Where to buy isopropyl?

[Spangle2k5]

Right, as the title suggests.

I want some Isopropyl alcohol to clean my LPs and am having some trouble locating it. No local chemists seem to have it but for one, who wants to relieve me of £6 for a 600ml bottle! Boots have nothing, Superdrug have nothing...

So where do you guys get yours?

[Mylo]

RS components, CPC or Maplins should all be able to help.

[shahedz]

hate to jump on your thread, but how do you apply it and take it off?

[Spangle2k5]

Originally Posted by Mylo

RS components, CPC or Maplins should all be able to help.

RS Components and Maplins only seem to sell the stuff in the spray-cans, is this just as good? Would one put this straight onto a cloth that is dampened with distilled water and then run over the LP?

Much appreciated

[Atomic245]

Any Chemists should be able to make a solution of 90% it is alcahol, that's all, just the Chemical name for it.
I wouldn't clean Vinyl with it at all ! use ordinary soapy water and a Micro Fibre cloth, the very soft ones.

It is normally used for cleaning off thermal paste off CPU's !

[crocodile]

Originally Posted by Spangle2k5

Right, as the title suggests.

I want some Isopropyl alcohol to clean my LPs and am having some trouble locating it. No local chemists seem to have it but for one, who wants to relieve me of £6 for a 600ml bottle! Boots have nothing, Superdrug have nothing...

So where do you guys get yours?

That's not such a bad price.

[clockworks]

The big chemist chains no longer stock isopropyl alcohol, but they can get it to order. I was told that the reason it isn't stocked is health & safety legislation - flammable products require approved secure storage.

I wouldn't have thought it was a good idea to use alcohol to clean LPs too often. It'll strip the lubricant from the surface, and may actually damage the vinyl.

The stuff in spray/pump cans (used as floppy drive or tape head cleaner) is the same.

[LV426]

....and before anybody leaps to a conclusion, Isopropyl Alcohol (Iso-Propanol) is NOT the same substance that's found in alcoholic drinks (known for its intoxicating effects on certain carbon-based lifeforms); that's Ethanol. Curiously, IsoPropyl Alcohol is available on the shelf for self-service in drugstores, WalMart, etc., in the USA. It's some time since I last bought any in the UK, but when I did, Boots obtained it for me.

[Mr Cat]

plenty on ebay...

http://business.search-desc.ebay.co....2QQsacatZ12576

I bought some wipes a while back and use them on my connectors etc...

[Strobe]

Find a local printers in the Yellow Pages. Most printers use litres of it and I'm sure they would let you have a small amount FOC.

[Fluke]

If you do get hold of some, you must dilute it with water, purified water is best but boiled (and cooled), filtered water will suffice, about 50/50 at least, some may say 75/25 in favour of water.

I am lucky enough to get some from work and I use it with great effect on dirty vinyl, just dont get it on the label in the centre - and dont go anywhere near a flame!

[Fluke]

Originally Posted by shahedz

hate to jump on your thread, but how do you apply it and take it off?

I put a mixture of IPA/water in an unused and thoroughly clean garden spray bottle, apply a generous amount to lint free cloth, lint free is very important, and wipe on to the vinyl in the direction of the grooves, allow to dry on a clean and dry surface (not long as the IPA will accelerate the process), then play!

I use latex gloves when doing mine as you can handle the vinyl freely and not worry about the mixture getting over your hands - not that its terribly hazardous to skin but it may cause a reaction if your sensitive.

[Timbo21]

I know isopropyl leave a residue, which would not be good for vinyl grooves. To what extent this happens when diluted I don't know. I cut records, & we don't clean the cutting stylus with isopropyl because of the residue; we use acetone, which is getting pretty difficult to buy, due to tighter restrictions on these materials; we have to fill out forms etc. to get any quantity.

[LV426]

I use a mix of approx 50/50 Isopropyl and Distilled Water and add a tiny drop of detergent (which makes it spread better). And I play my records while still wet with this mix. This, I find, gives the "cleanest" sounding result. It does no harm (that I can detect) to the record UNLESS there is any acetate in the compound. 78's and certain early US pressings do have acetate and this IS damaged by the alcohol. And it hasn't harmed (that I can detect) either of the two styli I use.

However, if you leave it to dry on the record, it leaves a very noisy residue which, I suspect, is gunk (release compounds or similar) that was on the record in the first place, not from the solution. So either:
it must be thoroughly dried off with a cloth before it dries by itself
or:
the record must be wet with the same mix again before playing a second/subsequent time.

[Atomic245]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isopropyl_alcohol

Timbo are you having a laugh ?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acetone