Dry Brushing LPs

jm1

FYI

Since carbon fiber brushes were introduced, I have been using one to dry brush my records before playing. If the record is very clean, this has proven to be an adequate step to remove small amounts of dust which may have accumulated during the last play.

I had purchased the best 2 1/2” nylon bristle paint brush I could find for experimenting with the RCM wet cleaning process. I shortened the bristles by half an inch to square the bottom and make them stiffer followed by dry “painting” extra fine (320) grit sandpaper to remove the sharp edges on the nylon bristles.

I have been culling the record collection lately and have been playing some used records which have not, nor will be, cleaned on the RCM. Before playing some of these records, I used the carbon fiber brush and found it made little impact removing the accumulated debris or noise in the groves.

I noticed the modified paint brush sitting beside the RCM and decided to try dry brushing a LP with this. After three revolutions, there was a significant visible accumulation on the bottom of the bristles. I brushed this off thinking it must have been present before brushing the LP. After another two revolutions on the LP, once again there was a significant visible accumulation on the bottom of the bristles. I repeated the process until there was no visible accumulation and followed with a carbon fiber brushing.

When I played the LP again, a lot of the surface noise was missing. This was a big surprise as I thought this could only be removed by the RCM process.

If you do not have a RCM, I would suggest trying a paint brush for dry brushing your noisy or dirty records. Please note this will not remove finger prints or other nasties on the record.

As always, experiment less valuable records first.

DarqueKnight

Thanks for the tip. I'll try it this weekend.

danger boy

i just got me a carbon fiber brush... it seems to work good. but now I can't figure out how to lift the collected dust off the dang record. it just scatters again.

A clean record is a happy record.

avguytx

So what did you use to cut the brush straight across? I was always thinking one of those old paper cutters like we used back in grade school would be cool. You know...the ones that had a huge blade and could take your fingers off!

I wonder if a table saw would work? The brush could be mounted to the guide for pushing it thru fairly straight I guess. I may have to tinker with a couple.

jm1

avguytx wrote: »

So what did you use to cut the brush straight across? I was always thinking one of those old paper cutters like we used back in grade school would be cool. You know...the ones that had a huge blade and could take your fingers off!

I wonder if a table saw would work? The brush could be mounted to the guide for pushing it thru fairly straight I guess. I may have to tinker with a couple.

Since my wife does not read this forum, I can let you know. I shortened the bristles used my wife's best sewing scissors. With normal scissors, I could not get a flat or strait bottom and basically hacked the bristles off.

A sharp knife and ruler over the bristles may work just as well.

The bristles now have a squared end which I thought would not be very effective for reaching into the grove. The sanding process (dry "painting" on extra fine sandpaper) rounded the bristle ends. Make sure to brush from many different angles to round all sides of the bristles.

I would like to add that I searched for a brush which was somewhat stiff and had fine bristles to reach down into the record grove. The less expensive brushes had course bristles which I thought might not produce a very good result.

I have now tried a good number of records and have had positive results.

Systems

jm1 wrote: »

Since my wife does not read this forum, I can let you know. I shortened the bristles used my wife's best sewing scissors. With normal scissors, I could not get a flat or strait bottom and basically hacked the bristles off.

A sharp knife and ruler over the bristles may work just as well.

The bristles now have a squared end which I thought would not be very effective for reaching into the grove. The sanding process (dry "painting" on extra fine sandpaper) rounded the bristle ends. Make sure to brush from many different angles to round all sides of the bristles.

I would like to add that I searched for a brush which was somewhat stiff and had fine bristles to reach down into the record grove. The less expensive brushes had course bristles which I thought might produce a very good result.

I have now tried a good number of records and have had positive results.

I'm tellin'!

Chuck

cubdog

Since most nylon brushes already have soft exploded ends couldn't you just duct tape around the upper half of the brush bristles to firm up the lower half? Seems like it would achieve the same results with alot less work.

cubdog

DarqueKnight

I bought a 3" "Workforce" brand paint brush from Home Depot ($6.50) and a pack of 400 grit sanding sheets ($4.00). They didn't have any 320 grit in stock. The Workforce paint brushes had about the same stiffness as my Audioquest record cleaning brush, but of course, had way more bristles. I squared off the edge of the paint brush with a paper sheet cutter and painted across a sanding sheet in all directions to round the bristle edges.

I had just received some records purchased off eBay which were in good condition with minimal surface noise. I first brushed them with my Audioquest record cleaning brush until no more dust was seen gathering on the surface of the record. I then played the records. In each case there was a very noticeable decrease in surface noise.

I then used the paint brush and I started seeing yet more dust being pushed up in front of the brush. The paint brush resulted in significantly further noise reduction. Even on records that were graded mint or mint-, and had virtually no snaps, crackles, or pops, the paint brush treatment resulted in further contact noise reduction and an overall "smoother" sound. This was particularly noticeable in the lead in and lead out grooves.:)

My brushing technique with both brushes was a "scooping" motion wherein the brush was pushed in the direction of the grooves with the edge of the brush leading rather than dragging the brush in the direction of the grooves with the edge of the brush trailing.


