Cleaning 45's

What is the best way to clean 45's. We got some at a yard sale and some of them have what looks like something spilled on them maybe milk. There is a residue on them that you can scrape off with your fingernail. Is there anything I can use without buying an elaborate cleaning kit?

I use dish detergent such as Dawn diluted in water and a soft bristle paint brush to clean my records. Just try not to get the labels wet when you rinse them. Then, I use an automotive chamois to dry them, as they don't leave lint and can be reused.

Josh

Hi Josh,

That sounds good advice and was more or less the way we used to clean our records when we opperated jukeboxes.

Regards
Alan Hood
ami-man
UK

Since I was hoping for a quick and cheap method, using Dawn is a perfect one. Thanks !

Even after the Dawn method, I still had some 45's with significant pops, hiss, etc. Decided to try the Titebond II Wood Glue cleaning method that people on Youtube were successfully using for 33rpm LPs. I tried it on two 45's and one record was significantly improved whereas the other was improved but still very worn sounding. Here is the link to my experiment.



http://youtu.be/RcNdW6hcoaE

Are there any more faster techniques than glue?

I just bought a crate of +600 45's of various condition. Got an excellent deal, about 9¢ apiece. Some are jukebox quality... New apperance, pristine and clear sounding. Some not quite so good and some that I wouldn't play on YOUR junk record player.

I have a bunch of really good titles which may become jukebox quality, however I need something which will not take a lot of time (Due to the quantity) to really clean out the grooves. Maybe if I can find a brush with brissles the size of a toothbrush.

If the groove is damaged by the needle pushing the dirt into the plastic, removing the dirt will not removed the noise. And if the needle was handled carelessly by the original owner, there may be gouges in the vinyl.

I have 45s made of 4 different kinds of materials. Be very careful cleaning all but the pure vinyl ones:

1. Pure vinyl
2. Filled vinyllite (vinyl with a cheap binder mixed in)
3. Styrene (watch the stylus force with these)
4. Shellac (a very few very early European discs)

Also, many labels are paper, and will be damaged if they get wet.

Note that there were record cleaning devices: Watts Record Preener, Watts Parastat, and Discwasher.

I recently bought a batch of about 700 45's from Craigs List. I went through the whole lot to determine quality. In fact finished the last record yesterday, spread over several weeks. Potential candidates were washed and this is the method I used which worked pretty good.

I used an old 60's style school phonograph to spin the record, a tall cup of water/Dawn dish detergent and two $1.00 brushes from the dollar store. Both brushes are for applying makeup, new and clean. The main cleaning brush is a face powder brush. The bristles are extremely soft, fine and very densely packed. They seem to be made out of a form of maybe nylon... they don't go limp and hold their form when wet.
The second was a nylon maskera brush. One side had a plastic comb which I didn't use and the other was a single row of harder nylon bristles.

I first inspected the record for obvious defects like scratches. Scratched ones got tossed.
Then I used my regular desktop phono to *briefly* sample two areas of the record. First was the lead in area and a few seconds of the content, then a few seconds of the last 1/8th inch or so of the content. I was mainly listening for repetitive pops and noise at the beginning of the record. Random pops were usually dirt which could often be removed but repetitive pops indicated scratch damage.
I would also listen carefully for fuzzy distortion toward the end of the content since that is where the most of this type of damage occurs. I would listen carefully for any obvious changes in the tone of the content from the two samples. The main point was to determine if the record was worn out or damaged by dirt.
Worn out records got tossed.

If the disk passed that first audio test then I'd put the record on the cheap 1960's school turntable then turn it on set to 78RPM, then dip the soft brush into the soapy water and shake it a bit to dislodge any previous dirt. I worked the very tips of the soaking wet soft bristle brush using very light constant pressure into the grooves from the record's edge toward the center and almost touch the label at the pick-up groove, turning the brush from time to time. How dirty the record was determined how long I'd brush it out.
Then I'd stop the turntable, flip the record over and start it turning again to do the other side.

Once both sides were done then I'd stop the turntable, remove the wet record and take it to the sink. I was able to aim the "wave" of the water to just miss the label as I rotated it in the flowing water for both sides.

I played the entire record (Also recording it as a mp3) and carefully listened for defects. Maybe 5% of my cleaned lot got tossed for pops or worn grooves.

If I really liked a particular record but it still contained random pops then I'd wash it a second time. I'd use the maskera brush since the record was about to be tossed anyway. I'd put the maskera brush parallel onto the soapy wet rotating record so all bristles were in contact at about 30 degree angle. I'd start at the outer edge and use very light pressure running it from the outer edge to the pickup groove. Followed again with the soft face powder brush.

I'd let it dry and test it again. The maskera brush was able to clean out and save a big number of records which were otherwise junk.

It was a very long process to do all of this but I feel it worth it. I am confident I am not grinding down records and needles in dirt.
But I'll probably either make or buy a machine to do it next time.

If you're curious, I was able to pass about 200 records out of the lot as clean playable good records. Given that, I paid about ¢36 each. Not too bad.

I had kept a bunch of records which were very playable but not quite up to my personal quality standard. Maybe another 300 or so. I plan to flip those back on craigslist for a couple bucks giving a full accurate description of their condition to potential buyers.

Don't throw away the scratched ones. As long as the needle tracks the grooves, a skilled digital restorer can remove the pops and ticks from a digital recording of the record using a digital editor. I have done it.

One of the best ways I have found to clean 45's is a 2 phased approach.

First I lightly spray them (not the label) with a tinted windows safe window cleaner, safe for vinyl, and wipe them down with a clean cloth. Sticking with my car cleaning supplies, I do alot of car detailing, I use a car detailing spray and a clay bar. Spray the 45 down, not the label and use the clay bar to clean out the grooves. This technique is used for car detailing which pulls all of the oxidation and dirt particles from the scratches and pits in the finish. Then wipe down with a synthetic rag and poof!!! Not only the grooves are completely cleaned the record is shiny.

I have tried cleaning some of my 45's they way everyone has said and then played them. Then I cly barred the 45's and I would say 60-70% of the hisses and pops that were there after the first cleaning are now gone, sometimes even more depending on the record.

I use half white vinegar/half distilled water on a slightly damped cloth. Dry with a lint free cloth. Vinyl safe and often gets years of grime off of vinyl. Carbon fiber brush pre play.

Eventhough I have one of those fancy VPI record cleaning machines, some records are just too dirty to waste your time with the machine. I too use a couple drops of Dawn dishwashing detergent in a small bowl of warm, not hot, water. Laying a clean terrycloth towel on a flat counter, I place the record(45 or 78) on the towel. I next use a toothbrush and brush with the grooves, not across. I then rinse the record under a stream of warm, not hot, water. You have to be careful not to get the labels wet. Then I dry the record with a terrycloth towel.
After using all kinds of different record cleaning processes, the good 'ol soap and water method words best for the really dirty records.

But soap and water not recommended for those who use pickups tracking lighter than 3 grams. My method works for light weight arms and cartridges. Soap gunks up things and light pickups does not push the soapy residue aside.

I've tried several methods over the years but several months ago I broke down and bought the Spin Clean record washer. I'd put that off, figuring I'd rather spend the money on records. Actually, I've spent less than that for a couple of my jukeboxes. There are videos online of people using one if you'd like to check it out like I did. Turns out it's the best thing I ever did for my record collection. I've cleaned over a thousand records so far and its quick, easy, and does a great job. Roller placement keeps labels dry and it turns out there's an unbelievable amount of crud that comes out of the grooves. If you've got several to do, I'd recommend finding one of the old wire racks for 45s to let them finish drying before sleeving them.
Patrick