HiFi & Music Wojtek on 14 Dec 2006 11:46 pm
Vinyl records: Collecting 101 - part 3
You can’t imagine how many times I’ve tried to start this next part. I don’t know why, but I guess I’ve been suffering from “writer’s block” again. Anyway…
Today we’ll concentrate on taking care of our record collection…
1. Storing vinyl records
ALWAYS keep your vinyl records in a vertical standing position.
NEVER stack them on top of each other!
Horizontal stacking can do serious damage to the vinyl discs, mainly because of the weight pressure that the records on top impose on the rest of the stack. It could also damage the album covers.
The proper way is to keep them on a shelf, a rack or something like that. LPs have a fixed size, so it shouldn’t be a problem. Some people put their collection on whole shelves (like 100+ records per shelf) and some divide their shelves into small “boxes” in order to further reduce the pressure that the records induce on themselves.
Another issue is keeping your records in a proper environment. The basement is a big no-no in most cases, because of the level of moisture found there (if you’re one of those people who adapt their basements as living rooms then it should be OK). It’s best to keep the records in a place where you have approx. normal room temperature and humidity levels and if you need to store them not in your living space, try the attic. It’s always better than a typical basement where the conditions are simply too damp, but if your attic accumulates a lot of heat, i.e. during summer then it also won’t be a good storage place. As for temperature issues in general, avoid having your collection exposed to direct sunlight, because you can easily warp your record thanks to that. You should also try to make sure that your records aren’t exposed to cigarette smoke, as the nicotine in it can also partly damage vinyl surfaces. So, to sum up vinyl records storage: heat and dampness are vinyl’s greatest environmental enemies. Keep that in mind.
2. Record preservation
I’ll need to divide this part into 2 subparts, as it’s crucial to keep things proper on both ends of this topic.
The general rule of thumb for records is: ALWAYS handle your records by using the edge and label (center) areas. Avoid touching the grooves with your fingers.
a) Record cleaning
In order to keep your records collection in tip-top shape, you need to keep them clean. Dust, soil, so called “finger oils”, etc. are the worst enemies of your records.
There are 2 ways of cleaning a record: the dry and wet method.
The dry method’s all about brushing off the dust and small particles off your records. In order to do that, I advise you to get a special record brush made of carbon-fiber, velvet pad (some turntable companies like Reloop also manufacture those) or a record cleaning cloth which in most cases is simply a microfiber cloth (you can find those even under kitchen cleaning appliances).
As for the brushes, I personally prefer the velvet pad type, because after a year or so of use, the carbon-fibers tend to fall off the brush (sometimes even onto your records and then they’re hard to get out as they’re “micro thin”) and tend to get all mangled up. Velvet pads are easier to clean too.
How to use your record cleaning brush or cloth ?
Most people do it like this:
1. Put the record on the turntable and let it spin (play it without putting the needle on the record). You can also manually rotate the turntable’s platter in most cases (some turntables prevent you from doing that or get their auto-return/auto-start mechanisms locked-up for example).
2. Gently press the brush or cloth into the record’s groove.
3. After a few rotations, sweep the brush away and scrape the collected dust from the brush (use a credit-card, a brush-holder or something similar).
4. Repeat the process until you can’t see any remaining dust on the record’s side, then flip the record and do the same with the second side.
And that’s it. Bear in mind though to always do this in a well lit place, because it’s pretty hard to spot dust in the dark.
Some people also dry-clean their records not on their turntables, but on some solid and soft surfaces, like a clean, lint-free cloth or a sheet of plastic, but I personally recommend the turntable method for most cases.
Now let’s talk about the wet method. It’s called “wet”, because it means to employ some kind of fluid in order to wash your records (Yes, you CAN wash records).
There are a lot of ways for wet-cleaning your records. There are companies who market “special record cleaning fluids” and there are also known ways to make your own “special fluid” at home.
It’s your call if you’ll buy fluids or make them, but if you intend to buy, I need to advise you that those flasks in most cases aren’t cheap (I for example would never pay $10 for a small 4 oz. flask, but there are also better deals out there so keep a look-out for those too).
As for making your own record cleaning fluid, distilled water is your best bet. Some collectors say that a 70% isoprophyl alcohol solution also gives good results, but there’s also a camp of enthusiasts that say never to use an alcohol based fluid on your records. Some also mix those fluids in order to have a better, “special mixture”, for example mixing some dish washing fluid with distilled water is said to do wonders for vinyl records.
