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#1
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Restoring Damaged record covers
I have a rather large number of vinyl records which received water damage from
a flood while in storage at a friend's house. The records themselves appear unharmed but some record jackets are badly warped and some have varying degrees of mold on them.Some jackets are stuck together. I didn't realize the extent of the damage because I was in another part of the USA for 5 years. One solution would be to simply buy new records, but that would leave me with two copies of the albums and some might be difficult or impossible to locate. Anyone have any experience with this type of problem? |
#2
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Restoring Damaged record covers
LnArth wrote:
I have a rather large number of vinyl records which received water damage from a flood while in storage at a friend's house. The records themselves appear unharmed but some record jackets are badly warped and some have varying degrees of mold on them.Some jackets are stuck together. I didn't realize the extent of the damage because I was in another part of the USA for 5 years. One solution would be to simply buy new records, but that would leave me with two copies of the albums and some might be difficult or impossible to locate. Anyone have any experience with this type of problem? You might want to consult with a bookor printed matter restoration service. But I suspect it'd be much cheaper for all but the rarest of the damaged albums, to just buy them at your nearest used LP shop. -- -S. "They've got God on their side. All we've got is science and reason." -- Dawn Hulsey, Talent Director |
#3
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Restoring Damaged record covers
Yes, I have had this problem in the past.
Like you, I've had perfectly good records with unusable jackets (almost) due to water damage. I've found 2 solutions to the problem. The cheapest solution hjas been to simply buy blank white cardboard record jackets for the damaged records and then label them with something like a Dennison self-stick label. (Jackets can also be had with a hole in the middle showing the record label, but I don't like these as well as the solid jackets). The 2nd solution I've come up with is to look on eBay for cheap replacements in which, due to the playing condition of the record, the price is very low. In that case, you are essentially looking to buy a decent record cover to use with your nicer copy of the record. Bruce J. Richman |
#5
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Restoring Damaged record covers
I have a rather large number of vinyl records which received water damage from
a flood while in storage at a friend's house. That wasn't the Mississippi-river flood of a few years ago, was it? A lot of nasty stuff got washed downstream in those flood waters, or so I hear. The records themselves appear unharmed but some record jackets are badly warped and some have varying degrees of mold on them.Some jackets are stuck together. I didn't realize the extent of the damage because I was in another part of the USA for 5 years. One solution would be to simply buy new records, but that would leave me with two copies of the albums and some might be difficult or impossible to locate. Anyone have any experience with this type of problem? You might want to consult with a bookor printed matter restoration service. But I suspect it'd be much cheaper for all but the rarest of the damaged albums, to just buy them at your nearest used LP shop. Possibly safer, too. If the albums were flooded enough to allow mold to grow on the covers, I'd be very concerned that mold/mildew might have started to attack the grooves. I've heard of LPs becoming essentially unplayable (very high noise levels) due to mildew damage, just from being stored in a damp area. At the very least, I'd recommend a thorough record-surface cleaning for all of the vinyl which was flooded. This could be done by hand, but would probably be best done using a wet-wash/vacuum system such as a Nitty Gritty or VPI. It'd then be best to replace the sleeve with a new one (paper ones are about $.20 in quantity, poly-lined paper about twice that). If the cover shows any sign of mold/mildew damage it'd be best to replace it, too (white cardboard covers can be had for $.50 in quantity). I agree with Steve that simply replacing those LPs which can be found in used-record stores may be the easiest approach. Irreplaceable ones should be cleaned and rejacketed. -- Dave Platt AE6EO Hosting the Jade Warrior home page: http://www.radagast.org/jade-warrior I do _not_ wish to receive unsolicited commercial email, and I will boycott any company which has the gall to send me such ads! |
#6
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Restoring Damaged record covers
LnArth wrote:
I have a rather large number of vinyl records which received water damage from a flood while in storage at a friend's house. The records themselves appear unharmed but some record jackets are badly warped and some have varying degrees of mold on them.Some jackets are stuck together. I didn't realize the extent of the damage because I was in another part of the USA for 5 years. One solution would be to simply buy new records, but that would leave me with two copies of the albums and some might be difficult or impossible to locate. Anyone have any experience with this type of problem? I've actually had to look into this, and discovered that it would cost hundreds of dollars to restore even a single album cover. PA |
#7
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Restoring Damaged record covers
LnArth wrote:
