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Restoration - Cleaning vinyl records We rarely see an older record brought in for restoration that did not have some amount of mildew, dust or scratches. The restoration process begins with carefully cleaning the record. If you want to clean your own records, we recommend you use a very soft, clean cloth with a solution of distilled water and isopropyl alcohol at a 5:1 (water:alcohol) ratio. Don't use rubbing alcohol. Lay the record on a soft cloth and apply the cleaning solution with another rag wiping in a soft circular motion. Always do this in the direction of the grooves. If you are cleaning 78's NEVER use alcohol as this will dissolve the shellac. Use a water-only solution on 78's. For more information - look here. We use a special solution of three chemicals mixed with distilled water. This solution is the same as used by the Library of Congress to restore their albums. It’s expensive and moderately hazardous so stick with the water/isopropyl mixture above if you want to try cleaning your own records. Don’t rub too hard. After that it's not a bad idea to smear a little bit of anti-bacterial soap on the record and gently rub it in and rinse it off. Rinse it well. A brush is helpful in cleaning the grooves after the record is dry. You can make your own from a 1/4" wide natural bristle artist's paintbrush. Buy a new one or grab an old one laying around your house. Just make sure it's been cleaned and there isn't old paint near the crimp end. That'll scratch the record and you'll end up sending it to us to repair what you did. Trim the bristles to 1/8-1/4" long. You can also cut the handle off just behind the metal crimp band if you find that easier to use. (We don't). You also can construct a second brush, removing the middle third of the bristles allowing one arm to be wet with your cleaner fluid and the other arm dry.
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