Still, what are PVC sleeves and what kinds of records would you find in them? Storage and environmental conditions definitely matter. I used to get a kick out of people who would leave cassettes and CD's in their vehicles and couldn't understand why they got damaged or would never play right again. I remember frequently seeing wads of cassette tape stuck on an island medium or blowing across the roadway that looked like the Blob from the movie of the same name. I never had a cassette go bad and only one CD. They were only in my vehicles for short times when I wasn't also in the vehicle. Then, I never left any recorded media in a vehicle during hot weather. I did leave a video cassette in a vehicle during 100+ degree weather which a customer had loaned me and the case melted. It hadn't even made it home with me to watch. When I did make it home, I sacrificed another video cassette for it's case and it played just fine. When I was going to give it back to my customer, he said, never mind, forget it, I have a bunch more.
Not sure about the white streaks. But the PVC gasses literally chemically react with the vinyl and cause damage. I saw an LP once which appeared to show signs of bubbles forming in the vinyl grove walls after who knows how many years of storage in one of those horrid sleaves.
Yes. Unfortunately for my affected records, it was the humidity that started the chemical reaction as these records in PVC sleeves had been stored away in a room with no ventilation and high humidity.
Me too…. Some of them are still somewhat playable depending on how bad the damage was. Unfortunately the cost of these records have gone up like 3-4 times what I paid for them originally, so it’s unlikely I can replace them.
Any of the standard polyethylene or polypropylene sleeves sold by companies like Sleeve City or Bags Unlimited will be fine.
Is this use of pvc outer sleeves a British thing? I’ve never come across them in the use. From the early 80s all of mine are polyethylene. Last 3 years all are polypropylene or polyethylene. I’ve never even seen pvc outer sleeves (good thing!).
This is what I use, never had an issue. Japanese 12" Vinyl Resealable Outer Sleeves (100 Pack) Made of the Highest Quality and Thickest Mylar! The Ultimate Protection for your precious LP collection! If You Want The Best, These Are It!!! These Crystal Clear 2mil Thick Mylar Outer Sleeves will comfortably fit single and double gatefold LPs!
I can only sympathise as well. I think that many of us here escaped a similar fate only by sheer luck.
I inadvertently bought 50 vinyl (PVC) outer sleeves - sold under the name Jimmy Hats - 12 Inch Oversized - Premium Outer Record Sleeves - Groove Vinyl when I got back into record. Recognizing the error of my ways - all were replaced shortly thereafter, and well before any damage done. I have settled into using these now - Vinyl Storage Solutions
PVC sleeves are thicker and less flexible than the safe kinds. Usually, it will almost look like the seams are stitched or melted together. They sometimes have a stronger chemical smell to them. They will often have a flap opening on them.
So... I was just going thru my old 7" singles.. which I rarely play, but I still like that they are in my collection, some of them are kinda rare (Such as Rush very first single). And noticed that some of them was damaged, I am guessing because of this PVC. This has never happened to me before. So has anyone come up with a idea to fix the problem?
I’m finding it hard to contemplate this. I would only risk this on a record I didn’t want. And then think about it. I really wonder how this can remove the sound that the pvc leaching causes. And I'd want to hear the results first hand.
Meguiars Product Ingredients | Meguiar's Number 3 on that list - alumina (aluminum oxide) - abrasive. Also note the light aromatic hydrocarbons (solvent) just below that, and the stack of fragrances further down that list. I'm not a chemist, but I really don't think this is going to do your records (or your stylus) any favors. The other chemical he uses has a similar composition. Will it shine up the lands on the record surface and make it look glossy? Sure. Will it reverse groove damage? I'll wager it won't. Note the video didn't bother to play the disc before cleaning, raising the question of how much damage there was to the playing surfaces to begin with.
He's not trying to remove groove damage but the chemical reaction on the surface of the record. Not too crazy IMHO as the abrasive would help remove and smooth the surface damage and if the record is already damaged by the "fogging" I don't see what the big risk would be.
Sounds plausible, the repair in the video. Basically a mildly abrasive polish out. I’d do a deeper clean in a Spin Clean afterword. You don’t want that gunk on your stylus.
Looks like it could be worth an attempt but I’m more worried about what it would leave on my stylus. Maybe I could try using this Plastic X on my vacuum cleaning setup? And then clean it thoroughly after that. Maybe even do an ultrasonic clean as the final step to eliminate as much risk to my stylus as possible
