Record Restore Box Set

Whilst Record Restore fluid may be applied straight from the bottle, the most economical and efficient way to apply Record Restore, certainly for larger collections, is by using the tools in the Record Restore Box Set.

Additional bottles of Record Restore are available online or where quality record accessories are sold.

Economical

• The Box Set introduces accessories designed to aid application and drying

• Recommended application rate: 3ml per side (approx 3 minutes / 12" record)

• Unlike alternative methods requiring pre-mixing of chemicals, a single record can be cleaned with Record Restore with no pre-mixing or wastage

• Allows batch processing for greater productivity

Each Box Set contains:

• Record Restore - 800 ml 

• Restore Turntable and record support pucks (2 x 90mm, 1 x 105mm)

• Stack rack: record drying stand for up to 10 records

• Smoothing brush

• 5ml syringe

• Adhesive tape for dried film removal

• Handy bamboo pick tool aid

Serious Box Set

A solid start to the restoration of your collection

Record Restore: 800ml (4 x 200ml / 7oz bottles)

• Cleans 120x 12" LPs*

• Record Restored labels (120)

• Free Shipping within Australia

How it Works

Our formula works by first penetrating deep into the grooves where it turns contaminants, and the binder substances that weld them to the groove walls, into an emulsion.

The formula is engineered to specifically target and remove static charged soiling. Unless neutralised, this form of contaminant will remain adhered to the groove walls.

When the emulsion dries, the dissolved solids are trapped in the resulting film, which is simply peeled off the record. The binders and 100% of the dissolved contaminants are fully removed – without leaving any residue.

Unlike other cleaning methods, there’s no cross-contamination from reused fluids, cloths or brushes. And there’s no abrasive scrubbing or harmful ingredients that can damage your records.

Benefits

Record Restore delivers a number of direct benefits. The removal of fine particles eliminates noise and protects the stylus against excessive wear, which in turn protects your records. In removing binders, Restore exposes the finest wave patterns on the groove walls. Little wonder people report hearing material they’ve not heard before.

Record Restore’s advanced groove cleaning ability is highly rewarding for high end stylus shapes such as micro-line, micro-ridge, Shibata, etc. Sitting lower in the groove, these styluses are less tolerant of groove contaminants.

Another advantage Record Restore has over other cleaning methods is its long-lasting anti-static properties. Once a record has been cleaned, it remains static-free indefinitely.

Record Restore Manual

Download our helpful guide to get you started on your journey to greater listening pleasure

DOWNLOAD GUIDE

STEP-BY-STEP VIDEO

Let Secret Chord Analogue’s founder Stephen Price simplify the cleaning process for you. In this video he takes you through each step using the Record Restore Box Set and shares some handy hints.

Common Questions & Helpful Tips

How to properly clean vinyl records?

The secret to properly cleaning vinyl records is this: there must be nothing left in the record groove after cleaning. Sounds straightforward, but it’s not. The fact is a higher standard than “cleaning” is required if music playback is to be of the highest fidelity. The record must be restored to probably better than its original state, because straight off the press a record may not be in its finest state.

Whatever method is used, once done the cleaned record should be silent, which is to say you should hear nothing except the music. Assuming the record is not physically scratched or otherwise damaged you should hear no pops, crackles or hiss; and you should hear all the music; every shimmer off the back of a cymbal, every breath, every string overtone.

Why should I worry about dust on my vinyl records?

Apart from the sound degradation, dust and dirt on your records is costing you money. Dust, grit and particles worn from the stylus tip may not only damage records and reduce stylus life, but will likely affect tonal response. Given the composition of dust, we can see that almost 65% of the extraneous material is harder than the comparatively soft record material and, therefore, is capable of scratching and damaging it.

Apart from improving the sound quality, keeping your records clean will save you money. Leaving that highly abrasive mix in a record groove will greatly increase the rate of stylus wear, thereby shortening its life and causing playback distortion — your music won’t sound very good.

At the same time, a worn stylus will do permanent damage to your records which you will hear as reduced detail.

What causes the unwanted noise on vinyl records?

People will often describe that their noisy records as “scratched”, wrongly attributing the noise to physical damage.

The reality is most likely that the noise is crud in the grooves, so-called “dust”. This is great news because it can be cleaned-out.

But what is this “dust”? An analysis of the crud removed from a number of stylus tips, which had been used on dirty records, showed that it consisted of approximately 12% jagged silica particles, 35% diamond dust, 40% miscellaneous particles, including soot, grit and particles worn from the record groove itself, the remaining 13% consisting of fibers and lint. This is only the particulate matter.

Added to this can be fats, oils, finger grease and other airborne substances such as nicotine (think those older collections...). These act as binders holding the particles to the surface. They will also reduce sound quality, clogging the tiniest of vibrations.

Do all vinyl records benefit from cleaning?

Short answer? Yes. All vinyl records will benefit from proper restoration, be they brand new, part of a long cherished record collection or somewhere in between.

Brand new records are not soiled but they need to have the mould release (the treatment that helps them separate from the press) and they need to be treated to protect against static electricity.

Long cherished collections will have all manner of impurities in their grooves.

Are all vinyl record cleaning methods essentially the same?

No. The only acceptable standard is a method that achieves the elimination of everything from the groove.

Given what we now know can be in a vinyl record groove, it’s easy to see how brushes and cloths will be next to useless as our quest is to totally eliminate unwanted substances from our record grooves.

