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Record collection ongoing maintenance

Tony L

Tony L

Administrator
I posted a thread ages ago somewhere about removing the foam padding from classical box sets and early fat-case CDs as it decays in a nasty and destructive manner and can trash the contents. If you haven’t done this go and do it now. They really do mess things up.

I’d like to add Decca poly inners to the list which do definitely out-gas after a while and can end up leaving a dull ripple patten on the vinyl. This applies to all Decca ranges, e.g. their SXL, SPA etc classical, any rock and pop, plus imprints like Deram and labels they contract-pressed e.g. BASF/MPS, ‘60s ‘deep groove’ RCA etc. The guilty sleeves are the ones with blue text in either the early style with solid blocks for the stereo/mono cut-out in the sleeve (the red mono ones are just the same, so change those too), or the later style.

For maximum collector value retain the original inners, but stick the vinyl in a fresh Nagaoka sleeve inside. I’m mentioning this as checking my copy of Khan’s Space Shanty (a £100+ Deram prog album) yesterday prompted by another thread I noticed I’d not already done this to this title. Thankfully it was still perfectly ok (it is now obviously in a fresh Nag), but my copy of Camel’s Moon Madness was showing the early signs of going and has a very light ripple. Annoying, but now in a Nagaoka so won’t get any worse. The trouble with a large collection is obviously trying to remember exactly where these sleeves are. I’ve certainly got the vast majority safe now, but I bet there are a couple that have evaded scrutiny…
 
I sorted all my vinyl when I catalogued it on Discogs a couple of years ago. A mammoth task but worth doing and now ongoing maintenance is a doddle.
 
Tony, I took your advice on the CD foam and removed all of it - none was sticky like the Wozzeck set I first had problems with but several were slightly iffy and definitely better removed.

I am currently slowly checking through my parents collection of LPs, some date back to the fifties and the inner sleeves are not always in good condition anyway - I will look out for the Decca problem - thanks for the warning.
 
I didn’t know about the blue/red inners. I bought loads in the ‘seventies from a local electronics/diy shop to replace the paper sleeves I had in some albums, and I have a handful of red and loads of blue that came with albums I bought new many years ago.
I shall get on it forthwith! Thanks Tony.

Mick
 
Is it safe to keep the iffy inners in the outer sleeve next to the Nagaoka or can they leach through it onto the vinyl?

In the past I've had a reasonably gung ho attitude to preserving old/knackered inner sleeves but I'm now trying to be a bit better!
 
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Here are the two common types I’m pretty certain out-gas or fail in some destructive way, plus I include very early SXL type (top) that I also view with skepticism. I need to go hunting through my jazz vinyl for these as I’m pretty sure some are lurking on ‘50s-60s Atlantic contract pressings etc.

PS I’ve never personally seen any evidence of anything getting through a Nagaoka, e.g. even with picture discs, coloured 12” singles that sit straight in a PVC outer etc. I guess it may happen eventually, but given it has taken 40-60 years for the Decca sleeves in direct contact to cause a problem I reckon it is a long while off yet.
 
I can't handle the Nagaoka style liners unfortunately they a right pita, I just use them inside 12" single liners where poly-lined paper doesn't fit. The pvc of the record outgasses substantially over the lifetime of the record too, pvc has that slightly sweet smell, but it will be chemically different to the polythene but possibly has a similar effect.
 
That is a very good point that hadn’t occurred to me, i.e. it might actually be the vinyl rather than the sleeve causing the reaction.

I initially thought this was down to people in the ‘70s putting records back damp after running a wet Dust Bug or whatever, but I’m becoming increasingly convinced it is an age phenomenon, but one where environment factors too as some will be ruined, some absolutely fine. It especially plagued classical collections where folk tend to have far better hi-fi and may be more tempted by cleaning solutions etc. I really don’t know, but it definitely exists and is obviously worth protecting against with valuable or well liked titles. There is a lot of very valuable stuff on Decca!
 
Tony L said:
That is a very good point that hadn’t occurred to me, i.e. it might actually be the vinyl rather than the sleeve causing the reaction.

