stylus cleaning

This is where record cutters raise questions about cutting, and trade wisdom and experiment results. We love Scully, Neumann, Presto, & Rek-O-Kut lathes and Wilcox-Gay Recordios (among others). We are excited by the various modern pro and semi-pro systems, too, in production and development. We use strange, extinct disc-based dictation machines. And other stuff, too.

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okpanda
Posts: 76
Joined: Sat Nov 21, 2015 8:43 pm

stylus cleaning

Post: # 43800Unread post okpanda
Sat Sep 03, 2016 6:25 pm

i read somewhere that pure acetone can be used for stylus cleaning - but then i read somewhere else - never use acetone!! can somebody please clear this up for me?

Aussie0zborn
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Location: Australia
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Re: stylus cleaning

Post: # 43802Unread post Aussie0zborn
Sat Sep 03, 2016 7:14 pm

Assuming you're cutting lacquer discs, you need isopropyl alcohol and pith wood. https://www.cousinsuk.com/product/pith-wood

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okpanda
Posts: 76
Joined: Sat Nov 21, 2015 8:43 pm

Re: stylus cleaning

Post: # 43803Unread post okpanda
Sat Sep 03, 2016 8:32 pm

i'm using souri's blanks and stylus cleaner.

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onedouble93
Posts: 1
Joined: Mon Mar 18, 2019 9:15 pm

Re: stylus cleaning

Post: # 52647Unread post onedouble93
Thu Mar 21, 2019 11:10 pm

Was looking for an answer to the same question? as I believe acetone is fine if it only comes in contact with the stylus/shank but nowhere else? I assume your referring to myshanks FAQ? as I also noticed them mentioning to 'never use acetone' but advising to use specifically there own 'stylus cleaner'

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Ciuens
Posts: 192
Joined: Mon Sep 08, 2014 7:48 am
Location: Brasília - Brasil

Re: stylus cleaning

Post: # 52689Unread post Ciuens
Mon Mar 25, 2019 5:19 pm

Banana Oil = Diamond Stylus Cleaner.
Banana Oil = Organic Stylus Cleaner whitout Acetone.

Cheers,

Ciuens Silva
ZEZ Cutters

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symatic
Posts: 248
Joined: Fri Jun 26, 2015 10:41 am

Re: stylus cleaning

Post: # 52711Unread post symatic
Wed Mar 27, 2019 6:05 am

The Pith wood seems to be doing a good job for me so far

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okpanda
Posts: 76
Joined: Sat Nov 21, 2015 8:43 pm

Re: stylus cleaning

Post: # 52750Unread post okpanda
Sun Mar 31, 2019 9:03 pm

Ciuens wrote:Banana Oil = Diamond Stylus Cleaner.
Banana Oil = Organic Stylus Cleaner whitout Acetone.

Cheers,

Ciuens Silva
ZEZ Cutters
THANK YOU

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handcut
Posts: 252
Joined: Thu Oct 16, 2014 5:41 pm

Re: stylus cleaning

Post: # 52757Unread post handcut
Mon Apr 01, 2019 7:08 am

Out of interest, has anybody tried ethyl acetate?

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okpanda
Posts: 76
Joined: Sat Nov 21, 2015 8:43 pm

Re: stylus cleaning

Post: # 52812Unread post okpanda
Thu Apr 04, 2019 1:30 pm

i am googling and banana oil (isoamyl acetate) will dissolve lacquer but i don't see anything about it dissolving plastics like pvc. methyl ethyl ketone might work but it also might be too similar to acetone, ie could also dissolve glue but i'm not sure.

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okpanda
Posts: 76
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Re: stylus cleaning

Post: # 52813Unread post okpanda
Thu Apr 04, 2019 1:37 pm

As a high purity solvent, ethyl acetate is used in cleaning electric circuit boards and as a nail polish remover.
idk if it sounds like that would work on pvc but i don't really know, this stuff is way over my head lol.

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CutR
Posts: 107
Joined: Tue Jan 15, 2019 10:25 am

Re: stylus cleaning

Post: # 66137Unread post CutR
Thu Nov 14, 2024 8:10 am

Is there something better than cotton buds?