We need to dissolve all unwanted crud — particulate matter, binders, mould release, spores and the mould they grow; and we need to eliminate static electricity. Static is the greatest enemy of silent vinyl record playback because it attracts all tiny airborne particles from the air and the turntable platter and binds them tightly to the record’s surface. If that bond is not broken, those fine particles will never leave the record.

Why is Record Restore so good at cleaning vinyl records?

Effective restoration of a vinyl record is about more than simply cleaning the dust, especially for older records. Chemically speaking, the challenge is removal of “soiling”, the mix of unwanted contaminants in the record groove. In the case of a vinyl record, its may be understood as the cocktail of particles and binders.

These particles typically comprise silica, stylus dust, soot, grit, particles worn from the record itself as well as flocculated fibers and lint, mould and spores. This particulate matter will be bound together and to the record surface by air borne binders including substances like oils, fats, resins, nicotine as well as finger grease.

In scientific terms, RECORD RESTORE’s unique formulation breaks down the oil and grease binders which in turn disperses the particulates and releases the soil from the surface of the record, the binders are emulsified, allowing everything to dissolve into solution. That solution — or slurry — then dries trapping the contaminants into a removable film. The film containing the soiling and binder substances is peeled off and discarded, while eliminating the record’s ability to hold a static charge.

All in a single treatment!

What is the best way to clean vinyl records?

If your aim is to remove everything from the groove and prevent static electricity, then the answer is Record Restore. Only Record Restore removes 100% of dissolved impurities and eliminates static electricity in the one treatment.

What are the benefits of Record Restore?

Features & Benefits

• Prevents static electricity – stops fine particles being drawn and held on the record

• Restores fidelity while eliminating noise – hear all your music

• Lengthens the life of your stylus – protects your records and saves money

• Very practical – needs no electricity, sets up on an average coffee table

• Simple to use, no mess, plus batch handling methodology – average 3 minutes per record

Record Restore is different to the old water-based disc washer technologies. In fact, it is not so much a “vinyl record cleaning” method as a high fidelity restoration for records. The old methods rely on water-based washing techniques, as would be done for windows, floors and cars; they all leave residue. The standard required to restore high fidelity to records is arguably superior to hospital-grade cleanliness; hospitals don’t have an issue with fine particles provided they are sterile.

For high fidelity there must be absolutely nothing between the stylus and the record’s groove walls. Microscopic particles, such as stylus dust (yes, that’s diamond!) or coatings such as oils, fats, even nicotine will degrade playback and hasten stylus and record wear. Moreover, if you are lucky enough to have records from those times you have the work of the original recording engineers and vinyl engineers. Today’s remasters are not the work of those yesteryear masters. Protect and cherish your originals!

Why is static electricity so bad for vinyl records?

Static is the oft forgotten enemy of pure vinyl sound playback. A static charge on a record may discharge through the playback cartridge causing pops and crackles whilst also adhering every airborne particle of dust to the record itself with a vice-like grip. Unless the charge is neutralised particles cannot be removed. Record Restore eliminates static charges and stops it reoccurring.

So whilst new records may not demonstrate the same sonic improvement as older records, the anti-static benefit of Restore is a must.

How does Secret Chord Analogue’s Record Restore fluid address static electricity on records?

Our Record Restore fluid is uniquely formulated to tackle static electricity on records. When a particle is statically charged, it cannot be lifted off the surface while the charge remains; instead, it merely moves around. This enhanced capability is crucial because static electricity is actually the primary contributor to noise on a record.

In addition to attracting airborne particles and those naturally gathering on the turntable platter, the charge will periodically discharge up through the pickup cartridge, resulting in audible snap, crackle, or pop noises. Therefore, by neutralizing static electricity, Record Restore not only ensures a thorough cleaning but also reduces unwanted noise, preserving the pristine quality of your vinyl collection.

Why is Record Restore so good for restoring older vinyl record collections?

Record Restore is ideally suited for restoring older collections, especially large ones. With its Box Set it supports batch processing of up to 10 LPs at a time on a workspace of just over one square foot. It does this without the need for power and makes no noise or mess (there is no mixing of chemicals). Once the technique is mastered, a batch of ten LPs will take around half an hour to treat, excluding drying time.

Reviewed and Proven:

• Australia HiFi Review of June/July 2019; ranked #1

• Media DMA review

• SoundStage! review

How easy is using the Record Restore Box Set to clean vinyl records?

Perhaps the leading reason why records are noisy is that their owners don’t clean them – even when they own a record cleaning solution!

Many of us walk around chores, meaning to get to them “next”. Sometimes it’s the thought of setting up, doing the job and cleaning up afterwards.

Owners of our Box Set know the following is true:

• Set up takes less than a minute and requires only one square foot of workspace – a coffee table will do

• Do one record or ten; no additional space or setup is required

• The actual cleaning task is a pleasure to perform, some say even therapeutic!

• There is no mess, certainly no watery solutions to splash around

• Packing up takes two minutes (which includes cleaning the brush)

What is the safest way to clean and restore my old 78s?

The first flat records produced for recording sound are referred to today as 78s, logically because their playback speed was 78 RPM.

The bulk of 78s were produced on the more fragile shellac material which cannot be cleaned with modern methods or solvents. Record Restore Shellac has been specially formulated for use on 78s (and is safe to use on both shellac or vinyl).

Reviews

Record Cleaning Comparison - UltraSonic RCM & Record Restore. from What Hi-Fi 

User Reviews

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