I can’t personally recommend any method, because I haven’t done any extensive wet-cleaning myself yet (only tried some of the mentioned methods on a few records), so I still don’t have any “personal best” solution for the wet method.
OK, now that you have a fluid, how to wash your records ?
Some people dip their velvet pad record brushes in the record cleaning fluid and then use the spinning-on-turntable method.
Some people take a cloth (can be microfiber or simply 100% cotton, like a white cotton T-shirt), put a some fluid on the cloth and wash the record’s grooves in a spiral form from the center to the rim.
Do not soak the record with your fluid. Just get it “wet enough” to get the dirt off.
It’s also essential to take your time with wet-cleaning and taking EXTREME caution for not getting any fluid on the record’s label, because the paper might peel off or get stained.
After the wet cleaning is done, leave the record in a plate rack or something in order for it to dry off (NEVER play a wet record! It could get disastrous for both your record AND turntable).
b) Stylus cleaning
You also need to take care of your turntable’s record stylus (it’s the small needle that extends under the cartridge that’s mounted to the turntable’s arm).
If you have access to it, you should follow the directions in your phono cartridge’s manual. If not then here’s some general steps:
Dry-clean it with a special stylus brush or any other clean, stiff, short-pile brush (be very cautious while doing this) in a rear-to-front type of manner (brush the stylus towards you).
In order to wet-clean your stylus, use a special stylus cleaning fluid with a stylus brush or use a cotton swab dipped in a 70% isoprophyl alcohol solution.
Don’t try and make your own stylus cleaning solution, because in most cases you’ll end up leaving some solution residue on the stylus.
I recommend that you wet-clean your stylus and records occasionally, but dry-clean them EVERY TIME you play a record in order to ensure long-lasting life for both your records and your stylus. Depending on the amount of time you spend on listening to records, you should also replace your stylus with a new one from time to time, as when it’s in a “worn out” state, besides putting more wear on your records, the playback sound quality also suffers.
Companies who market the special fluids and brushes also sell them as so called kits or packages, which in most cases can be lighter on the wallet then buying all the “special” components separately.
There are also special record cleaning machines which wet-clean the records for you and dry them off by using a small vacuum. They’re very expensive so I only can recommend them to people who have the cash for it. I prefer sticking to the manual methods.
3. Record covers and sleeves
In order to preserve album covers, it’s best to put them in a plastic sleeve (it’s the same idea as book collectors put sleeves on the books in order to keep the book’s cover in shape). As for the inner sleeves in which the record resides, it’s best to keep the original sleeve, but put the record in a separate plastic cover and put that in an acid-free paper record sleeve.
You can either buy such plastic and paper sleeves or make them on your own by buying whole sheets of those materials (you can buy the thick plastic in a garden shop for example).
4. Turntable related stuff
The biggest downside of vinyl is that it’s all about physical contact as the stylus rides on the grooves. Thanks to that, wear and tear from simply playing is inevitable, so in order to extend the life of your records, you need to minimize the factors that cause this. The first one is to keep your records clean. The second is to keep your turntable in proper shape.
It all goes down to proper alignment of your turntable, which amounts to: proper speed accuracy, tonearm/cartridge balance and alignment, the state of your stylus, etc.
I won’t cover these topics right now. Instead, I’ll do it in a future post series regarding turntables, so please stay tuned for that.
That’s all for today. I think that the next part will be the last one of this post series. I still haven’t decided what will be after the record collecting post series, because I’m not so sure if I’ll be able to start the turntable series right now (it’s a much more extensive topic).
PS: I’d really love to hear some comments from you guys. It boggles my mind that an average of 30 people visit my blog daily and I’ve yet to see a comment on my posts. Such reader-author interaction would be very encouraging for me and perhaps also for other readers…
UPDATE:
The 4th and last part of the series is complete. Click here to go to it.
on 20 Dec 2006 at 2:25 pm 1.Dan said …
Here’s a comment for ya! =)
I’ve been reading these Collecting 101 articles from the beginning, and there’s some good info. Good info here about dry and wet cleaning.. distilled water, etc.
Thanks for sharing!
