Vinyl Asylum

Welcome Licorice Pizza (LP) lovers! Setup guides and Vinyl FAQ.

Return to Vinyl Asylum

Message Sort: Post Order or Asylum Reverse Threaded

Plastic inner sleeve damage to vinyl

162.156.38.127
Posted on December 15, 2014 at 19:08:36
vinyl*junkie
Audiophile

Posts: 508
Location: Vancouver, BC
Joined: March 29, 2004
 hi, it's been a while since i have been on here but really hope someone has a solution to my problem.

i have a record that i put in an thin plastic inner sleeve which i then slid into it's original paper sleeve. for whatever reasons i had at the time there was a large sticker (that was unused and still on it's backing) that i put in between the plastic sleeve and the paper sleeve. over time, the sticker had made some chemical reaction with the plastic sleeve (it didn't stick to it) and in turn the pattern of the sticker transferred onto the vinyl via the plastic sleeve. when the needle passes through the affected area you can hear it. kind of like a hiss or dirty record sound. i tried to clean this with water, 91% alcohol and a touch of dish soap with no change in the cloudy residue on the vinyl. and the noise is still present. is there anyway to fix this!!! of course this has affected an LP that is extremely rare and was previously in MINT shape. side 1 was not affected, just side 2 that would have been facing the sticker. i am so desperate to try fixing this i am even contemplating the wood glue method but don't want to make things worse if there is a safer solution.

btw, LP in question is The Tragically Hip's "Fully Completely" 1992 original Holland pressing. yes it's tragic indeed!!!

thank you!!!
"spin the black circle!"

 

Hide full thread outline!
    ...
RE: Plastic inner sleeve damage to vinyl, posted on December 15, 2014 at 19:37:02
vinyl*junkie
Audiophile

Posts: 508
Location: Vancouver, BC
Joined: March 29, 2004



a picture of the damage....sigh!!!!
"spin the black circle!"

 

RE: Plastic inner sleeve damage to vinyl, posted on December 15, 2014 at 20:59:31
Garg0yle
Audiophile

Posts: 859
Joined: December 1, 2014
 Wood glue is probably reasonably safe, at least compared to chemicals.

Without feeling it I don't know if the record has change composition in that spot, or if it is just sticky glue on the surface.

Nice record, good luck.
△This message will self destruct in 10 seconds△

 

RE: Plastic inner sleeve damage to vinyl, posted on December 15, 2014 at 21:38:17
vinyl*junkie
Audiophile

Posts: 508
Location: Vancouver, BC
Joined: March 29, 2004
 it's not sticky at all. i fear the composition has changed. if that's so i guess that's permanent?

damn!!!
"spin the black circle!"

 

Enzyme cleaner may be worth a try /t, posted on December 16, 2014 at 05:05:25
reuben
Audiophile

Posts: 1639
Joined: September 28, 2004
 b
Dark energy? Ridiculous!
We live in an electric universe.

 

A particular formulation of plastic is the culprit, posted on December 16, 2014 at 05:26:50
vinyl1
Audiophile

Posts: 3948
Joined: October 3, 2001
 Modern plastic-lined inner sleeves are completely safe. They have a frosty, slightly crinkled appearance.

 

RE: Plastic inner sleeve damage to vinyl, posted on December 16, 2014 at 07:30:35
Garg0yle
Audiophile

Posts: 859
Joined: December 1, 2014
 Possibly. Time to try the glue I guess.

FWIW I have seen glue that was spilled on to rusty/tarnished steel, it clean it right up.

Worth a shot.
△This message will self destruct in 10 seconds△

 

RE: Plastic inner sleeve damage to vinyl, posted on December 16, 2014 at 09:15:43
jazzthusiast
Audiophile

Posts: 3078
Location: SE Texas
Joined: July 9, 2002
 In extreme cases where adhesive is on the record & nothing else works, I've had success with goo gone. About a dozen yrs ago I found a Gerry Mulligan Qrt album on world pacific label that had about half or more of one side with some kind of adhesive crap on it. I couldn't pass it up, only 75 cents at a thrift. The stuff seemed impervious to all usual cleaning methods. I thot what the hell, give goo gone a try. It worked! The record too this day still sounds great. DISCLAIMER: I have a record cleaning machine and thoroughly cleaned the record with reg cleaning solution & vacuumed several times after the goo gone treatment. Try at your own risk. No guarantees. YMMV. yada yada. It's a last ditch effort only, when in a nothin to lose situation.

