fixing seam splits on record jackets

Discussion in 'Music Corner' started by ggergm, Oct 8, 2020.

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  1. ggergm

    ggergm another spring another baseball season Thread Starter

    Location:
    Minnesota
    Split seams in album covers are as unavoidable as a hangover after drinking tequila. They happen in shipping phonograph records as well as through regular use. Personally, they don't bother me a lot. I've owned one of the records in this post for nearly 20 years and its top seam has always been trashed. Because fixing split seams is actually a relatively easy job, I'll do it when the spirit moves me. This thread is to demonstrate how you, too, can fix split seams.

    Beyond what you probably already have lying around your house or apartment like scissors, a utility knife and marking pens, you only need two things. They are sheets of paper with an adhesive backing, like what's used for labels, and white glue. I have a box of Avery 8½ x 11 inch blank adhesive sheets and some carpenter's glue.

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    The first album I fixed is the one I've owned since the early 2000s. I bought it at a used record store in San Mateo, California. An early copy of the Kingston Trio's first album, a record that's always been mono, the vinyl was wonderful but the cover was damaged. It's top seam was almost gone. In fact, the easiest way to fix the seam is to break it all the way, cutting it carefully with a knife.

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    From an Avery sheet, I cut a strip of paper 11" long and maybe ¾" wide. I also cut a small piece to cover the entire 12" seam. I bent the paper into little tents with the sticky side out. Removing the backing, I slid the tents into the jacket, lining their peaks up with the cover's edge. Keeping everything carefully aligned, I pressed down on the cover, sealing the seam.

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    I could have stopped there. Often I do. But in this case, the paper from the cover that used to cover the seam was mostly still in good shape. To keep it attached, I ran a thin bead of white glue down the seam. Using my fingers and fingernails, I worked the glue into the seam and behind the paper. I rubbed the seam with my fingers again and again to get everything to seal up completely. Excess glue was wiped away with a damp paper towel. With just a few minutes work, I had a new, intact seam that felt solid to the touch and held the record in the jacket.

    As long as I was fixing up this album, it seemed logical to use lighter fluid to get rid of the pricing sticker on the cover. If you've never used lighter fluid for this job, the secret is to let the fluid do the work. You probably need to apply the fluid multiple times, soaking the sticker in it for a while. The sticker will come loose. If you try to peal the label off, it will at least leave a mark and may tear the cover. By letting the lighter fluid dissolve the glue, it often leaves no mark, as you can see here.

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    end of post 1 of 3
     
  2. ggergm

    ggergm another spring another baseball season Thread Starter

    Location:
    Minnesota
    continued from previous post

    This Dave Brubeck album from the late 1950s has the common split seam at the edge of the jacket. It runs nearly halfway down the cover.

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    I used a knife to get the paper tent in place. Depending on what needs to be done, I will place the paper on either the knife's cutting edge or spine. Since here I could work the tent with my fingers for much of the broken seam, all the knife needed to do is place the end of the tent beyond the split. Once things were aligned, I squeezed the cover together to mount the tent. I used a little white glue on the seam but it didn't work as well as with the Kingston Trio album. The paper was very dry. Little pieces were flaking off all the time.

    A very common seam split comes from shipping records in their jackets. The edge of the LP breaks through the seam during transit. I have a Phish 2 LP album with this problem. There is one mistake in the following pictures. The tent on the knife is way too long. A much shorter one was sufficient to cover the split seam. I made that change after I took the picture.

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    The process was similar to the one with the Dave Brubeck album but more tricky. It's essential that the knife get the tent at least close to its target. You can, and probably want to, reach in with your hands and use your fingers to fully set the tent in place. Don't be surprised if your first attempt is a failure and you have to rip the tent out. It can be interesting to get the tent exactly where it needs to be. I had to do one of these seams twice. I almost always need to make a new tent for the second try.

    These kind of seam splits are where the white glue really pays off. Working it into the split after the tent is in place can make the split practically go way. You'll still feel it a bit but it can be hard to see. Black ink on a black jacket helps. Here are a really good before and after pictures of this Phish album.

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    I missed the stampede to buy the MoFi 45 RPM version of the Aretha Franklin album, Aretha's Gold. I had an original pressing but this remaster sounds so good, it quickly sold out and started going for crazy money on the secondary market. I found a guy selling one for a reasonable price on our forum but it had multiple seam splits. That's right up my alley. I'll show you only the two worst here. They are similar to the Phish ones and were fixed the same way. The repair turned out well.

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    end of post 2 of 3
     
    Last edited: Oct 8, 2020
    black sheriff, GerryO, Sean and 5 others like this.
  3. ggergm

    ggergm another spring another baseball season Thread Starter

    Location:
    Minnesota
    continued from previous post

    Let's fix one more record. A year or two ago I bought an early copy of Fleetwood Mac's second album, English Rose. The vinyl was in immaculate shape but the jacket was trashed. It had seam splits on its top and spine. I used two knives to show you this. With the knives sticking into the jacket, the cover picture of Mick Fleetwood almost looks appropriate. Almost.

