gofar99 Messages: 1949 Registered: May 2010 Location: Southern Arizona
Illuminati (5th Degree)
Hi, Yes there are many methods and some are rather complicated. For one batch of sticky LPs I first used Simple Green on them followed by my normal ultra sonic process. They had some gunk on them that was resistant to pretty much everything. The good news is that except for the labels LPs are pretty much immune to most cleaning processes. Do not use solvents on them though as some will dislove the vinyl.
How much effort to use...it depends on the individual LPs. If it looks clean then just some minimal procedures are in order. Something like a "Spin Clean" ought to be fine. Really cruddy ones...as much as you can do. The key is when you play the LP. If it plays well and you don't get a build of gunk on the stylus then it probably is fine. Just use a LP dust brush on it before playing. BTW, it is important to keep the stylus clean as well. I use VP Dust Buster. It is a small container of what looks like a gel. It works great. I trust it with my $1000+ Dynavector Ruby Karat cartridge so you can be pretty sure it is OK. It runs about $20 and does not ever need replaing.