If the vinyl has been chemically etched or whatever, probably not gonna salvage.

Jim
"If less is more, just think how much more more would be!" - Frasier Crane.
-----------------------------
Russco Studio Pro B/Syntec S220/Empire 2000E/3-Technics SL1210mkII/DL103R/Yam C-4 pre-Yam M-4 amp-KLH 5 spkrs-Outlaw sub

 

RE: A particular formulation of plastic is the culprit, posted on December 16, 2014 at 09:27:49
Bry
Manufacturer

Posts: 5610
Location: S. Florida
Joined: July 21, 2005
 Yep. Additives from the sleeve have transferred to the surface of the record. The good news is I haven't noticed extra noise on LPs this has happened to so I don't think the discoloration goes very deep.

 

RE: Plastic inner sleeve damage to vinyl, posted on December 16, 2014 at 12:10:14
shellhead
Audiophile

Posts: 5
Joined: December 16, 2014
 Ohh.. I know that look well, it's hazing caused by contact with the plastic inner or the sticker (if it's a plastic sticker like those made to attach to the inside of windows). It produces a light hissing noise on playback. If it doesn't clean off with isopropyl, I'm afraid you're stuck with it, the vinyl has suffered an irreversible chemical reaction.

I've lost a good few LPs thanks to those old pvc/plastic inners. My advice to anyone is to check your collections and get your records out of those sleeves as quickly as possible! I think it was in the early 1970s that record companies mostly stopped using them and switched over to poly-lined inners (the slightly more opaque, frosty material) which are completely safe from my experience, and those kind of sleeves (either paper-backed or "nude") are what you can buy new today.

The old-style inners don't always cause hazing; I find plenty of old records that came with them and are still perfect. It's just not worth the risk though. Buy the modern inners in bulk and swap them all out!

BTW, that certainly is a rare record! My commiserations :-(

 

RE: Plastic inner sleeve damage to vinyl, posted on December 16, 2014 at 12:29:33
shellhead
Audiophile

Posts: 5
Joined: December 16, 2014
 If it's any consolation, that LP was reissued last month, for the first time on vinyl since 1992...

 

RE: Plastic inner sleeve damage to vinyl, posted on December 16, 2014 at 17:46:02
rbolaw
 I say, don't give up yet. Even if the damage can't be entirely removed visibly, cleaning with the right solvent might significantly improve sq. I have a few LPs with that plastic imprint problem, but it isn't that common ime. I've never tried to get rid of it.

 

RE: Plastic inner sleeve damage to vinyl, posted on December 16, 2014 at 18:12:29
vinyl*junkie
Audiophile

Posts: 508
Location: Vancouver, BC
Joined: March 29, 2004
 funny thing is that i bought the re-issue and the pressing is horrible! lots of pit marks all over the vinyl and i have gone through 3 copies. i pulled out my 1992 Holland pressing cause i was thinking to myself "well at least i still have this awesome pressing from 1992".

D'OH!
"spin the black circle!"

 

I have the same problem - hope you find a good solution!, posted on December 16, 2014 at 18:23:54
troporobo
Audiophile

Posts: 1648
Location: Manila
Joined: June 6, 2003
 I have a complete set of Keith Jarrett's Sun Bear Concerts that some genius re-sleeved with an oddball plastic material that did the same thing to each side of all 10 records. I could not pass up the set though, and it is playable, but I can't get rid of the background noise.

 

RE: Enzyme cleaner may be worth a try /t, posted on December 16, 2014 at 19:37:23
vinyl*junkie
Audiophile

Posts: 508
Location: Vancouver, BC
Joined: March 29, 2004
 can use recommend an enzyme cleaner. i haven't even heard of the stuff! LOL!
"spin the black circle!"

