Hello! Can Old LPs be restored?

[Apollo Masters]

Hello. My name is Sam and I am new here. I started working at Apollo in Feb. of this year and through a special customer I was refered to this site. In reading and looking at everyones web sites I have been learning A LOT!! This may be a dumb question, but I have several of my old records from my "younger" years but they have scratches from being played over and over again. (mostly to annoy my brothers ) So, I was wondering if there is a way to restore them so they don't skip as much. Another question I have is what is the difference between vinyl and pvc? I read through some of the posts, and I have not found anything that really explains what it is. Of course, I could be looking in the wrong place, so I am sorry is this has already been addressed.

Thank you for your time and I hope to get a little less cross eyed as I learn more.

[JayDC]

PVC is Polyvinyl chloride or poison plastic.
VINYL is well, of coarse vinyl.

PVC is used for a variety of things, like plumbing drain pipes. Can be very toxic and cause cancer from prolonged exposure, or from breathing in the smoke from burning it.

Vinyl is the material of choice for record reproduction. Relatively safe, and durable.

[Apollo Masters]

Ok, I have another question... Are there three types of material to cut discs from? I have been reading on different posts about PVC, Vinyl and Lacuqer. Aren't vinyl and lacuqer the same? I know we make the lacquer discs here, but have been calling them vinyl also. And there are different sizes too. I am still learning the difference between the dubs, refernce lites and masters. From what I am understanding, the Masters are for making records that you would buy in the store, the Dubs are for making records that DJ's would use, but I don't understand what the Refernce Lites are for. (And I may be way off on the masters and dubs too )

And I am probably in the wrong forum to be asking these types of questions too... Sorry about that

[Mike Frost]

...
So, I was wondering if there is a way to restore them so they don't skip as much.
...

hi there,
if I were you i'd try getting them cleaned properly first, as a lot of the noise on the records is probably just dirt that's been piling up in the grooves, and as time passes it can get well stuck in there. There's a few DIY record cleaning systems out there which are ok, like the Knosti Antistat or something, but here in the Netherlands there's a guy that regularly sets up shop in a number of record stores with this really neat machine: it's basically a turntable where the needle has been replaced with some kind of liquid-based wiping or cleaning system which cleans the junk out of each groove individually, with some kind of liquid vacuuming system directly behind the needle so it all gets sucked away immediately. The difference in sound and playability of a record is HUGE... I have records that I thought were completely wrecked which now play almost as well as when they were new!!
No idea what that cleaning system's called though..

[JayDC]

Aren't vinyl and lacuqer the same? I know we make the lacquer discs here, but have been calling them vinyl also. And there are different sizes too. I am still learning the difference between the dubs, refernce lites and masters.

Well yes and not.. semantics are like this: We'll reefer to anything that can be a recorded disc played back on a photograph/or turntable "VINYL"...

In reality VINYLS can be stamped blank, and cut, but they are not the best choice for media, as discussed on this forum.

Lacquers are metal disc or paper discs coated in a paint like coating of Acetate Lacquer, which is the best choice for media as discussed on this forum.

Dubs are Q/C rejected masters, due to surface blemishes.

Reference Lite are like the lacquer answer to PVC, light weight, durable, and when cut correctly scratchable. The manufacture of this style of slates are saying that these will last as long as commercially stamped vinyl, although this is unfounded, well at least by anyone here as of yet.. These were created mainly for the DJ market place, although the 7" can be used in most vintage jukeboxes.

Masters are used to cut the "master" copy of a sound recording that will be used for vinyl production. The master will be one size larger then the finished product (ie: 14inch master for 12inch vinyl) to allow the metal guys, and the pressing guys a work surface to handle the stampers.

[Apollo Masters]

Wow, thank you very much for all the information. I will have to check around here to see if I can find a good cleaning system. Unfortunatley, I am in California and the Netherlands is a little far for me to travel to on the weekends
Thank you for all the information on the types and styles of discs. I just thought that since the dubs are thicker they would make better frisbees (j/k)

I am very happy I took the time to ask. Anything else you can think of that might help me, please let me know. And please feel free to contact me or visit our website if there is anything I can to do help you with your lacquer needs.

[lester]

I also already have seen that machine to clean vinyl's, but i remember it was really expensive! I can't find the link nomore...

Now i've been googeling and this is another option maybe;

http://www.teresaudio.com/haven/cleaner/cleaner.html

[Apollo Masters]

Thank you Lester. It looks as though I might be able to rig something up. It will be interesting to see how mechanically inclined I am.

A friend of mine said that maybe you could just wash the albums off with the cleaning kits you can buy at the store for CD's, etc. Do you think that would be a good or bad idea? I am afraid that the solution might ruin the LP.


Sam >^.^<

[ormandylives]

Hi there

Some general thoughts on cleaning records.

I use a record cleaing vacuum cleaner made by VPI instruments.
They also produce high end turntables. They have a web site, just search on vpi instruments.

The Vacuum cleaner works very very well.
I use a 5% solution of windex and DI water for cleaning and then use their
SPECIAL cleaning fluid.

For very dirty records I may repeat the windex solution 2 or 3 times before using the VPI solution.

There is a program called Groove Mechanic from Coyote software that does an excellant job of detecting and removing clicks and pops. It has a free 2 week evaluation to see if it suits ones needs. In general the software will detect about 3000 or so clicks ad pops on and uncleaned record..................after cleaning it will usuall detect about 800 or so.
The software will usually take care of the rest.

Also a 200x microscope can be used to see a scratch that is causing a record to skip and you can carefully use a fine blade exacto knife to gently remove the the plastic causing the skip.

Hope this is of some help.

ormandylives

[Apollo Masters]

Thank you very much. I will look into it and see what I can do.

Sam