Exterior

For most metallic, painted and plastic exteriors, I recommend a damp microfibre cloth and mild detergent/water mix as a starting point. Be careful with older gear as logos and other markings are sometimes printed with ink that becomes fragile over time. Solvents other than water, or occasionally even just water, can remove this fragile ink, so check a small inconspicuous area first.

Wooden exteriors can be cleaned with a soft cloth, followed by wood soap and then oiled or waxed. I use a combination of special furniture oil and beeswax for most wooden finishes and these work very well to bring out the grain and lustre of the wood.

Knobs should be removed and soaked in a mild detergent/water mix and then finished with a toothbrush followed by fresh water. Plastic lenses can be cleaned with mild detergent/water and microfibre, and a little high-grade plastic polish can be used where necessary.

Interior

Interiors get a little more technical. There are electronic parts and mechanical parts to consider, high voltages and one must be very careful not to damage anything. High-pressure/high-velocity air works well, but use this judiciously. I use a cordless blower to loose dust from the pieces I work with.

Be very careful with turntables. Turntables and cloths don’t mix well, especially not styluses and microfibre cloths. Please don’t ask me how I know or any of the other countless thousands of folks who’ve learned the hard way, either through not knowing, or accidentally because of not concentrating like in my case!

Speciality Cleaning

Beyond what I’ve mentioned so far and even including it for many, cleaning becomes more involved and a specialised element in its own right. I recommend booking your equipment with someone able to perform this next level of deep cleaning, along with important service work that likely also needs to be completed.

I use special deep cleaning regimens I’ve developed, some of which are adapted from techniques used to clean laboratory test and measurement equipment. These regimens involve specialist cleaning products, high-pressure air, brushes, cotton buds, solvents and sometimes even a drying oven!

Before you ask me for all the details, you’re not the only one. I’m often asked for details of my specialist cleaning regimens, but as with some other aspects of my work, the idea is that customers benefit rather than competitors!