What Are the Best Products for Cleaning Vinyl Records?
It depends! These are the best vinyl record cleaning products from The Last Factory, broken down by need:
| Need | Recommended product |
|---|---|
| Everyday record cleaning | LAST All-Purpose Record Cleaner. Safe for LPs, 45s and 78s and leaves no residue. Removes fingerprints, house dust and oils. |
| Brand-new records from the manufacturer, or heavily soiled records | LAST Power Cleaner. Removes mold-release chemicals from the record-pressing process. |
| Vacuum-style record cleaning machines | LAST RCM Record Cleaning Machine Fluid. Removes all types of contaminants from the record surface. Biodegradable, easy to use, and safe for all vinyl records. |
| Protecting a clean record after treatment | LAST Record Preservative. Prevents groove damage and maintains like new condition for 200 plays or more. |
Four Easy Steps to Clean and Protect your Vinyl Records
1. Clean the Record Surface
First Time Record Cleaning for Brand New or Very Soiled Records
The record manufacturing process leaves behind pressing residues and contaminants on the record surface. These sticky residues attract and hold dirt and debris to the groove wall. Furthermore, they build up on the stylus as it traverses the groove wall creating noise, distortion, and damage from wear. Common water or water/alcohol mix record cleaners cannot remove these tightly bound contaminants and residues.
LAST Power Cleaner is a record cleaner specifically designed to remove pressing residues and contaminants left over from the manufacturing process. Just one cleaning with LAST Power Cleaner results in a record surface that is pristine.
Everyday Maintenance Cleaning
Good vinyl record care means routine record cleaning. This prevents abrasion damage that is caused when dirt and debris that have collected on the record surface are dragged against the groove wall by the stylus.
LAST All Purpose Record Cleaner is an economical and highly effective way for general purpose cleaning operations.It removes dust, dirt, and oil without harming the plasticizers in vinyl. It is also completely safe for shellac and styrene records.
Or use LAST Record Cleaning Machine (RCM) Fluid with vacuum operated record cleaning machines.
2. Preserve and Protect Against Shock-Wave Damage
Once you have a clean record, you can totally protect it from the effects of stylus-caused shock-wave damage by applying LAST Record Preservative. Shock-waves are the primary cause of long-term record wear. The needle creates twin pressure waves before it as it runs through the groove. The energy can build up and fracture bits of vinyl from the groove ahead of it. (See Causes of Vinyl Record Wear)
LAST Record Preservative chemically enhances the molecular stability, and therefore the cohesiveness of the groove surface so that it completely resists the effects of stylus shock waves. The 30-second treatment affects the vinyl to a depth of about ten molecular layers and becomes part of the groove wall. It leaves no surface residues for the stylus to collect. Subsequent use of record cleaning fluids do not wash off LAST Record Preservative.
LAST Record Preservative is universally applauded by the super-critical editors of audio publications. Numerous writers have made the point that LAST Record Preservative produces audible benefits far beyond its original purpose as a preservative. According to the editor of International Audio Review, LAST Record Preservative provides an almost 10-dB reduction in high-frequency IM distortion as measured on a test record. Others have reported even greater improvements in overall fidelity from their preservative treated records.
A new record that is treated with LAST Record Preservative, kept clean, and not physically abused can be played a minimum of 200 times without discernible wear. A record treated today stays in pristine condition for future generations.
3. Clean Your Stylus to Protect Against Abrasion
A clean stylus protects your record from abrasion damage caused by dirt that has adhered to the stylus tip.
LAST Stylus Cleaner chemically cleans the stylus. It removes all accumulated deposits and particles. It is completely safe for all stylus and cartridge assemblies because it contains no alcohol or other components that can damage the stylus suspension.
Recommended stylus cleaning frequency: Clean the stylus after the end of playing a succession of records so that you start with a chemically clean stylus the next time you want to play records.
Also, clean your stylus anytime you see any visible debris or hear any playback distortion.
4. Increase Stylus and Record Life with Stylast Stylus Treatment
Stylast Stylus Treatment dramatically reduces the friction at the stylus/groove interface by reducing the surface free energy of the vinyl. LAST Stylast uses the same thermodynamic principles that led to LAST Record Preservative resulting in:
- Stylus life extension up to 10 times.
- Reduced distortion and improved sonic performance
- Increased stylus tracking ability
- Longer stylus suspension life
- Reduced record wear
Stylast is not a lubricant and leaves no residue. It is effective throughout the entire play of one side of an LP record. There is no danger in over-applying Stylast to the stylus.
Recommended usage: Apply Stylast just prior to every play.
Independent reviews of LAST record-cleaning products
The Last Factory has been making premium cleaning products for over 40 years. See independent demonstrations and reviews of our products here.