VPI v Kirmuss: Which Will Emerge Victorious?!

[@pnichols6500]

Great video again, agree that a vacuum cleaning then the Kirmuss is best for used records. Thanks for a well done and informative shootout!

[@ellischernoff8603]

So after side two sat on the mat (dirty) you put the cleaned side one on it! Does that not re-contaminate? For the test I would suggest that you only clean one side of a disk and then so your play and microscopic tests. You could have done one side on the VPI and the other on the Kirmuss.

[@TheAgeOfAnalog]

So many thoughts… Where to begin? Ok, I think my love affair with the Kirmuss “process” might already be over. My reason? There’s no way in hell I’m paying almost $100 for another bottle of that mystery application fluid. I’ve “restored” maybe 50 LPs so far, and the bottle is already half empty. Is $1 per record unreasonable? Maybe not, but knowing that fluid costs perhaps $5 a bottle to produce, makes me feel like a sucker for even considering a reorder. I tried making my own, from 98% distilled water and 2% polyethylene glycol, but the results (visually) are nowhere near similar. I’ve even tried adding a small amount of Tergiklean and or PhotoFlow, but again, the results aren’t that similar. Also, I think all of that dry scrubbing (polishing) at the end of the “process”, invites possible scratching, new dust and for sure static. Oh, and I’ve just got the record clean, do I really want to add another coating, even if it’s very minimal, of more chemicals? So, in conclusion, I’ve recently started using a hybrid approach. Depending on how dirty the record is to start with, I may or may not use a rinse off in the sink first, before placing it in the Kirmuss for 5 minutes. Then, I’ll do several applications and ultrasonic cycles with the Kirmuss system, using my own fluid, applied with the goat’s hair brush, until I see an obvious improvement in the appearance and sheeting action of the record surface, then I’ll give it a clean and rinse on my home made RCM. I feel like I’m getting cleaner records this way, with much less static. I also plan on getting either a DeStat or the new Huminguru Orbit for final treatment before placing them in my favorite inner sleeves, the Diskeeper Ultimates.