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emorritt
Posts: 530
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Location: Tennessee

Re: stylus cleaning

Post: # 66138Unread post emorritt
Thu Nov 14, 2024 8:59 am

I've used acetone (nail polish remover) and pith wood and had no issues ever in decades. Just don't clean the stylus or advance ball over a lacquer on the turntable - if any acetone gets on the disc, it will dissolve the lacquer coating. I don't use plastic much at all, so I'm not sure about what acetone would do to a PETG or poly disc. Just my $.02

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spinnertownblanks
Posts: 227
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Re: stylus cleaning

Post: # 66147Unread post spinnertownblanks
Fri Nov 15, 2024 2:04 am

If it’s just clanging the diamond then Isopropyl Alchohol is possibly fine, if you have melted plastic on the diamond then Ethyl Acetate is good, it isn’t as strong as Acetone so less potential issues with heating wire glue or shank bonding but strong enough for cleaning plastic.
Blank recordable discs, diamonds and accessories for the lathe cutting world, based in the UK.

www.spinnertownblanks.com
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spinnertownblanks
Posts: 227
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Re: stylus cleaning

Post: # 66149Unread post spinnertownblanks
Fri Nov 15, 2024 8:50 am

**cleaning not clanging!
Blank recordable discs, diamonds and accessories for the lathe cutting world, based in the UK.

www.spinnertownblanks.com
www.instagram.com/spinnertownblanks
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mushroomjesus
Posts: 42
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Re: stylus cleaning

Post: # 66157Unread post mushroomjesus
Fri Nov 15, 2024 6:53 pm

What about frequency of cleaning ?


I usually clean the diamond after x5 7 inch cuts . So about every 30 or 40 mins or so of audio cut I will grab a qtip.

Today I actually looked at the qtip after cleaning in the microscope. I will probably inspect the qtip every time to see what’s actually coming off when I do clean . Today I saw nothing.

Banana oil seems to keep wire glue intact much much longer.

Souri glue is different from myshank and I find myshank glue is a better adhesive material when it comes to prolonged heat use and cleaning.

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discosdecorte
Posts: 148
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Re: stylus cleaning

Post: # 66158Unread post discosdecorte
Sat Nov 16, 2024 4:01 am

emorritt wrote:
Thu Nov 14, 2024 8:59 am
I've used acetone (nail polish remover) and pith wood and had no issues ever in decades. Just don't clean the stylus or advance ball over a lacquer on the turntable - if any acetone gets on the disc, it will dissolve the lacquer coating. I don't use plastic much at all, so I'm not sure about what acetone would do to a PETG or poly disc. Just my $.02
Same here for about three years now and no problems with shank or wire adhesives. In my case, I cut on PETG and occasionally on PVC. Also, both acetone and pith wood are cheap and easy to find resources.

Have a nice weekend!
Fer
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diy_cutter
Posts: 89
Joined: Tue Apr 24, 2012 9:27 am
Location: Ukraine, Kyiv

Re: stylus cleaning

Post: # 66172Unread post diy_cutter
Sat Nov 16, 2024 2:43 pm

I clean diamonds with cotton swabs for ears with isopropyl alcohol after each cut side. Banana oil should be tried))

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descent
Posts: 50
Joined: Sat Apr 16, 2016 7:29 pm

Re: stylus cleaning

Post: # 66205Unread post descent
Wed Nov 20, 2024 8:49 pm

Nitrogen to clean the lacquer :!:
Methyl ethyl ketone to clean the sapphire stylus :!:

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Fattcamp
Posts: 77
Joined: Wed Jan 24, 2024 10:02 pm

Re: stylus cleaning

Post: # 66230Unread post Fattcamp
Fri Nov 22, 2024 2:34 pm

What do you guys use for cleaning sapphire embossing styli (if cleaning method differs from cutting styli)? I've been using Isopropyl but I also have standard Groovewasher G2 I normally use for playback that I haven't tried yet. Isopropyl seems to do the job.

Dave

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