Quick Tips to Restore Vintage Album Covers - Cheaply!
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 3 เม.ย. 2023
- In this video, I look at how you can use cheap household items to help clean and restore vintage vinyl record album covers.
I look at using wet wipes (baby wipes), an eraser (rubber), and double-sided tape to restore three classic album covers.
Years of mold, dirt and grime can spoil album jackets. The first thing I like to do when I come home from the record store is to remove as much of it as I can so that I can enjoy a little piece of music history, without the gross muck!
Featured in the video is an original mono pressing of The Beatles - Sgt. Pepper's with some nasty-looking mold that needs taking care of!
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To remove stickers, I use a hair blow dryer. Heat up the sticker, then slide your fingernail under the edge to lift it a little. Then slowly pull the sticker off and you can either use a piece of Scotch tape and lightly “tack” the remaining glue if any. Or, after pulling the sticker off, use a very small amount of Goo Gone or something similar, on a soft cloth, to very lightly rub the glue off. I’ve found the tape method works great for me.
I don't want to read all the comments, but I doubt anyone's mentioned, you can use Zippo or Ronsonol lighter fluid and a soft cotton pad or paper towel to remove stickers and residue from printed paperboard like albums, book covers etc. Not porous dry paper, but the kind with the glossy coating, even if the gloss isn't thick. It might saturate a little, but will dry away and won't leave a permanent mark. Soak the price tag or sticker for a moment before lifting. it might leave adhesive, but soak that more and it'll come off without damaging the print. This works for sharpie and removes ink from photographs as well! (learned this working at a photo lab a long time ago.)
6:50 You got it so clean George is shining like an angel.
🎶🎧😎
Glossy (laminated) sleeves are relatively easy to clean. The Beatles jacket here is an example. As for stickers, I use Goo Gone.
That Fragile album in the background is fantastic, one of my favorites, I still have my vinyl from the 70s.
Never thought of the wet wipe to remove the grime from a cover, that's genius.
Superb classic. I picked that copy up at the same time as the Sgt Pepper’s mono copy 🎶🎧 - looking forward to cleaning it up
In the Degritter before its first spin 🎧🎶
Lighter fluid may help with the glue of the old sticker.
Great vid, I will apply to many in my collection and I’m excited to see the difference🙌. Thx!
Fantastic!!!! Thank you for making this video!!! I just finished Ultrasonically cleaned my whole mostly vintage/classic record collection, now to try to clean up the sleeves! Perfect timing!! Big thanks from across the Pond!!!
Thanks Ed! Much appreciated. Glad this helps. Hope the collection comes up bright 🤞🎶 how do they sound after the ultrasonic?
@@soundmatters Most Amazing!!! Like a Vail was removed! Shockingly great my older ones with deep scratches really nothing can me done. But 90% total shockingly Amazing!!
i watched your video with interest. it made me smile because in all instances this is exactly what you should not do, especially the part about using wet wipes. if the album wasn't waterproof you would have destroyed it!
Oh, for sure, I wouldn’t use a wet wipe heavily like that, on, say the Fleetwood Mac cover shown. It’s sock the paper. Thanks for watching and happy listening 🎧🎶
Hair dryer can loosen stickers. Rubber cement pickups are great for uncoated paper because they do not mar the surface.
Use heat (non-steam type flattening iron - medium temp.) to loosen stickers. It softens the glue so you don’t have to use your nail to scratch the sticker off - and make pressure dents in the jacket.
Also I prefer a “glue stick” to repair when the seam has become loose in stead of the tape you show. The seam was glued in the first place, so no reason to change that method (in my opinion) 😊
Thanks for sharing. I can see how a little heat would help 🎶
Totally agree, definitely shouldn't use your nail to get the sticker off and the seam shouldn't be taped (both of those for the reasons you gave). Used to collect mainly singles and too many covers are spoilt by people (some of them dealers) who think of the covers as being unimportant somehow. One of the worst ones is when you manage to get a handwritten sticker off successfully only to find that the sticker was written on after it was already attached to the cover, so you're left with the writing imprinted on the cover. No way back from that one unfortunately.