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    Fixing a spine seam split is a challenge. Sometimes the best thing to do is cut the spine away completely and insert the tent from the outside. It's not an ideal solution but it can be the only way to get the job done. Here I did it from the inside, using multiple pieces of card stock to push the tent in place.

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    The trick is you have to get the tent exactly where you want it with your tool. You can't use your fingers to massage the tent in place without causing the spine seam to further split. The card stock adds the extra challenge of using an 11" tool in a 12" slot. You just have to be confident and use a firm hand to shove the tent into place. Even then, this jacket took two attempts to get the spine splice right.

    I really like the way the jacket came out. Here are before and after pics of both the spine and the top seam splits. The piece of paper sticking out the top of the jacket happened by accident. It was in the sleeve and popped out as I was setting up the picture. It made it easy to see how big that seam split was.

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    So why bother with all of this? Seam splits don't affect how good the record sounds or how easy it is to use. They are a cosmetic thing, mostly. I fully understand that attitude and apply it to many of my records, although there's another side of the story. I find it rewarding to bring a record jacket back to its original shape. Let's return to the first record I showed you, the Kingston Trio album. Here it is with the LP back in the jacket, ready to go into a plastic sleeve and onto the shelf. This record is from 1958. Look at it here, with its seam fixed and the pricing sticker removed. It's in great shape. You can still even read the album title and catalog number on top of the sleeve. You well know that area used to be torn apart. That's why I fix seam splits.

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  4. Stone Turntable

    Stone Turntable Independent Head

    Location:
    New Mexico USA
    Nice work!

    I don't fix split seams, I just keep the album jacket in a new outer sleeve and refrain from putting the inner-sleeved LP inside the split cover. The goal is to not make the damage worse.
     
    kt66brooklyn and ggergm like this.
  5. cjefferys

    cjefferys Forum Resident

    Good idea, they look good. I'll second the greatness of lighter fluid, I've been using it to safely remove old price stickers and adhesives from various types of collectible packaging for years, it works wonderfully and safely.
     
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  6. Strat-Mangler

    Strat-Mangler Personal Survival Daily Record-Breaker

    Location:
    Toronto
    I remember we discussed you putting this up, quite some time ago. So glad you did! Amazingly detailed instructions!

    Bravo and thanks for sharing. :righton:
     
    ggergm likes this.
  7. mbrownp1

    mbrownp1 Forum Resident

    I don't get hangovers anymore.
     
  8. Gregalor

    Gregalor Forum Resident

    Location:
    Los Angeles
    ggergm and zphage like this.
  9. Excellent tutorial and work!

    I'm a "seam fixer" myself; album covers being IMO part of the whole point of collecting and playing RECORDS, one might as well fix them when needed to be able to handle them at will, and get the maximum fun out of the experience...

    But I must say that while I used to use backing tape myself before glueing the seams, at some point I abandoned this additional step because I'm not sure that it's really necessary to begin with... Maybe at some point in time, my non-backed glued seams will tear open again, and I'll realize that the tape WAS necessary after all... ??

    At the moment, "project glue" (dries translucid) is all I use, finished up with a warm water, clean swipe. But I let dry overnight under a firm press, being careful never to crush anything such as the spine. For spines I press with light paper clips.

    ...About the Ronsonol on the tougher labels... I've found that letting the fluid soaking bath stand under some tight cup or cover for as long as necessary is the best way to let it work for you, since it tends to evaporate so quickly. Even then, in my experience very old labels of certain kinds will refuse to lift properly, so I just forget about them.
     
    Last edited: Oct 8, 2020
    ggergm likes this.
  10. BEAThoven

    BEAThoven Forum Resident

    Location:
    New Jersey
    For some reason, and I just can't help myself, after I use lighter fluid to remove those stickers and their residue, I just can't help throwing a match on the LP, watch the big flare up, making a mean smirk, and then dramatically walking away with my back to the fire.
     
    GerryO, GoodKitty and aphexj like this.
  11. Brendan K

    Brendan K Forum Resident

    Location:
    California
    I've used a similar method with tenting index cards and used a strong glue along with a clip to get the glue to harden and stick to the inside of the jacket. Completely invisible and returns the sleeve to a much less noticably battered state.

    This is a great solution. Thanks for sharing!
     
    ggergm likes this.
  12. marysdad

    marysdad Forum Resident

    Location:
    No. Texas
    Great tutorial.

    I put all of my records in MoFi inner sleeves, so save any paper sleeves that are still bright white to cut up as tenting for repairing seam splits. Most paper sleeves are very yellowed, so I toss them. If a paper sleeve is 30 years old and is still white, I figure that paper is pretty much acid-free.
     
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  13. roverb

    roverb Forum Resident

    Location:
    603
    10/10 excellent thread - thank you @ggergm !
     
    kt66brooklyn likes this.
  14. Folknik

    Folknik Forum Resident

    Scotch tape works just fine for me. Quick, easy, and transparent.
     
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