Warning to all record collectors!!! (outer bag/inner sleeve concerns)*

More additions to the list (I'm getting annoyed at this point)
All of my beautiful, expensive 180 gm Nirvana reissues
Bleach 2 LP white vinyl pink and sticky
Nevermind ORG blue vinyl clear not sticky (yet)
In Utero ORG light yellow vinyl pink and sticky
MTV Unplugged ORG red vinyl clear and not sticky (yet)

 

Rice paper for the inners, sleeve city poly for the outers. All you need to know. Replace whatever junk that your records supplied with

 

So it seems like this news would impact the ongoing David Bowie 7" picture disc series. Do you leave the records sealed in the see-through PVC sleeves and watch them fog up over time, or do you slit open the label and put the records in paper sleeves?

Also the 'Side by Side' 7" records that are featured on RSD. They're usually color vinyl. I seem to recall some complaints about the clear sleeve leeching on some of the splatter vinyl releases.

 

Another addition to the list:
The recent Aerosmith reissues - the first 4 are pink - the other 3 are in new-style clear, glossy, much thinner plastic.
Grrr...

 

I've had a few so scratched up, you'd thought a DJ had them for 20 years in heavy rotation. It seems I've seen less of these scratches lately.

I replace all inner sleeves unless they white paper/poly, Mofi, QRP, etc. All paper, all RTI, all pic sleeves get replaced.

It's crazy that the $50 Music Matters lps use these.

 

Not just that, but any $50-60 45 rpm reissue that's pressed at RTI has them. They don't use the sticky ones any more, but for a while they used really thin clear inner sleeves that were so tight it was hard to get the album out without touching the surface or having a mishap. The ORG Peter Paul and Mary reissues have those -- why RTI? Why double down? Just give up already. Are quality inners really that much more expensive?

 

Most shop I see these days have the thickest PVC covers possible. I have never had a problem with thick PVC outers ever, platters always perfect and hey'protects and compliments the album sleeves brilliantly.

 

So that's the RSD 2013/14 reissues? I think I have a couple of those.

 

Hey just use whatever you like. In fact replace all your sleeves with PVC ones. People are just reporting their experience, not making it up.

 

First time I heard about it is in this forum. I plan to get more heavy thick PVC covers for the new vinyl horde I'm bringing in. Great smell ' n ' glossy too, does the trick..protects the records inside and out.

 

I suggest you start at the beginning of this thread and read all about PVC covers. That is of course assuming your comments aren't meant as a joke.

 

I suggest you look at my earlier post on Oct 18th.

 

Well this thread was a troubling read for Halloween!

Fortunately I don't have loads of those thick outer sleeves but unfortunately one seems to be a perfect example of this: my 2000-ish reissue of Björk's Debut which is well fogged and pretty hissy-sounding. Although I'm not overly upset as it never had incredible sonics, being a bit too long for a single LP. I'm just thankful my 45rpm Homogenic that was sat next to it in its own thick PVC sleeve is OK as those ones seem to go for silly money these days.

Just bought some MOFI sleeves to replace the plastic inners I've got, I was always a little suspicious of those but can't say I noticed them getting anything on them after the initial clean. Guess I'll have to re-clean them all now before transferring them though.

 

It's just the matte pink ones. They feel sticky to the touch. They can vary as to how much residue they leave, but should all be replaced IMO. The ones that are shiny (pink or clear) seem fine, though they have some sharp edges that you may not want to risk. I generally keep those unless they are too small, which some are.

 

Ah, OK. I think a couple of the Classic Records issues I have might have those more matte inner sleeves but I haven't got those out in a while. Probably worth getting rid of the other plastic-y inners anyway regardless I guess, at least I mightn't have to give them all an extra clean so that's good news!

 

I think in the UK PVC is less affected by climatic conditions. As I mentioned before had a number of albums in these for over 40 years and no damage to outer sleeves and records. However have removed them as a precaution as they have a hint of yellow and some bubbling though the later was noticeable several years ago. Also removed newer gatefold PVC sleeves that are 5 to 10 years old. These were to protect a number of heavy card sleeves from Classic and Warner. No visual problems or any deterioration in the PVC. Anyway better safe than sorry. Now have to order some sleeves to replace those RTI pink/clear inners. So next job is finding all the records that use those.

