> On 3/2/2011 7:25 AM, Grant, Tyra wrote:
>> We're refurbishing an inherited Keith Monks record
>> cleaner---have never used one before now.
>> We'd like to use it for LPs and 78s---vinyls and
>> shellacs---does this make sense?
>> We're unsure what cleaning liquids to use---do we use
>> Keith Monks or other?
>> Would appreciate any guidance or words of advice in
>> general.
>> Thanks,
>> Tyra Grant
>>
I use The Disc Doctor's cleaning fluid and brushes, with
excellent results.
I removed the brush and its arm from my Monks, as I find it
too clunky and ham-handed an approach compared to using
handheld brushes. I keep 2 bowls of distilled water (about
1/4" deep) to "prime" the pads with. Dip the brush in the
water and squeegee off the excess water with a finger, then
apply 8-10 drops of fluid to the leading edge of the pad.
Apply the pad to the spinning disc for a couple of
revolutions until the surface is coated, turn off the
platter motor, and scrub the disc with the brush. I do the
disc in thirds, overlapping the edges liberally, and
scrubbing each area about 10 back-and-forth motions. If you
overlap liberally enough, each surface gets about 20
"scrubs".
The basic idea is to excite any particles of foreign matter
and suspend them in the liquid you have applied (this is why
we use various chemical solutions for the cleaning stage, to
loosen and suspend the dirt so it can be removed.) Then
vacuum the liquid from the disc using the vacuum arm, and,
using a second brush primed with distilled water from the
second "clean" bowl, coat the surface, and repeat the
scrubbing procedure, vacuum the liquid, and admire your nice
clean disc.
Then do the other side.
It takes me 6-8 minutes to clean a side of a disc using this
method. Call me a geek, but I love watching the vacuum arm
sucking the record dry. I put a cruddy video of my machine
drying off a Split Enz album (True Colors, with laser-etched
graphics) on YouTube
(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l13BLvskHaA) for all you
other geeks.
Issues you may encounter are insufficient vacuum, and thread
travel problems. I struggled with this on my Monks for a
long time, unitl I gave in and replaced the tubing. Make
sure every connection has a good seal. I was frightened of
disassembling the vacuum arm assembly to replace the tube
that goes through the arm, but it was very simple, and once
I didi it, the vacuum pressure increased dramatically.
If the thread collects in the intake tube, you have a clog
or a leak somewhere.
To my mind, the greatest feature of the Keith Monks machine
is the elegant method of removing liquids from the record
surface, and the brush/pump feature, while it was a good
idea, is inferior to hand scrubbing the disc.
I don't clean discs as a business (mostly because noone has
asked), but I've done 6-700 of my own discs this way, and am
very pleased with the results.
-Matt Sohn
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