How do I clean dust off of a cantilever?

[assessor43]

I have noticed on my Delos that it has accumulated quite a bit of dust on the top of the cantilever. Not wanting to damage the cartridge, I have not touched it. Does anybody know how to get it off?

 

[JackD201]

very gently with a very fine brush. If build up is really bad, I personally would unmount the cartridge first. II'd also use a loupe or dentist glasses. Magnifying glass holders have always been hard for me to work with because of parallax shifting.

 

[Gregadd]

I have never tried this.
I suggest buying a can of compressed air used to clean computer keyboards.

 

[bazelio]

+1 to a stylus brush. Compressed air comes out with a lot of force. I'd avoid that.

 

[Gregadd]

+1 to a stylus brush. Compressed air comes out with a lot of force. I'd avoid that.

Force can be adjusted by varying the distance between nozzle and cantilever. I would suggest you not touch the cantilever.
As I said I have not tried either methpod.

 

[bazelio]

The brush works great. Just be careful. The majority of stylii aren't even as fragile as you might think.

 

[Gregadd]

I have noticed on my Delos that it has accumulated quite a bit of dust on the top of the cantilever. Not wanting to damage the cartridge, I have not touched it. Does anybody know how to get it off?

What did you decide? Did it work?

 

[Gregadd]

 

[tima]

very gently with a very fine brush. If build up is really bad, I personally would unmount the cartridge first. II'd also use a loupe or dentist glasses. Magnifying glass holders have always been hard for me to work with because of parallax shifting.

Jack has it right. I use a 00 sable artist brush with magnification and a gentle touch. This also works for cleaning the stylus. Check your stylus after each side and you'll get no buildup. The picture above should not be allowed to happen.

Compressed air is a big no-no.

 

[Gregadd]

1.Dirty stylus
2.Cleaned with compressed air
3.Vleaned with long hair brush

https://www.originlive.com/key-info...-cartridge-faq/how-to-clean-cartridge-stylus/

 

[assessor43]

my stylus is clean. Its the top of the cantilever that has dust on it. Its been there for a while as I have just not wanted to deal with it but now I think it is affecting the sound quality.

 

[JackD201]

Compressed air cans can be very dangerous. Maybe I'd use it on something like an Ortofon Concorde or Shure Scratch Cart but would bbe too scared to use it on an MC. The dangers

1. Close to the air tube's mouth the air is extremely cold. You will actually see frost form. NOT good for rubber parts.
2. If high pressure gets into the gap between the cantiilever and the magnet, turbulence may damage the coil leads
3. There is actually enough pressure to snap a long cantilever

I suppose it could be used but I would practice a lot first to mitigate the risks by getting a feel for diistance vs pressure/temp. I would rather use the time cleaning than practicing. If I were to use compressed air at all, it would be with an air brush which can be easily calibrated.

A trip to the makeup counter with the wife is a good alternative to an art brush. Taking one of the wife's fine makeup brushes is IMO more dangerous than compressed air LOL

 

[Gregadd]

Don't believe your lying eyes. The pictures clearly show either method will work.
It is your call.
Have a merry Christmas and a clean cantilever

.Happy new year.

 

[tima]

Don't believe your lying eyes. The pictures clearly show either method will work.
It is your call.
Have a merry Christmas and a clean cantilever

.Happy new year.

Sorry, the dangers with compressed air are too great. You are advocating that someone else do something at their risk that you have no experience with based on something you read on the Internet.

 

[Blackmorec]

Compressed air will push dust from the cantilever into the cartridge’s innards. Get yourself a headband magnifying glass with LED so you have an excellent, well illuminated view of what you’re doing. Then take a fine, stiff bristle artists paintbrush, cut off and shape the bristles so whats left is stiff enough to remove dust without being so stiff that it can damage the cantilever.

 

[Gregadd]

Sorry, the dangers with compressed air are too great. You are advocating that someone else do something at their risk that you have no experience with based on something you read on the Internet.

I think you misunderstand. All I care about is you getting a clean cantolever. Perhaps I missed it . No one provided an anecdote from experience.
Here is my experience;
Keep record clean with wet vac. Vpi 16
5 for example

Inspect stylus with mirror provided with Discwasher stylus brush.
Loosen dirt with Audioquest ultrasonic cleaner.
Put a dab of discwasher cleaning fluid on thier brush.
Brush forward at 180 degrees. Then at 45 degrees from both sides.
Inspect again.
This kept the entire assembly clean. Cantilever inclided.
The picture shows someone cleaned thier stylus with compressed air no damage.
As far as the reliability of the internet is concerned I thought WBF is on the internet.
Good luck. Be careful

 

[Solypsa]

+ for using very fine brush no cleaners. And don't push bristles 'up the cantilever' as risk of getting them into suspension or coils. Lyra has that washi paper to be careful with as well.

If the cart is filthy imho an environment issue may need correction; for example using a modest cost portable room air filter to run at night when not listening etc to lessen airborne dust, maybe its excess humidity etc...

 

[assessor43]

My goggles are on the way. I clean my records faithfully but I have two dogs and they like Jazz and dust and hair are always present in the air, probably more so in my case than others.

 

[jfrech]

I have noticed on my Delos that it has accumulated quite a bit of dust on the top of the cantilever. Not wanting to damage the cartridge, I have not touched it. Does anybody know how to get it off?

Most Lyra's come with a brush and fluid (SPT). I'd very very lightly dampen the brush with this fluid and gently clean the cantilever. I have the same issue over time and use the same procedure.

 

[Gregadd]

So far there seems to be a mixed opinion. One perso destroyed his stylis. OTOH many have done it with a brush.
I guess I will have to conduct my own experiment.
I think there are more brush related accidents because brushes are used more commonly.


.
.