Static Build Up On Record Surface

It's not normal. I doubt that is has anything to do with your cleaning process. It could be the material of your clothes (polyester, polar fleece, etc.), synthetic carpeting, or it could be very dry climate. Regardless, there is a simple solution. Purchase a Zerostat 3 antistatic gun. It costs around $50-60 and should last a many years. You simply hold it about a foot away from the record surface and one shot releases positive and negative ions that couple with the positive and negative static charges on the record effectivly neutralising them.

Rosstaman offers good advice. If you do live in a dry climate and have synthetic carpeted floors it is likely that YOU are the source of the static electricity. You can buy a grounding device that plugs into the ground of the electrical outlet at most electirical supply houses (radioshack probably has it too). Electrical techs use these to discharge any built up static electricity on them before they work on something. You could put one of these beside the cleaning machine and touch it right before you clean an album. Then you will not have the static build up that is likely transferring to the album. The other area to check, although I think it's a small possibility, is the grounding of the VPI unit. A floating ground could have some effect on static build up.

The static build-up on your LPs is usually caused by leaving the vacuum on too long. I am careful not to let the LP rotate more than three times. I know this sounds simplistic but give it a try. I just sold my VPI 16.5 to get a Sota record cleaner and in their literature they caution against over vacuuming because of the static with can build up on the record surface.

Yep, any more than 2 spins on my 16.5 causes problems, though a Zerostat will eliminate the static. There is a further discussion of other static sources on the "tech talk" board.

Confirming 4Yanks and Nrchy comments. Also, the 16.5's owner's manual cautions the user about static buildup if the record is over-vacuumed. I recall the manual indicating that more than two revs may cause static.

Regards
Jim