How to apply LP9 stylus cleaner?

Hello gang,

The stiff brush was included after the Distributor, Musical Surroundings, had several customers mention that while they loved the product, they were more comfortable using the larger shorter bristle brushes that had been used in the past. Having been in this hobby for over 30 years, I know how some old habits are hard to change. This said, Garth Leerer and I decided to add the dry brush to the LP#9 package, to make it more accomodating. I will add that these are the same brushes that Musical Surroundings supplies with the purchase of any new Benz cartridge, therefore, it's a brush that has been used by Musical Surroundings in the past and has proven to be suitable.

The dry brush is supplied to give the customer the choice of which brush best suits them.

I should add that anyone considering moving the contents of LP#9 into another storage vessel, should make sure that they use either a glass bottle or a LDPE or HDPE bottle only. Do not pour the contents into a PET bottle as the cleaner will leach a minute portion of the polymers from the bottle which will ruin the stylus cleaner and may place unwanted contaminates onto the stylus.

Kind regards,
Brian Weitzel
Record Research Labs

Hello Albert,

I knew that you were most likely using the bottle that I'd sent you earlier. I hadn't considered suppying empty bottles; I know that my Distributor would be against it, and besides with my method, they are not required. In my opinion, we have designed a product that works well as it is.

My method, Albert, is very close to yours: I remove the brush cap, clean the stylus, then squirt my LP#9 brush off with just a few drops of Super Vinyl Wash, followed by the pure compressed air. This works great, keeps cross contamination very low and avoids the possibility of bottle polymer contamination. I'd hate to see someone repackage my product, chose an improper bottle, and ruin what is already a great product. Glass is still the best choice for the LP#9 solution, which is why we use it. Glass is more expensive, but is the best suited container considering the composition of the solution.

To avoid chemical contamination, we have not only spec'd out the brush material, but the bonding glue for the brush and the cap material as well. We've looked at contamination issues from many angles on all of our products.

Most LP#9 users just use it as it was intended, removal of the brush, cleaning the stylus, and placing it back into the bottle. I've know several that use 2 bottles of LP#9, one for cleaning the stylus, one for cleaning the brush. I've also heard that some drip the LP#9 fluid over the cap brush to rinse it after use. Both of these methods may work well, but sound like an expensive approach of brush cleaning.

To the many LP#9 users worried about cross contamination, try my method, it works well.

Kind regards,
Brian Weitzel
Record Research Labs