Record retouching - how OC are you?
m_dejean
Quadratisch. Praktisch. Gut. 2,946 Posts
How do you guys handle your records? Are you the type to clean the record, remove all stickers, glue split seams and put it in a plastic sleeve as soon as you get home with a new purchase? Or are you more of the don't-give-a-fuck type? Of course I know people who run a store have to do it to make the item as presentable as possible, at least with the better items, but I'm talking about you regular blokes.I used to be the careless type. The last year or two I've found myself on a cleaning binge. New stuff, old stuff from the shelf. Records where I used to think "hey, it's just got a little dirt, no biggie" are now getting treated. Once you experience the sometimes amazing results of cleaning a record, you can't stop. The cleaning kit is always ready next to the turntable.And glueing split seams is another thing. I used to just put these records in a tight plastic sleeve to hide the split, but now I'm glueing up a storm. Got a whole section with split seams that are constantly waiting for treatment. Glue and clothes-pegs are always ready next to the turntable.I'm not that obsessive about stickers yet. Small ones are easy, they get the heat removal treatment straight away. It's the bigger stickers I usually have to come around to, especially the giant library stickers on both sides of a record. It's just such a risky task sometimes, even with heat and heptane. I don't do the plastic-sleeve-for-each-record thing either. Only on the better/more expensive stuff. Mostly because I don't have enough plastic sleeves to do it. And because a lot of the sleeve types make it very annoying to pull records in and out of the shelf. Especially the flimsy ones (i.e. the ones they use in South America) or the thick matte ones. I really hate those. Can't even see the cover properly through them. I do realize that putting a record in a plastic sleeve extends its lifespan. One day I'll buy a bulk of some those good old clear ones for filing purposes.Still, I'm fairly nonchalant about it at the end of the day. After all it's just a stupid record. I don't want to be the ??ber-nerdy collectro type constantly fondling my collection.
But I know there's got to be some very meticulous types on here. How do you go about it?
But I know there's got to be some very meticulous types on here. How do you go about it?
Comments
For the rest I put them in plastic sleeve and store the record behind the cover. It costs so little to put them in plastic sleeves compared to the value of the record and it'll be worth it in the end. But I still got an amount of cheap records that I'm not stressing about putting into plastic sleeves as long as I don't got enough.
As for fixing seems and removing stickers; some times I feel like doing something about it if it's not too much work and some times I just leave it as is. I never want to waste too much time on it.
In the end I don't put in that much work. You just gotta put in the little basic work to make sure your records don't wear out too soon. You can get to a point where it's nerdy but I don't feel like it's nerdy do what's neccessary to prevent them from wearing out too early. It's just good sense and it don't take that much work.
why?
Prevent splits in the bottom and probably reduce chances of ringwear too. At least on the front cover. A few years ago I noticed that the bottom seam had been cut through on some of my albums. It was especially 60's US jazz albums. Some covers are more fragile than others and there are probaly some types of covers that it'll never happen to.
To prevent the vinyl from "bumping" into the insides of the sleeve edges, preventing it from gradually breaking through.
I only do this when shipping records, where the package is liable to get tossed around a lot, possibly making the record slide around inside the sleeve, even when you try to pack it tight.
Edit: and what GO said.
I have a few serious collectros I know locally that swear by it.
Has anyone ever made one of these i know it was posted years ago and I am keen to get my DIY on?