The Talking Machine Forum — For All Antique Phonographs & Recordings

This may be a dumb question since the replacement cost is so darn cheap - Is there a safe way to clean original turntable felt if the felt is 100% intact but just soiled or stained ?? I always prefer to keep (whenever possible) the original felt as new replacement felt just looks like - well new replacement felt I have a Columbia client machine (Harmony) with the very large spindle hole that has perfect felt but has a brownish stain. No wear, just dirt.

A search of the board shows that some people like to use Woolite, but that has its ups and downs.

Good for you for trying to keep that original felt!

George P.

It won't necessarily work if a stain was caused by a spill of liquid, but I've had surprisingly good results whisking off dirt stains with a cheap, half-inch wide chip brush. Cut it down to about a quarter-inch bristle length first, to make the bristles stiffer, and then use it like a miniature whisk broom, concentrating on one small area at a time.

Woolite worked for me. I used a toothbrush and mostly the foam from a cold-water solution. If you go this route, be gentle with the brush, avoid saturating the felt, and allow to air dry. When dry, the knap of the felt may be raised a bit with the brush. I brushed in one direction only, radiating out from the spindle to the edge. Fortunately, the felt on my 97-year-old VV-XI G was in pretty good shape to begin with; it was intact, not badly faded, and not gouged at the 10" diameter like you often see.

Felt shrinks quickly when wet so you want to avoid that as much as possible. I have a feeling that deep oily stains will not be removed but you may be able to lighten the overall effect. I do agree the new felt always looks new and usually doesn't go on quite centered either.

Larry

I usually use naptha first to clean off the inevitable grease stains, and then finally clean the felted urn table with Resolve spray foam carpet cleaner. After the cleaner dries, I carefully vacuum it, as per the instructions on the aerosol can.

In the past I've been known to re-dye badly faded felt after cleaning it, but this tends to be more of a hit-or-miss proposition than simply cleaning. The Othophonic orange fel is more successfully dyed than the earlier green, as I recall.

I dampen paper towels with turpentine and wipe the felt firmly. Lighten up the pressure a bit if it looks like you are getting pilling. It is good at getting the surface grunge off and no observable shrinking. I just did the felt on a C19 with very good results. Alas I didn't take pictures. There are some stains it won't remove, I guess depending on what the original spill was, but just about all the dirt came off this one.

Oddly with the C19 there is almost no residual turpentine smell. When I used it to clean the felt on a VV-XVI the smell lingered for about a month, but it was dirtier so I may have gotten it wetter. I really don't mind the scent, but I know some people do.

Clay

I have had success using nothing more than the air from my compressor. It will blow away dust and dirt nicely, but will not remove stains. I usually use that as my first step, then go after the stains that remain. Be careful not to loosen the felt by spraying the air through holes or splits in the felt.

Paint thinner is also good for cleaning felt on a turntable.