 

this is the exact type of sticker to ruin the vinyl, posted on December 16, 2014 at 19:39:47
vinyl*junkie
Audiophile

Posts: 508
Location: Vancouver, BC
Joined: March 29, 2004
 yep, the sticker is the kind that sticks to the window, no glue.
"spin the black circle!"

 

This link will bore you to tears, but there's a lot of useful experience, posted on December 16, 2014 at 19:44:58
alaskahiatt
Audiophile

Posts: 7508
Joined: December 9, 2000
Contributor
  Since: November 1, 2005
 No one seems to know how to get rid of the wavy hazing on a record, but I finally concluded that it was heat and using PVC inner sleeves that probably caused the problem. I now use only polypropylene inner and outer sleeves after cleaning used LPs. Many of the posts indicate that polypropylene has caused no long term problems.

When I stopped reading all the posts, I never saw any comments by a chemist that might confirm the interaction of a PVC sleeve on a PVC record.

 

hmmm link doesn't seem to be working., posted on December 16, 2014 at 20:29:47
vinyl*junkie
Audiophile

Posts: 508
Location: Vancouver, BC
Joined: March 29, 2004
 is the link broken?
"spin the black circle!"

 

It worked for me earlier (I got to page 9), then died; it seems to be working again now. )MT(, posted on December 16, 2014 at 21:58:03
J. S. Bach
Audiophile

Posts: 9578
Location: Chester, SC
Joined: November 28, 2001
Contributor
  Since: June 29, 2004

Later Gator,
Dave
Find more about Weather in Chester, SC

 

I obtained the link just with Google, but you might have to log into, posted on December 16, 2014 at 22:13:33
alaskahiatt
Audiophile

Posts: 7508
Joined: December 9, 2000
Contributor
  Since: November 1, 2005
 vinylengine.com, if you are a member.

 

What's also scary is this Wikipedia link about vinyl formulation and plasticizers, posted on December 16, 2014 at 22:21:42
alaskahiatt
Audiophile

Posts: 7508
Joined: December 9, 2000
Contributor
  Since: November 1, 2005
 nt

 

RE: Enzyme cleaner may be worth a try /t, posted on December 17, 2014 at 03:59:36
reuben
Audiophile

Posts: 1639
Joined: September 28, 2004
 You can find it at the KAB website. It works on anything organic.

-reub
Dark energy? Ridiculous!
We live in an electric universe.

 

What's also scary is this Wikipedia link about vinyl formulation and plasticizers, posted on December 17, 2014 at 19:01:00
alaskahiatt
Audiophile

Posts: 7508
Joined: December 9, 2000
Contributor
  Since: November 1, 2005
 nt

 

Thanks a pantload for that link..., posted on December 18, 2014 at 11:03:23
Neil49
Audiophile

Posts: 8850
Location: Northern Virginia
Joined: June 13, 2003
 Now all of my PVC clothing is going to the nearest donation dumpster. Well, maybe not my underpants. I doubt anyone would be willing to wear them again.

 

RE: Plastic inner sleeve damage to vinyl, posted on December 19, 2014 at 10:20:30
shellhead
Audiophile

Posts: 5
Joined: December 16, 2014
 I can believe that. Reissues these days are pretty much a lottery. If the problem's not a deteriorated master tape, it's a botched remastering, or non-existent QC at plants working flat out beyond capacity using over-pressed stampers with low-grade materials to maximise profit.

For every reissue created with care and attention to detail, there are 20 cash-ins with one or all of the above flaws. It's never fun to replace a well-played 50 year old record with a reissue that sounds worse and is actually noisier!

 

Page processed in 0.032 seconds.

[ Top Top of Page ] [ Contact Us ] [ Support/Wish List ] [ Copyright © 2024, Audio Asylum, all rights reserved ]
[ General ] [ Speakers ] [ Tubes ] [ Vinyl ] [ Digital ] [ Hi-Rez ] [ Video Asylum ] [ Cables ] [ Tweaks/DIY ] [ Music ] [ Films ]