A regular ole' paint brush was much more effective than an audiophile record brush. Whatever works.

hearingimpared

IMHO the carbon fiber brushes such as the Audioquest with the long fibers just don't do the job, sucks is a word that comes to mind. The fibers are too long and not stiff enough to do any good. Before I go through my process of treating a record, I always try to get the visible debris off the record using this type of brush and am always frustrated.

I have been using for dry brushing a Hunt EDA Mark VI brush which works extremely well and has a two fold function. The first is it does a great job of getting deep into the grooves with two row of short stiff carbon fiber bristles but between the two rows is a thick patch of velvet. The second function is that it does a really good job of getting rid of any residual static left over by the anti-static gun.

I'm not downing the paint brush method you've come up with but I'm very satisfied with the Hunt brush.

del44

I think, that with a previously cleaned album, the fiber brush would do the job, between plays. But I agree, they are pretty flimsy. I just got my first one in the mail today. Using a stiffer nylon brush would be better IMO. But a china bristle brush may even work better than that. Now excuse me while I go out to the shed and fire up the compressor. I'll blow the gunk out of the grooves.:D You think I'm kidding?

capecodder

hearingimpared wrote: »

I have been using for dry brushing a Hunt EDA Mark VI brush which works extremely well and has a two fold function.

Same one I use, good dry brush. I think there are other brands that use essentially the same brush re-labeled.

george daniel

Hey,, this works,, you guys are right,, I had an old Simon and Garfunkel lp,, dry brushes a few times,, then hit it with the Hunt VI brush,, it DID remove alot of the previous surface noise.BTW, I could not believe the amount of trash that it loosened from the grooves. Thanks jm1 amd dk.

jm1

Cubdog

Since most nylon brushes already have soft exploded ends couldn't you just duct tape around the upper half of the brush bristles to firm up the lower half? Seems like it would achieve the same results with alot less work.

Thanks for the suggestions. The brushes I purchase have tapered ends with the ‘soft exploded’ bristle ends. I was looking for a somewhat denser grouping of bristles, hence the need to trim the end. Taping the bristles did not produce the results I was looking for.

DarqueKnight

I squared off the edge of the paint brush with a paper sheet cutter and painted across a sanding sheet in all directions to square the bristle edges.

When the bristles are trimmed, this would produce a square end as a result of the cutting action. Since the record groves taper toward the bottom, I did not think a square bristle end would be effective at reaching the end of the taper. Dry painting on the extra fine grit sand paper will round off the square edges of the bristles. This would allow the bristles to effectively remove more from the end of the taper.

Del 44

I think, that with a previously cleaned album, the fiber brush would do the job, between plays. But I agree, they are pretty flimsy. I just got my first one in the mail today. Using a stiffer nylon brush would be better IMO. But a china bristle brush may even work better than that. Now excuse me while I go out to the shed and fire up the compressor. I'll blow the gunk out of the grooves. You think I'm kidding?

With a previously cleaned LP, I would most likely use a carbon fiber brush to touch up the LP surface. In fact, I still have my original Fiber Science brush from way back. This one has not shed any bristles throught out the years of use.

Please keep in mind that this brush will be primarily used on the RCM during the wet cleaning. China bristles will not be effective if they become wet during the cleaning processes. The nylon bristles are soft, yet retain their characteristics when both dry or wet.

Please try the china bristle brush and report your experiences.

George Daniel

Hey,, this works,, you guys are right,, I had an old Simon and Garfunkel lp,, dry brushes a few times,, then hit it with the Hunt VI brush,, it DID remove alot of the previous surface noise.BTW, I could not believe the amount of trash that it loosened from the grooves. Thanks jm1 amd dk.

I am glad you had positive results using the brush for cleaning LPs. There is nothing quite like listening to an LP with little to no surface noise.


I have tried using the brush perpendicular as well as at an aggressive angle to the groves (bristles 45 degrees into the groves, like one would use a chisel). At this time, I prefer having the brush perpendicular to the groves. This appears to loosen the most amount of material from the grove walls. Once there is no visible material on the bottom of the brush, I follow with a carbon fiber brushing.

Thanks to everyone who have tried cleaning their LPs using this technique. As you have discovered, a lot of non-visible material can be removed from the LP groves using this simple step if you do not have access to a RCM.


Regards.

DarqueKnight

jm1 wrote: »

When the bristles are trimmed, this would produce a square end as a result of the cutting action. Since the record groves taper toward the bottom, I did not think a square bristle end would be effective at reaching the end of the taper. Dry painting on the extra fine grit sand paper will round off the square edges of the bristles. This would allow the bristles to effectively remove more from the end of the taper.

I meant to say "painted across a sanding sheet in all directions to round the bristle edges. Post has been corrected.