Record Cleaner Advice?

Neil, many many thanks for all the time you spent getting me on the right road (not to mention your amazing treatise from last May that explains everything so well).  Thanks again to the other posters as well.

I now have the entire process planned out, including chemicals, materials, tools and dilution amounts.  I plan to purchase a VPI and in fact have already picked out a handy spot on my kitchen counter to become the cleaning center.

One question left: do you use the VPI for every step of the cleaning?  That seems extremely convenient to me, but I don't want to mess up the machine any more than necessary.

@keegiam,

People using the procedure use just one vacuum-RCM.  They are not using multiple vacuum-RCM.  Note that this device  Amazon.com : RONXS Lighter, Upgraded Candle Lighter Camping Lighter Grill Lighter USB Lighter Plasma Arc with LED Battery Display Safety Switch, Longer Flexible Neck for Candle Cooking BBQs Fireworks (Black) : Sports & Outdoors can neutralize static on a record.  Just energize for a few seconds while circling around the record about 1" above; keep away from the cartridge.  

This is a wonderful, most helpful post.  So thanks to keegiam, Bill H, Bill S, and Neil for the links and information.

I've been using a VPI 16.5 for more than 20 years.  Until I began reading about ultrasonic cleaning I was satisfied that wet/vacuum cleaning was good enough.  But with a decent sized LP collection, reduced from over 3,000 to about 1,000 from a recent move, I now wonder if there is more sonic improvement possible in my records?

Being retired I'm not interested in a machine which costs $4-5K.  Nor do I want to spend a half-hour cleaning one record.  But if I could improve cleaning, and thus sonics, with different solutions with my VPI, or by adding an ultrasonic system for no more than $1K then this old dog is ready for new tricks.

@pryso,

Let me offer a cheap solution first. Buy the two cleaning agents: the Alconox Liquinox ($22 from Amazon) as a pre-cleaner and the Tergitol 15-S-9 ($22 + shipping from Talas) as a final cleaner, and maybe a new brush. Then try the pre-clean/final clean procedure I listed above for @keegiam with your VPI 16.5. You may be surprised and you just saved about $950.

If you are not surprised, nothing is lost, the Alconox Liquinox is still usable as a pre-cleaner with the VPI 16.5 and the Tergitol 15-S-9 is usable with your new ultrasonic tank as the final cleaner.

One caveat, if you are surprised by the cheap solution mentioned above, it does not mean that the expensive solution with a new ultrasonic tank is going to be even better. It ’may’ only be easier.

Take care,
Neil

@pryso 

The information we've been given here represents thousands of hours of scientific research and experimentation.  I appreciate you including me in your thanks, but it's undeserved.  I was simply looking for updated advice since my Nitty Gritty 1.5 purchase years ago, so I posed a question.  Enter the brain trust.

These gentlemen (Bill S., Whart & Neil) have graciously and patiently re-explained their findings that, had we done the digging, were already there.  Folks like this are the backbone of these forums, and I sincerely revere their efforts to help us better enjoy the music we love.