-dan
on 24 Mar 2007 at 8:02 pm 2.Dennis said …
Very nice guide. Thank you very much. Will you be writing more on replacing a stylus, because I think mine is “embedded” into the tonearm… So I don’t even know if I can replace it. Records sound ok, so far, though. Thx
on 04 Jun 2007 at 7:43 am 3.max bortnick said …
Great advise,,,this 87 year old has been doing EXACTLY the methods you descibe so well……with one exception; have always cleaned my stylus AWAY from me!!!!After all,if you reason it out, the record groove move AWAY,not toward the stylus…or am I just an old Jazz LP aficionado,who does’nt know back from front!!!!!!
Take Care & Stay Healthy;max b
on 01 Jul 2007 at 11:44 am 4.Wojtek said …
Yes Dennis, I’m planning on writing about replacing cartridges and styluses, but you have to know that these tasks differ from turntable and arm design. Some manufacturers favored the “embedded” tonearm design like your turntable and some liked the more open approach with the use of a universal headshell.
on 01 Jul 2007 at 11:50 am 5.Wojtek said …
Thanks Max. I appreciate your kind words and I’m happy that I’m giving good advice to you guys :). As for the stylus cleaning direction, I guess it has something to do with dirt accumulating across the cantilever and that’s why it’s recommended to clean it from back to front, in order to get all the dirt out. Also, I think that by cleaning the stylus with your method Max, you risk damaging the cantilever, because it would be pretty easy to bend it by mistake (it also depends on the kind of stylus and cantilever, some are quite stiff). Take care.
on 11 Jul 2007 at 3:51 am 6.Mike said …
You suggest THE ATTIC! as a storage area?!? I don’t know where you live but I wouldn’t put even my least favorite record in my hot ass attic! Temps can reach upwards of 200+ degrees in an attic! Just like moisture, we all know the other big enemy of records is HEAT! Other than that your info was great!-)
on 11 Jul 2007 at 11:02 am 7.Wojtek said …
I live in Poland and over here attics aren’t that hot, even in the summer. Must be the difference between European and American house building styles. Anyway, you’re right, if one’s got a “hot ass” attic like you do then it’s definitely a no-no. I’ll correct the info. I’m glad that you liked the rest of it.
on 05 Apr 2008 at 11:17 am 8.Ged said …
Hi.
I love these articles, really enjoying all this info. I do have some great advice to add to the above. First of all, please don’t shoot me down in flames because, when I’ve spoken to some people in the past about this in person, they’ve nearly fallen over backwards with shock and horror!
This advice concentrates more on Vinyl RESTORATION rather than care. If your vinyl is in great shape to start with and you’re the kind of person who like me, really takes care when handling and playing vinyl then obviously your discs should only ever need an occasional dusting. But I’m an avid collector and sometimes I have to take what I can get, not everything I own was bought new.
This may be a long story, but whatever, you can always stop if you get bored!
A couple of years ago, I put my mind to finishing one of my collections by acquiring some rarer and expensive releases that are scarce and hard to find. I was having trouble obtaining some items for a reasonable price. So in the first resort, I decided to get what I could as collection fillers and upgrade in the future. Some of the discs included shaped picture discs from the 1980’s. A lot of them had a tendency to tarnish over time, to the point where they where brown instead of the original transparent vinyl. The first disc I picked up was a real bargain and cost me 5, when in ex condition it’s worth 70. The downside was that it had turned very brown, great condition, played OK but very ugly!
I decided to experiment. I soaked the disc in a basin of water with a small amount of bleach for about 6 hours. No result either way. When I dried the disc off it wasn’t harmed in any way, neither was it improved. So, being more determined, I doused the entire disc in neat thick bleach and left it another 6 hours, still no result, no harm - no improvement. The next thing I tried was peroxide and bleach (the mixture for bleaching hair, the stuff that actually burns skin and turns it white on contact.) Still no result! So, I rinsed off the disc and dried it. Then I played it - AND to my amazement it sounded 10 times better than before I’d put it through that entire trauma.
This experiment got me thinking and I’ve now perfected a technique for restoring badly cared for vinyl.
Over the last year or so, I’ve received some shoddy goods. Sleeves all great but occasionally the vinyl has been badly handled, dirty, covered in finger prints, gritty and dusty. When discs are like this, just very dirty but don’t appear to be scratched I’ve come to the conclusion that any kind of rubbing, wiping or contact with anything at all in an attempt to clean it would result in damage, crackles at least, deep scratches at worst.
