-fibre brushing and careful wiping are now as good as new.
What I use: two microfibre cloths (it’s important that these are soft microfibre – I use Vileda ones), washing-up liquid, Ilford photographic wetting agent (I have loads of this as I process film), 99.8% (or better) isopropanol and soft cotton pads (which I steal from my wife’s stash).
The record first has a wash in warm water containing a squirt of the detergent and a splash of wetting agent. It’s not immersed but held carefully whilst gently wiped around with plenty of fluid washing over it, using one of the microfibre cloths. After rinsing with clean water it’s dried on both sides with the 2nd microfibre cloth. Finally, in order to get rid of any remaining stubborn marks and water mineral residues from the water rinse, careful wiping with a cotton pad generously moistened with the isopropanol completes the clean.
The result is no more grime, minimal dust, little surface noise and, unless the record had been previously damaged by bad handling or a worn stylus, fantastic sound! It’s taken me a few goes to get the process right but I’m very happy with the results.
I’m currently listening to 90125 by Yes, one of the four I bought yesterday. It was the worst of the lot as far as dust and dirt go – a real state – but, as far as I could tell in the shop, no real physical damage. I’m surprised at how well it cleaned up and at how it sounds now. Pretty much as good as new. I’m back in the 6th Form common room with this blaring away, although it obviously sounds much better now 
Another was Greatest Hits of Focus. I’d been looking for a decent copy of Moving Waves only really because I wanted the track Hocus Pocus; a song I’d heard when I was about 18 but had forgotten about until an advert on TV recently used a snip from it. Yesterday I found a copy of Moving Waves but it was clearly damaged and they wanted £4 for it. Next to it was a Greatest Hits in excellent condition for £3.50 and so, whereas I normally avoid hits albums, I took it because the frankly brilliant Hocus Pocus was there. The album actually contains a number of tracks that take me back to the 1970s and I didn’t even realise they were Focus, including House of the King which I’d thought was Jethro Tull!
The other two? Cyclone by Tangerine Dream and Eliminator by ZZ Top. Spin those guitars!
Creek Wyndsor
