As a new Degritter owner I have to ask - what’s wrong with the manufacturer’s solution? I clean all new records and occasionally a chestnut from my garage storage.
Record cleaning fluid for degritter machine
So using the advice of this and other forums, I purchased the surfactant Tergitol 15-S-9 and a small bottle of 91% isopropyl alcohol to replace the record cleaning additive that degritter sells to add to the distilled water after degassing. Since only a few drops of the degritter solution are required, I figure that adding a couple of drops of the surfactant and of the alcohol sounds about right. What do you think?
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- 13 posts total
I typically make a tergitol Solution with distilled water and apply it to the record with a kabuki brush before putting it in the degritter. And then use the degritter record cleaning fluid in the first tank. After running through the heavy cycle on the degritter I have a second tank that I use to rinse With only distilled water. I find that this works well. I don’t think there is anything wrong with the fluid supplied with the degritter machine But I think tergitol is worthwhile and is particularly effective if it is applied before the wash with a brush. This is far more effective than any other method I have used Including cleaning by hand or with a vacuum machine. |
If using 91% IPA, recommended amount is 2.5 to 5.0% and with the DG tank = 1,400-ml, the quantity at 2.5% = (0.025/0.91) x 1,400-ml rounding down = 35-ml. For 5%, double the amount to 70-ml. For Tergitol 15-S-9 buy this Nalgene dropper bottle Amazon.com : Nalgene Plastic Drop Bottle 2 oz. : Sports Water Bottle Accessories : Sports & Outdoors that delivers a precise 0.04-ml/drop and use specified in this free book: Precision Aqueous Cleaning of Vinyl Records-3rd Edition - The Vinyl Press, Chapter XIV Table XXIII Nalgene™ Dropper Bottle Use for Degritter™ & Humminguru™. The Table addresses what you will get for various drops and whether a rinse is required. Note that the number of drops for the DG is ultimately limited by the foam that can be produced as addressed in the Table. |
Thanks. I really don’t want to run a record through more than one cycle of the degritter. Some people seem to recommend two washes, one with detergent and one with just water. This would increase the cleaning time per record up to 15 minutes! It would also require two separate tanks. I don’t think I want to go that far. |
@billstevenson Thank you for mentioning the record cleaning book by Neil Antinn. I was unaware of this well written tome on record cleaning. |
- 13 posts total