I have a rather large number of vinyl records which received water damage from a flood while in storage at a friend's house. The records themselves appear unharmed but some record jackets are badly warped and some have varying degrees of mold on them.Some jackets are stuck together. I didn't realize the extent of the damage because I was in another part of the USA for 5 years. One solution would be to simply buy new records, but that would leave me with two copies of the albums and some might be difficult or impossible to locate. Anyone have any experience with this type of problem? Wash the records in Dawn dishwashing detergent and dry thoroughly. Chances are there is little or no damage to the vinyl. If you then have a normal record cleaning ritual, do that after the washing. The cardboard jackets are probably goners. If they are not too badly warped and only slightly moldy, you may be able to spray them lightly with chlorine bleach to kill the mold. Otherwise, buy some cardboard record jackets and clean inner sleeves to store the records in. I've bought used records like that from thrift stores with no problems in playback of the records after they were washed. -GP |
#8
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Restoring Damaged record covers
Not bad advice, but since the records are not contaminated, I would
not bother with the heavy washing of those and simply replace the inner sleeves of the records that had salvagable covers. In some cases if you don't have a vacuum record cleaning machine, the contaminents from a wash can be worse than the small amount of dust that was there to start with. If a cover has only a slight mold coating on part of it without bad jacket distortion or missing artwork, you can usually just wipe that clean with a damp rag. I would use some Lysol or similar anti-fungal detergent in the water as a mild solution. You don't want to get the record jackets wet and then rub them or you will just damage the covers that look decent, just use the least amount of liquid that you can to get away with wiping it off. Other than that, those jackets beyond a slight cleaning should just be replaced. I have bought more than a few records in poor condition just to get their healthy jackets to store better copies of Lps in. Sort of like replacing the top cover of a CD jewel box that has been cracked or broken, just more labor intensive. You also have to be careful about which jacket you buy if you want to keep them 100% historically acurate as their are usually several pressings with various slight differences in jacket printing or numbering. That may be a bit anal in this situation as you have a lot of records to deal with, but that is something to consider if any had real collectable value. If they did not, it may just be best to throw away the worry about those that cannot be salvaged and move on. - Bill www.uptownaudio.com Roanoke VA (540) 343-1250 "Gene Poon" wrote in message news:VpmBb.478719$HS4.3704371@attbi_s01... LnArth wrote: I have a rather large number of vinyl records which received water damage from a flood while in storage at a friend's house. The records themselves appear unharmed but some record jackets are badly warped and some have varying degrees of mold on them.Some jackets are stuck together. I didn't realize the extent of the damage because I was in another part of the USA for 5 years. One solution would be to simply buy new records, but that would leave me with two copies of the albums and some might be difficult or impossible to locate. Anyone have any experience with this type of problem? Wash the records in Dawn dishwashing detergent and dry thoroughly. Chances are there is little or no damage to the vinyl. If you then have a normal record cleaning ritual, do that after the washing. The cardboard jackets are probably goners. If they are not too badly warped and only slightly moldy, you may be able to spray them lightly with chlorine bleach to kill the mold. Otherwise, buy some cardboard record jackets and clean inner sleeves to store the records in. I've bought used records like that from thrift stores with no problems in playback of the records after they were washed. -GP |
#9
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Restoring Damaged record covers
On 8 Dec 2003 21:09:47 GMT, "Paul Abelson"
wrote: LnArth wrote: I have a rather large number of vinyl records which received water damage from a flood while in storage at a friend's house. The records themselves appear unharmed but some record jackets are badly warped and some have varying degrees of mold on them.Some jackets are stuck together. I didn't realize the extent of the damage because I was in another part of the USA for 5 years. One solution would be to simply buy new records, but that would leave me with two copies of the albums and some might be difficult or impossible to locate. Anyone have any experience with this type of problem? I've actually had to look into this, and discovered that it would cost hundreds of dollars to restore even a single album cover. PA You could look around for another collector who has good jackets and do a scan of them. Then take it to a print service and have either dye-sub or really good laser prints made. Buy plain plain white cardboard jackets and laminate the prints on. Use a spray mount adhesive or some of the 3m sprays like 66 or 77. This will give your collection some of it's original look and would be cheaper than having the old restored. OR shop the second hand record shops, flea markets and yard sales and buy copies with good jackets. When I had a vinyl collection I always bought rice paper lined cardboard jackets and put labels on them. The original jackets would either be framed for display or be stored for future sales to collectors. |
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