Foolish People: clueless ebay record sellers

[Monster Mike]

I read one guide to cleaning that said any rubbing, even if not mechanized, is polishing and so causes wear to the grooves. The best method is to soak and rinse without wiping the vinyl at all.

I don't think records are that fragile. A cleaning cloth isn't going to wear down the vinyl. I have secondary portable turntable I use to play the records wet, with a soap/alcohol/water mixture. Gets rid of the deep down dirt in the grooves. A quick rinse to wash off the particles that have been kicked up and lightly wipe dry. Works like charm!

 

[beccabear67]

This polishing stuff is scary as all crap! Barbaric... and I say that as someone who has used diluted Glass Plus (initially anyway) on crap vinyl (the new Glass Plus is too much though, it used to be milder).

Alcohol/Witch Hazel? Eep!

 

[HarvestmanMan]

I've been experimenting with a record cleaning method involving wood glue. It is really good at getting foreign crap out of the grooves.

 

[mansson66]

The wood glue thing is kinda interesting - I'll probably try it out with some cheapie...

 

[Monster Mike]

The wood glue thing is kinda interesting - I'll probably try it out with some cheapie...

It works, but you need patience...which I am severely lacking.

 

[chas_kit]

I've always read that playing a record wet was one of the worst things you could do to the grooves.

 

[Frantic]

I've always read that playing a record wet was one of the worst things you could do to the grooves.

I've been recording WET for years (especially records with static) with no ill effects at all.

 

[Monster Mike]

I've been recording WET for years (especially records with static) with no ill effects at all.

I've never had any issues. In fact my records sound better afterward. I can think of no logical reason for water to harmful to vinyl(or styrene). It can maybe mess with the cartridge if it got soaked. Could be how the myth got started.

 

[chas_kit]

Here's a discussion from another forum on playing records wet:

http://www.vinylengine.com/turntable_forum/viewtopic.php?t=22360

I'd like to hear some of the audiophiles on the site weigh in on this - bosshoss, ned, rich?

 

[Rich Strauss]

I've always heard that playing a record wet damaged the grooves. The paper, mentioned in that linked thread, using an electron microscope, seemed to confirm that. I've never tried it.

-- Rich

 

[Frantic]

I've always heard that playing a record wet damaged the grooves. The paper, mentioned in that linked thread, using an electron microscope, seemed to confirm that. I've never tried it.

-- Rich

I only record records that already sound like crap and it really cleans it up. I wouldn't record wet on records that play clean or that are really rare.

 

[bosshoss]

I've never tried recording wet. And I have never really read much on the subject. However, I will speculate on the possible effects. The dynamic viscosity of water is 8.90 × 10−4 Pa.s or 8.90 × 10−3 dyn·s/cm2 or 0.890 cP at about 25 °C. Therefore it will have a dampening effect on both the resonance of the vinyl (good) and on the movement of the stylus (bad).

Because of this theoretical compromising effect, I prefer to record using a clean, dry disc. This allows the stylus to attempt to track the record exactly the way it was cut.

 

[Frantic]

I've never tried recording wet. And I have never really read much on the subject. However, I will speculate on the possible effects. The dynamic viscosity of water is 8.90 × 10−4 Pa.s or 8.90 × 10−3 dyn·s/cm2 or 0.890 cP at about 25 °C. Therefore it will have a dampening effect on both the resonance of the vinyl (good) and on the movement of the stylus (bad).

Because of this theoretical compromising effect, I prefer to record using a clean, dry disc. This allows the stylus to attempt to track the record exactly the way it was cut.

Take a crappy static filled record and record it wet. It usually gets rid of all static and some clicks. I swear by it.

 

[bosshoss]

Take a crappy static filled record and record it wet. It usually gets rid of all static and some clicks. I swear by it.

When you say "static" do you mean crackle, groove distortion and that kind of thing?

 

[mr. splendid]

Playing records "wet" was all the rage over here in the late 60's to 70's . Lenco a swiss turntable manufacturer came up with the "Lencoclean" system , here is an article about it http://www.hifimuseum.de/lenco-clean.html( unfortunately in german ) . You can still buy something similar http://www.ebay.de/itm/analogis-clean-Nassreinigungsarm-Fluid-Ersatz-fuer-Lenco-clean-/390358824237 . Of course the fluid ( a water alcohol mix )will loosen up all the dirt and debris in the groove , which in turn will sink to the bottom . Once the fluid has evaporated all the dirt will stick to the groove , so the record will need a thorough VPI cleaning before you can play it "dry" again

 

[Frantic]

When you say "static" do you mean crackle, groove distortion and that kind of thing?

Sometimes cheap vinyl (think 70s) has noise, not groove distortion and not crackle, (although it will get rid of some crackle too) the kind guys used to buy a D-stat gun to fix (that never worked for me) Playing/recording these wet usually gets rid of 90% of the noise. Most of the time I just wet the beginning and end of the song because that's where you hear this type of noise the most.

 

[peterb]

I won an Ebay auction today for a Bends 45 with a bid that didn't meet the reserve price , just got an email from the seller count769 and he ragged on me for placing such a low bid . Winning bid was $555.55 and it appears the reserve was $1,200 , too rich for my blood . Won't be bothering with his auctions in future !

 

[Heitkotter77]

That's

I won an Ebay auction today for a Bends 45 with a bid that didn't meet the reserve price , just got an email from the seller count769 and he ragged on me for placing such a low bid . Winning bid was $555.55 and it appears the reserve was $1,200 , too rich for my blood . Won't be bothering with his auctions in future !

That's the notorious Count from Philadelphia, frequently discussed here. This is typical of his lunacy.
In person, we just rag back at him.

Or remind him of the time he sold a copy of the Bees with picture sleeve for $40.

 

[Manos E. Brazos]

The Count's not much into social graces.

 

[Heitkotter77]

The Count's not much into social graces.

In some fairness (which is probably more than he deserves), nor are quite a few other record collectors/sellers.