Fingerprints, dust and scratches can damage the surface of the record itself, which can diminish the sound and add unwanted noise. Even natural oils from your hands can erode the surface of your vinyl records.
Add just a splash (about a 1:30 ratio) of Simple Green All-Purpose Cleaner to a bowl of water. Lightly dampen the microfiber cloth with the solution, and wipe along the record gently, following the grooves. Damp-wipe clean. Wipe clean using the same process as in #2, making sure to remove all of the cleaning solution.
Unless you're a DJ, there's no reason to ever touch the grooves of your records. You might think your hands are clean, but touching your grooves will inevitably leave oil behind. Dust will stick to the oil residue, causing stubborn surface noise.
Only hold the vinyl record at its outer edges, thereby avoiding the possibility of your body oils transferring onto the vinyl's surface. If you touch the record's surface, you increase the risk of getting dirt on the record and damaging it unnecessarily.
Fingerprints, dust and scratches can damage the surface of the record itself, which can diminish the sound and add unwanted noise. Even natural oils from your hands can erode the surface of your vinyl records.
A common reason your records may skip is dust and dirt that gets into the grooves. While it may occur on old records due to storage, paper sleeves or dust in the environment, new records may also have dust or dirt.
How Often Should I Clean? The correct answer here is whenever your records are dirty. For most people, a single thorough cleaning of all their records followed by cleaning every 10 to 20 plays per side is a good start.
Some other things to avoid are commercial cleaning products (i.e. Windex, Comet, Borax, etc.) under the kitchen sink. Most often they attack the vinyl itself or, at the very least, block your grooves with even more gunk than they are trying to clean.
Heat And Motor Wear
Over time, the excess heat can increase the wear and tear on the motor and other internal components. As a result, leaving the record player running for extended periods on a consistent basis could shorten its lifespan. In extremely rare cases, it could even lead to a fire.
Your vinyl records can last anywhere from a year or two and up to well over 100 years. If you're aiming for the latter, it really comes down to how well you care for your record collection.
Playing scratched records with light scratches will still play beautifully save a fleeting moment, so long as they're maintained you can still use them.
In general, natural fingerprint secretions on paper cannot be destroyed or wiped-away with a cloth. Because paper is porous, latent print deposits soak into the paper. Wiping the same area after the fingerprint has dried (drying time varies depending factors such as relative humidity) would normally have no effect.
Although submersion of an item does not enhance the possibility of recovering readable prints, it does not eliminate the possibility either. Studies have shown that fingerprints can be recovered from certain surfaces (metal, glass, and plastics) after being submerged for days.
WD-40 Multi-Use Polisher for Stainless-Steel
Not only will it remove greasy fingerprints and smudges, but it will also help keep fingerprints from forming. When you're done polishing off the fingerprints, wipe off any excess oil with a clean, dry cloth.
The more you use your records, the more they will deteriorate. Like anything physical, the friction between two surfaces will gradually add wear and tear (in this case the contact of the stylus on the record's grooves). On top of this, you'll also have the handling of the records and how often you move them around.
The quick answer is yes, vinyl records can wear out over time.
The consensus is that, if you look after your vinyl grooves as much as you possibly can, then you can realistically expect to spin one record at least 100 times.
At the heart of the issue is simple supply and demand. Consumer demand for vinyl records continues to rise, and quite simply, the current production capacity is struggling to keep up with the thirst for records.
Yes, you can skip songs on vinyl. In the past, this meant lifting the tonearm to manually skip to the next track. But this method can be risky. It can cause damage to the record if you do not do it properly.
Back in the day, past generations had to spend money on their favorite artist's CDs, tapes, or records if they wanted to listen to them. The price of vinyl records has increased mainly because of high production costs. With fewer record pressing plants than in previous decades, there's more demand for the service.
To put it simply – yes, cheap turntables can ruin your vinyl records. While this won't be the case for every model out there, the risk certainly does increase if the turntable has been made with cheap materials.
When you first set up your turntable, you may notice some surface noise in the form of popping or crackling. To resolve this, allow for 15 to 20 hours of playback so the stylus can be broken in. This should reduce the surface noise heard during playback.
Never leave records leaning at angles when in a box or on a shelf, this will cause the vinyl to warp. Indexing your collection with shelf marker cards can help minimise handling, our shelf marker cards are also acid free and safe for long term storage..