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Please critique my new DIY stylus cleaning system.

A sudden brainstorm led me to attempt the following. Collect a box of baking soda, a small watercolor paintbrush, a cup of distilled water and a Kleenex tissue or two. Make brush damp, then get some baking soda on the tip. Brush this over stylus back-to-front, covering stylus in soda and "painting" it in deliberate cleaning action. Then "collect" soda with brush and flick away into trash container. Rinse well with water-saturated brush, moving brush back-to-front again and rewetting a few times to keep brush clean. Dab stylus/cantilever dry with a soft Kleenex, letting moisture absorb into tissue. Wait a few minutes for air-drying, then play. After this procedure my cart simply came back to life (Denon 103D). Amazing! Has this been done before? Is it harmful? It sure was cheap and effective, and not much trouble. Thanks!

Scott
shirasagi
10 responses Add your response
jjmali
108 posts
 
Better your stylus then mine...

I will only use a dry stylus brush and ocasionally stylast.

Good Luck.
dougdeacon
3,338 posts
 
Why baking soda? Not odor control I trust. ;)

Even with lots of rinsing I'd worry about residue buildup, on the cantilever more than the stylus.

Twl is currently reviewing my new stylus cleaner. If he likes it as much as I do I'll post a thread. In the meantime I'd follow his suggestion, the striker from a book of matches for the stylus and a soft dry brush for around the cantilever.
shirasagi OP
19 posts
 
OK, kidding! I used BS (hmm...) to get some abrasive effect, liking that it sort of "melts" when saturated and theoretically wouldn't be too harsh, and would be easy to remove (plus, that's all it is, just BS - no other ingredients that may be left behind). The matchbook striker sounds pretty harsh by comparison but I'll have to give that a try, too (gently). Thanks for passing on the idea, I hadn't come across it before.

Scott
swampwalker's avatar
swampwalker
5,138 posts
 
Although the striker sounds harsh, it certainly could not do any damage to the (diamond) stylus, if I remember my geology correctly.
dougdeacon
3,338 posts
 
No material is friction-proof, diamonds just abrade relatively less easily than softer ones. If you wanted to wear down a diamond stylus you could easily do so by abrading it for a few 1,000 hours with a piece of vinyl. It would probably go a little quicker with a matchstiker.

Gently and sparingly is the word.

I kind of like the baking soda though. If you add other ingredients does it flavor the sound?
shirasagi OP
19 posts
 
with all this seriousness and give us MORE of that humor!!

Yes, I do appreciate it.

Scott
zaikesman
3,017 posts
 
Y'know, they make toothpaste now with baking soda right in it - and it's got fluoride too! Sounds minty fresh, babies... ;^)
psychicanimal
1,738 posts
 
I use ultrapure water to clean my stylus. Leaves no residue--on the contrary, it sucks away minerals and dust due to its highly solvent properties.
jes453dc3
65 posts
 
I've used LP#9 for 5 years and have found it to work very well. Upon regular inspection under a microscope, I've found that it is very effective. A $25 dollar bottle will last for years.
shirasagi OP
19 posts
 
Hey, a matchbook striker works wonders, too! I'd no idea my stylus was so dirty - 'guess my wondrous mods were so good they camouflaged the filth for quite a long while...

OK, be nice. Thx again!

Scott
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