On polystyrene Mercurys I've noticed grey splotches or entire sides which
seem related to the ageing process rather than sleeving. The crunch
fiercely. This is true, to a much lesser degree, with a few early Columbias
until their vinyl improves. I don't know the cause and these seems no cure.
Steve Smolian
----- Original Message -----
From: "Tom Fine" <[log in to unmask]>
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Sunday, February 19, 2006 7:34 AM
Subject: Re: [ARSCLIST] White haze on older LPs -- cure??
> Hi Phillip:
>
> Respectfully, I doubt it's a factory problem because I have other copies
> of the same record (in not as good condition) that don't have the
> whitish-hissy vinyl problem. It seems to be a storage problem and based on
> the few records here that have it, it seems to be related to those awful
> clear plastic inner envelopes that seemed to be popular in the mid and
> late 50s. My theory is that the whitish substanced leached out of the
> plastic and bonded with the vinyl. Further testing on another record
> indicates that it's fused into the surface material, not a coating unless
> it's a perfect coat that sits over all contours (I liiked with a
> microscope and varied the angle to see the groove contours). I also looked
> at the hiss in a spectrum display and it's annoying because it's
> high-frequency hiss and not fuller-spectrum hiss like on tapes. Most
> present in the high-midrange area but up into the upper frequencies.
> EQ'ing out the top -- where there's no music anyway on these old LPs --
> say above 12K or so, actually makes it more annoying because it brings out
> what's present in the music-containing bands. Bottom line is, c'est la
> vie.
>
> -- Tom Fine
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "phillip holmes" <[log in to unmask]>
> To: <[log in to unmask]>
> Sent: Saturday, February 18, 2006 10:33 PM
> Subject: Re: [ARSCLIST] White haze on older LPs -- cure??
>
>
>> They could be pressing defects from the factory. I have a number of
>> Mercury jazz titles with this hazy appearance that makes a constant
>> hiss/crackle. I believe it was a problem with Mercury's presses. I may
>> be wrong on this, but when they switched from shellac to vinylite, they
>> had to reduce the heat on the machines. If they didn't, the vinyl would
>> cook. Just my theory on that.
>> ----- Original Message -----
>> From: "Tom Fine" <[log in to unmask]>
>> To: <[log in to unmask]>
>> Sent: Saturday, February 18, 2006 7:05 AM
>> Subject: [ARSCLIST] White haze on older LPs -- cure??
>>
>>
>>> Hi All:
>>>
>>> I have here a couple of mid-50's mono LPs, excellent condition as far as
>>> scratches and grit but they have that dull white-ish haze, which seems
>>> to make the vinyl hiss when it's played. Kind of like tape hiss, but
>>> less full-spectrum. Not swish-hiss, which seems to happen when this film
>>> doesn't uniformly cover the whole record surface. I think this
>>> white-gray substance might be leached out of plastic inner sleeves, but
>>> why only on one side of the records? VPI fluid doesn't remove the
>>> substance but does remove any crud from the grooves because the records
>>> play beautifully except for the hiss -- not a single tick/pop and no
>>> groove crackle.
>>>
>>> Any way to remove this or is it now part of the vinyl?
>>>
>>> -- Tom Fine
>>>
>>>
>
>
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