I use a hair dryer on low. Just be sure to take the LP out of the sleeve first.
Really helpful video, thank you. I use Covers33 sticky label remover for particularly old and stubborn labels - has the edge on wet wipes and a rubber
Great tip! Thanks for sharing
Pritstick works wonders on glueing edges
Thanks for the video and great ways of fixing some of these issues on covers/sleeves.
I've learned the same thing when buying records from a used record store. And that is that you want to remove those price tags ASAP. Thankfully, my record store I most often visit puts a date at the top of the sticker letting you know when they put the album out in the bins. So you can look and see if it's been sitting there for 10 years or 10 days and judge how difficult the sticker removal might be. I wish they'd find another way of doing things all together because those little boogers can sometimes turn into tears or bigger blemishes.
Great video, and thanks again for the ideas!
Brian in Fort Worth 🎶
Thanks Brian! Glad you liked. My local record store has recently switched to putting most price tags of more valuable records in outer sleeves instead. Much better! 🎶🎧
Nice tips, thanks
Great! I've been looking for information on just this :) Hope all is well. Take care
Thanks for watching! Glad it was helpful and timely 🎶🎧
I use Mr Sheen spray polish to remove grime and stickers. It’s also great for removing spindle marks on record labels. The label will change colour and then dry out to its original colour.
Great, now I've got the Mr. Sheen jingle running through my head!
I enjoyed video and topic on sticker removal. I actually have used and with great success a blow dryer. Hair blow dryer set to lowest heat and airflow too warm up sticker. Carefully apply heated airflow over the sticker while carefully lifting sticker. The glue normally comes off the jacket with sticker .
Thanks for this. I’ll give that a go! Happy spinning 🎶
I remove stickers having applied a small amount of white spirit onto a well folded kitchen paper towel. Rub over the sticker and leave for a few minutes, you can then peel the sticker away very easily. This application can also remove marks and blemishes from covers but you have to be light fingered especially on matt sleeves! To stick back together a sleeve that has come apart simply use a small amount of Pritt stick! Run the stick gingerly down the line of separation and then place the two sides together!
A good tip for removing sticky labels is to gently heat them with a hair drier; this often melts the adhesive and allows clean and easy removal. Make sure the record isn't in the sleeve, of course!!
Interesting topic covered here. For what it's worth here are my observations/tips etc. Firstly, never try to peel off old stickers from record sleeves. They have a habit of fusing themselves (even on laminate sleeves) and tearing. I always douse the label in lighter fluid. This tends to spread alarmingly and creates an oily residue. Fear not; it will quickly evaporate. I also rarely introduce water onto an album sleeve. Nothing does more damage. Methylated spirits is fine on laminated sleeves but should NEVER be applied to plain matt card as it will quickly melt the ink leaving you with an unsightly mess. For gum reside from stickers, try pure turpentine. This usually does eat away the ink on matt sleeves but always try it on a small area to test the water, as it were. Again, white spirit has corrosive qualities and is oily so avoid. I agree that double sided sticky tape is fine on sleeves that have come unstuck. For a more permanent finish, PVA can be applied with binder clips to hold the two surfaces together. Always use card tabs to avoid pinch marks once the clips are removed when the glue has dried (approx. 6 hours). Paste over sleeves (that were used widely in the US) are a blessed nuisance and invariably split along the seam. The British (and some Europeans) got around this design fault by creating what were termed 'flip back' fastenings. The original 'Sgt. Pepper's' gatefold sleeve you showed, had these. While the Seamzeazy product seems worthwhile, a quick search for this online reveals that they are prohibitively expensive and anyway, not available in the UK. It begs the question why didn't the US record industry wake up to the fact they had a duff product?
I'm also a big lighter fluid advocate, I always have a yellow bottle of Ronsonol at hand, it's also good for getting sticker residue and other gunk off CD jewel cases. It evaporates before it can do any damage to paper, so you don't have to worry about using too much of it. It can also remove or reduce stains or markings on older non-laminate record covers, just pour a bit on a paper towel and work at the marks a little bit at a time. Some may require an artgum eraser (don't use a pink one, it'll leave a stain) as well.
