Record care guide
Step 1: First clean
- We clean every recordwith an Okki Nokki One cleaning machine as standard using our own trusted cleaning solution.
- For extremely soiled records we often first hand wash them. We find the following a great way to hand wash records. First spray some cleaning solution on the disc taking care to avoid the label. Then wipe gentle along the groove with a soft sponge. Tilt the record at 45 degrees and hold under luke warm tap so the water hits the side of the groove, turning it carefully until you've removed all the cleaning solution. Dry with a paper towel to ensure no residue is left.
Step 2. Restore the sleeves
- We clean the sleeves where possible. Laminated or glossy sleeves can we wiped with a very slightly damp cloth to remove any dirt or grease.
- We remove stickers where possible. We apply lighter fluid to the area where the sticker is. Once it has evaporated you can usually remove the sticker. Be careful though, if a sticker has been on a sleeve for a very long time it can leave a stain or worse damage the sleeve when you remove it. Test one corner of the sticker -if the lighter fluid isn't allowing you to easily lift the sticker it's best to leave it alone. If you do buy records with a recent price sticker on the sleeve the sooner you remove the sticker the better. Do remove the sticker with lighter fluid when you get home. Don't pick at it on the bus on the way home!
- We repair seam splits where possible. We use craft glue to repair seams that have come unstuck. We don't use tape.
- We remove pen or biro where possible. Lighter fluid can also remove biro from laminated sleeves.
These pictures show the difference a basic clean can make to a White Album cover. After the clean the biro and sticker residue is gone and it is little bit more white album than beige album!
Step 3. Final clean & sleeving
- Once catalogued the records are ready for a final clean and to be given protective sleeves.
- Where necessary we replace the inner sleeve or, if the original inner sleeve needs preserving, we will also replace the inner sleeve with either a new paper inner sleeve or a poly-lined anti-static inner sleeve.
- Every record is placed in a protective non-pvc plastic sleeve for storage, ready to be shipped.
- For collectibles and items of £100 or more we also clean the record Ultrasonically as standard.