Phaatnaan Posted August 18, 2023 Share Posted August 18, 2023 A cautionary tale and search for cleaning advice… After years of Ikea loyalty, I shelled out for a designer wooden bookshelf to store my treasured record collection in my new home. It looked great and I was really happy with it, but a couple of years in I discovered brown stains along the edges and on the front/rear sides of many of my record covers, where they were in contact with the wood. The oil in the wood had leached out and seeped into the covers. Almost all of my collection is kept in protective plastic sleeves, but the oil managed to penetrate those too. It also penetrated the shrink wrap of records I’ve never opened. White album covers were the worst affected and represent most of the damage, with more than 100, or around a fifth of my total collection affected. It includes some rarities that either can’t be replaced, or would now fetch a hefty price. The shelves were made of teak, and the place I bought it from insists “oil surfacing” is a known phenomenon - buyer beware. There was no warning before purchase though, and I’m still duking it out with them. After half a year of me pursuing them (and some really poor communication on their part) they have finally agreed to at least refund the shelves, though I’d like to see some compensation for the damage. I’ve worked out the cost to replace everything that has an available replacement would cost me about $11,000 AUD, including shipping the items from around the world. Obviously not a viable option, so I’ve been trying other ways to restore the collection. The inner sleeves, liner notes, and the records themselves are fine, so I’ve been approaching labels and distributors to see if the have outer sleeves to spare. I’ve had a little bit of luck, but many have no spares available. So failing that, I’m down to two remaining options: a) watch out for cheap second hand copies where the record is damaged but the sleeve is fine b) find a way to clean the stains. I’ve tried using an eraser, and tried the baby wipes method, but they did nothing. Because the stains are oil based, I’m not sure anything will work, but if anyone has any advice I’d love to hear it! If you’re interested to see the damage check out this link. You’ll notice the degree of damage ranges from severe to minor, but as we all know, ANY damage affects the value, not to mention the emotional toll of seeing so many of my favourite records tarnished, when I took efforts to look after them. https://share.icloud.com/photos/068hgkVT5o4r2Kdy5hgjVs7Jg Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
copelandkid Posted August 18, 2023 Share Posted August 18, 2023 new user posts on this site are growing more powerful by the day faaip de oiad, Tommy, fuckinandsuckinandtouchin and 1 other 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dhesketh Posted August 18, 2023 Share Posted August 18, 2023 I hear bleach works well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tommy Posted August 19, 2023 Share Posted August 19, 2023 (edited) Edited August 19, 2023 by Tommy yes chef and copelandkid 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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