 

I agree, I remember reading where Joe Harley (Music Matters) said he didn't see any problems with the inners used by RTI and I'm sure he cares because everything else was done to perfection. I wonder if they were better at preventing seam splits with heavy vinyl. Regardless, a $50 lp should use the Ultimate Audiophile Sleeve from Sleeve City, I think they are .50 cents each to the normal consumer.

 

You may be right -- the stiffer ones may be better for shipping, or even for the workers putting the albums into the covers, I get that. But those really thin, flimsy inners they have been using wouldn't offer either of those advantages, which makes me wonder all over again.

 

No flimsy plastic outers, hard PVC storing or nowt.

 

I had two RSD releases where the plastic sleeve literally stuck to the record and I had to peel them off the vinyl. The vinyl now looks like **** and sounds awful. Why release a product like this? One was the Queen single on pink vinyl and the other was an Otis/Aretha single. They were not cheap either, complete waste of time.

 

This is another reason why I think QRP is becoming the best U.S. pressing plant and many of their lps have the poly QRP sleeve (mofi lookalike).

 

Just an off the wall thought -
Since some of us have experienced the horror of seeing the hazy, whitish, etc effects of the chemical breakdown manifest on our most treasured, rare vinyl....
Why not try an easy, inexpensive, painless experiment:
Leave your unloved, very common, even warped defective vinyl unsleeved and unbagged, right next to your most valuable vinyl? They can be the the figurative "canary in the coal mine".
Hopefully the floating offensive chemical emissions will follow the path of least resistance, just attack the uncovered vinyl and leave all others unaffected.
If this works as planned, and when you see the chemical accumulation on the naked defective vinyl, replace it with another unloved LP, and swap out some plastic sleeves that are possible catalysts with newer ones.

Since the main issue is that our most valued vinyl is being destroyed over time despite our best efforts, at least this method may hopefully give us some warning when the emissions start to reach a certain level of damage...and when it occurs, it's almost negligible, not expensive, and pain free.

 

You could spend a lifetime monitoring that! As mentioned already, records stored in PVC containing products may or may not be affected - even stored in it over decades. I have many 40-50 year old albums in their original poly lined inner sleeves that remain clean and shiny 'like new.' (whether these linings are PVC or not is not always clear, some are the clearly a safe polypropylene).
I also know that a number of recent reissues have horrible inners that should not be used to store the record in. PVC, like any other plastics, are made of different ingredients - they are not all alike. One needs to be conscious of this but not overly reactive. The good thing is that non-PVC quality inners are readily available.

 

Yes, I agree what I suggested is a "let's wait and see what happens" proposition, but since we as a whole are becoming aware of the issue, it seems we'll be doing just that - carefully monitoring our records and whether they are affected, for the rest of our lives! So there's no avoiding our increased diligence to avoid this vinyl disease.
I was only suggesting a possible option to assist with the monitoring of our collections. Although highly recommended, some of us may not have the money, nor time to replace the sleeves in our collection.

Should everyone swap out their LP sleeves to the ones that do not emit the gasses? Absolutely.
Is my suggestion flawed? Possibly.
Will my suggestion work? Maybe not.
However, it's very cheap, very easy to do, and takes no more time than de-sleeving a Huey Lewis or Hootie and the Blowfish LP.

 

Whats substance deteriorates and gives off gases? Literally everything. Wood and wood pulp (paper), glues, plastics....
When causes outgassing to speed up or slow down? Environmental conditions and the stability of the material.

Its certain PVC's that pose a potential problem. That, and how you store your collection. Case by case basis for me. Discarding original inners on old records is bad. If in doubt, save it and store the record in a new audio sleeve.

Heavy PVC library type album covers - not good.
Soaps, cleaners, and residue left on records and/or poly lined inners- not good.
Some recent reissue inner sleeves like the aforementioned pink tinted ones? Not good.