@brucevinyl3504 how do you suggest to clean mold from sleeve without water? Thank you in advance!
I recommend using lighter fluid on laminated album covers. It is good for removing price stickers and dissolving sticky residue.
Also if the cover has black edges which have been scuffed. I use a black Chartpak Touch-Up Marker pen.These have very black ink. As opposed to purpley black ink of other types of marker pens.
I've achieved some great results on albums such as Parallel Lines
Good evening friend! Maybe you know how to repair ( remove ) grease stain on white sleeve?
Did I just spot a David's Music price sticker? That shop has had a lot of money off me over the years! 😀
Yep! Great shop. Not too far from where I live. Howdy, neighbour! 🎶🎧
I use the baby wipes on my covers i also re-stick album covers with prit stick! also if the edges of the album cover has fraying or went a but fluffy with people flicking through them you can run prit stick down the edge and with your finger smooth the edges flat looks better and when dry you cant even tell you fixed it.
Interesting. I'll give that a go on the frayed edges.
@@soundmatters it works and stops it getting worse makes it look better too :)
I used a little spray bottle of a mixture of Milton antibacterial spray with some pure alcohol and a tiny drop of dishwasher liquid, a slightly abrasive dish cloth, works a treat. Getting rid of sticky price labels is the bane of my life however.....
STICKERS !!! i had the same problem so, i called this friend who collect mail stamps and he told me: "If you want to remove without damage, try lighter fluid", and i did, i recomend you to try in a not so important album first because i made some mistakes, but in "test covers" then i was able to do it. Just take a very small brush and little bit on the sticker wait a bit and somehow the fluid reacts with the glue (even old ones) and you'll be able to get it out....
I have some albums that someone gave me that were in a basement and have a musky smell. any suggestions for getting rid of the odor?
Tricky. Usually that indicates some mold. Wet wipes on the jackets, fresh inner sleeves, and a good clean of the records should help.
Just be careful when applying wet wipes to any sleeves that aren’t laminated, as you could soak the paper and spoil them.
What is the size of the 3m double stick tape you used to repair the Blondie jacket?
You can get it in a few different widths. This one is about 12mm
Muck no bee wax furniture polish Mr sheen an soft rubber for card.
1:100 simple green distilled water works just as good or better just an fyi
Does anyone have a great recommendation to restore the shine back into dingy lamented sleeves? There has to be a way or a product I can use
Hey Jim. Thanks for your comment. Do you mean outer record sleeves? In which case, the polyethylene ones tend to go cloudy over time. Polypropylene sleeves are much better at staying nice and clear. Not sure of a restoration method, but I will give it some thought.
@@soundmatters yes. I have some old laminated sleeves from Brazil that show the ring ware in the laminate. I would like to restore some shine
Useful and helpful but ... no one shows how to clean up or repair frayed ragged edges. Not the same as repairing separations.
I'd like to add: Never usr a 'Magic Eraser' on record album covers. Especially if it has a gloss finish.
Beatles albums attract mold. Perfectly logical. Just look at their fans....
Just use a lighter for a few seconds to remove stickers. easy
just use a damp cotton cloth ffs
This is disgusting but it works, Human saliva has enzymes in that dissolve certain types of glue, i always start with this method and have had great success with it, if that fails i turn to lighter fluid and finally Andrex wet wiped that contain micellar water. And yes 3M double sided tape is awesome.
Haha - thanks Tim. I have been hearing a lot about the lighter fluid technique. I'm gunna give that a go. Happy listening
Please remove the record from the jacket when cleaning the covers.
Geez, that's a load of rubbish right here!
NEVER use baby wipes on record covers. They have got a whole lot of stuff in them that you most certainly do not want on or even near your record collection. Do not try to peel off price tags, use heat (it takes a lot of practice, but it works great). Do not use erasers on cardboard, you will see the traces forever. And most of all DO NOT use double stick tape on record covers. It will dissolve over time and do all kinds of weird things. Why not use glue? The covers were glued in the first place and that's really the only way to get them back to how they were.
Seriously, you're showing people how to ruin their beloved album covers. Take this down please.
You talk way to much