I initially thought this was down to people in the ‘70s putting records back damp after running a wet Dust Bug or whatever, but I’m becoming increasingly convinced it is an age phenomenon, but one where environment factors too as some will be ruined, some absolutely fine. It especially plagued classical collections where folk tend to have far better hi-fi and may be more tempted by cleaning solutions etc. I really don’t know, but it definitely exists and is obviously worth protecting against with valuable or well liked titles. There is a lot of very valuable stuff on Decca!
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Polythene outgasses more than pvc so you're right to be suspicious.
 
I've only got one album that has been noticeably damaged in this way, a copy of Pink Floyd's The Wall purchased new in 1989 and kept in a heavy PVC gatefold sleeve ever since. Covered in fog on all 4 sides. The records were kept in their original card inners. Most weird.
 
I`ve heard of a variant of that effect - sixties car with PVC upholstery fully cleaned interior and left locked and untouched for a couple of weeks in the sun - owner returns and finds the inside of the windows covered with a foggy film.
 
foxwelljsly said:
I've only got one album that has been noticeably damaged in this way, a copy of Pink Floyd's The Wall purchased new in 1989 and kept in a heavy PVC gatefold sleeve ever since. Covered in fog on all 4 sides. The records were kept in their original card inners. Most weird.
Click to expand...

Surprised it is all four sides. My best theory with that one is the PVC logo thing it came with. I bought it on day of issue and somehow ended up with that sticker inside one of the card inners (I must have missed the poly inner I’d stuck in there on purchase and slid the record down the side between the card inner and the poly inner so it rested on the sticker). Anyway it totally destroyed one side of the first record, so I just chucked it out. This was way back in the late ‘80s. Very annoying as it was potentially a mint first press so a good couple of £hundred these days.
 
I’ve gone through all the jazz now and I’ve done the ‘50s-60s EMI poly type with the cursive ‘Important’ and Emitex reference (think original Beatles albums etc) as well, so UK-pressed HMV, Verve, Capitol, Impulse etc. I’ve not noticed these going bad, but I just don’t trust the poly ones. The identical ones with crinkly almost greaseproof paper type inner are almost certainly fine, so they can wait. Some examples:

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Basically I just don’t trust them even though all these are still in perfect condition, thankfully I haven’t found another ‘ripply’ one yet, but I’d obviously prefer to preempt that rather than sit and wait.

I think the key take-away here is poly inners are not an ‘archival grade’ storage. They have a lifespan and need monitoring. I need to go through my classical, but I think I’ve got the 50s and 60s stuff elsewhere. I guess 70s Polydor, Philips, DGG etc will be the next. Regardless I’d recommend putting anything of serious value regardless of age in a Nagaoka or equivalent as I have never seen one of those go off at all.
 
I have seen that rippled wavy lines imprint from sleeves on old albums that have been donated. I spent ages trying to clean it off of a record (can’t recall what?) and never got anywhere.

I have loads of those blue and red inners, but haven’t associated them with the ripple effect. Usually the vinyl has been good out of those that I have inspected, that’s why I have saved them, rather than bin them (unlike the records ;)) I use the inner sleeves to replace manky ones before they go in the shop.

The covers33 inners Poly/paper I buy a hundred a time, and they work okay for me.
 
Mmm. Useful read this. But I have been throwing away original poly liners, which on reading this seems to be a mistake on my part. I have though kept all inners etc which are pre-printed etc.
 
If you have real collectables, which I’m sure you do, is is well worth keeping them complete. It does make a fair but of difference. Have a look at Popsike at the copies that get top dollar, they are always complete and immaculate. Often it is possible to replace a missing inner, e.g. if you are missing one of the poly ‘Important’ Emitex inners for that £4k+ Beatles black gold stereo Please Please Me chances are you can find an old classical title in a charity shop bin for 50p that has it. The sleeve being present and correct will likely add £50+ on a title of that value!
 
I guess Nagaoka style is fiddly if you slide them into the outer sleeve with the open end of the Nagaoka sleeve facing up.

I'm sure this is a vinyl crime but I always position my inner sleeves (of any kind) facing outwards so I can just slide the record out...:oops:

If the outer sleeve is particularly fragile it goes in a protective sleeve with the opening at the top and the inner sleeve slides in behind it.
 
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