So my solution is this:
I have a round plastic basin that is just the right size for a 12″ disc. I also have an adjustable nozzle on my tap. I coat the entire disc on both sides with thick neat bleach and let it sit for 2 minutes. I then float it on the surface of the water in the basin which is 3 quarters full, turn on the water and angle the flow onto the disc so that it spins the disc. I leave it spinning in the flow of water for a few minutes and then turn the disc over and leave it to spin again for a few minutes. Take the disc out by the edges and give it a bit of a shake and wobble to get rid of excess water. In extreme cases I’ve been absolutely stunned at the amount of grit and dirt left in the bottom of the basin, even when it wasn’t visible before cleaning.
The next step. I lay the disc on a flat towel over a sturdy table. I take a micro fibre cloth and fold it twice, wrap it over my vacuum cleaner’s upholstery attachment (the flat kind with the velvet strips) switch on the vacuum cleaner whilst keeping a firm grip on the wadded cloth. I then suck out all the water in a circular motion on both sides. The water and any remaining particles are sucked into the cloth and the record is then dry and beautifully polished.
I swear by this method. I must have done it over a dozen times. In most cases the vinyl regains it’s ‘Like New’ look with the shine and luster that a new record has. I would say on average that the sound quality is improved hugely. It’s my theory that a lot of noise and crackles you hear on vinyl comes from embedded dirt, grit and dust - much of which is organic in origin. So, bleach is the ideal candidate for breaking up and dissolving it. I’ve NEVER ended up with a soggy, torn, faded or damaged label either.
You might think I’m mad, some of my most prized vinyl has had this treatment and it looks and plays great. In some cases I’ve probably doubled the market value. If this method scares you then DON’T try it. Or, maybe give it a go, try testing it on something grotty and worthless first to test the results. I think you’ll be pleasantly surprised.
Sleeve Restoration: (Glossy & Silky Only - NOT Matt sleeves)
Generally the dirt and stains on record sleeves are either water based or oil based. Solvent based inks are generally impossible to remove - don’t try or you’ll just end up taking the surface off the sleeve. In the first instance use a micro fibre cloth dampened with luke warm water or some mild detergent (I actually have a preference for anti-bacterial cleaner. Gently ‘whisk’ at the surface of the sleeve graduating to a gentle and then firmer wiping. Be careful of sleeves that are cracked or creased as the sleeve gloss will have cracked and will absorb water. This should remove a lot of general dirt. For any more stubborn stains that are left, use Zippo type lighter fluid (petrol.) Don’t worry if it leaves a ‘creeping’ wet stain, the petrol will evaporate after a few minutes. Sleeves that have unsightly stickers or tape that are not part of the packaging can be removed by dousing them in petrol and allowing them to soak for five minutes, you’ll then need to use a scalpel to gently ease it off with the aid of more fluid. Any glue residue can be removed by gently wiping with fluid. Ragged edges can be a problem too. This can be solved completely if the problem is not too bad - even if it is very bad it can still be solved to some degree. Recommended for the open edge of the sleeve only. Take a new scalpel and a steel ruler and simply slice off 1-2 mm of the ragged edge to produce a nice clean edge. This will improve the look greatly and will be unnoticeable to the naked eye. Don’t cut off any more than 1-3 mm though as this could result in a sleeve that looks wrong and no longer fits the record.
Seam splits are another problem. If it’s a partial central spit, try to ease it back together with the aid of a blunt knife edge or ruler and cover with invisible tape. If it’s a full seam split beyond repair, another option is to slice away ragged edges as little as you can get away with and repair with invisible tape.
Cracked or wrinkled sleeves: This is when the sleeve has a crack in the gloss or unsightly white veins around the seams. This can sometimes be remedied, especially if the ‘veins’ are over one predominant colour such as black or red. This method only works on glossy or semi glossy sleeves and you’ll need to work quickly. For example: I have a glossy picture sleeve with the subject centred and a predominantly black background. The sleeve has crack veins in various places where the absorbent card or paper is exposed due the creasing or cracks. I take a water-based felt pen or marker and go over the cracks. The cracks will absorb the ink but the in-tact gloss parts of the sleeve will not absorb the ink. I then have to quickly wipe off the ink residue with a clean cloth. This also works well for scuffed edges
I could also write an article on my experiments to find out how picture discs are made and why they sound so bad, but I’ll leave that for now, my findings were really quite insightful, rest assured the experiment was carried out on some worthless trash that I picked up at a fair for a few pennies!
Ged