I use an 8x photography loupe. The magnification is just right for assessing how clean or gummed up the stylus is. When I first checked the stylus under the loupe I couldn't even see the stylus for all the gunk and fuzz that had *bonded* to it.
The stylus moving through the groove generates a lot of heat and fuses the resulting gunk to the diamond. A soft stylus brush can't dislodge this bonded sludge and fuzz. A cleaning liquid would have to be a strong solvent that could melt through and dislodge all of the gunk. I didn't want to deal with a solvent that strong and risk it wicking up the cantilever into the cartridge.
Enter the Magic Eraser, which I cut into individual 1"x2" cleaning blocks. I don't just dip the stylus into the Eraser block; I use it to brush the stylus from back to front, making sure I don't go front to back or side to side. Then I checked my progress with the 8x loupe.
It worked! The diamond shone through clean dn clear. The ME leaves some of its own white powder behind, so I whisk away the residual abrasive powder with a soft stylus brush.
I have been doing this for six years. I got five years out of my first AT150MLX stylus and am now a 1-1/2 years into my second. I clean the stylus after every 2-3 record sides. It provides easy and effective cleaning and I've had no damage to stylus, cantilever, or LP.
The stylus moving through the groove generates a lot of heat and fuses the resulting gunk to the diamond. A soft stylus brush can't dislodge this bonded sludge and fuzz. A cleaning liquid would have to be a strong solvent that could melt through and dislodge all of the gunk. I didn't want to deal with a solvent that strong and risk it wicking up the cantilever into the cartridge.
Enter the Magic Eraser, which I cut into individual 1"x2" cleaning blocks. I don't just dip the stylus into the Eraser block; I use it to brush the stylus from back to front, making sure I don't go front to back or side to side. Then I checked my progress with the 8x loupe.
It worked! The diamond shone through clean dn clear. The ME leaves some of its own white powder behind, so I whisk away the residual abrasive powder with a soft stylus brush.
I have been doing this for six years. I got five years out of my first AT150MLX stylus and am now a 1-1/2 years into my second. I clean the stylus after every 2-3 record sides. It provides easy and effective cleaning and I've had no damage to stylus, cantilever, or LP.