Please - don't try to clean them!

 

Not only are they easily broken, but using conventional record cleaning products may well do damage to the disc. Alcohol-based solutions are capable of breaking down the binders in shellac discs and may also cause chemical break-down of the acetate disc surfaces found on privately recorded and one-off discs. Pristine Audio has all the necessary technology and experience to clean up your discs - it's all part of the service!

 

Packing 78s

 

Anyone who's ever handled one knows just how breakable 78rpm discs are. Their shellac construction is virtually guaranteed to break in the post without proper protective packaging. Get it right, though, and there'll be nothing to worry about.

The main point to remember is that 78s simply don't bend - they snap! If you can prevent any bending forces from reaching the disc you're home and dry.

First of all the disc itself should be protected on both sides, preferably by several sheets of thick card. By alternating the direction of the corrugation of the cardboard its strength and resiliance will be greatly improved. Cut the card to squares a little larger than the disc itself and tape these squares firmly around the disc. The disc should be held tightly by the pressure alone of the cardboard surrounding it - don't stick any tape onto the disc itself. If the disc has a protective paper or card sleeve keep it inside this.

Secondly this package should be placed within further protection. I would strongly recommend finding a big box into which the disc package can be placed without it touching the sides, and then packing around with bubble wrap, polystyrene packaging or screwed up newspaper, to create an extra layer of soft insulation between the disc and the outside world and to make sure it doesn't rattle around.

When you've finished there should be no way that the discs can be bent or dropped on their edges. Remember, postal charges are based on weight, not size - the more lightweight packaging around the records in a big box the better!

 

Personal or privately recorded 78s

 

These one-off discs were quite popular as the only way of making a recording of your own voice or music that could be played at home in the days before tape recorders. Fortunately these private recordings are more likely to have survived than standard 78s (even if the sound quality is probably much lower) as they were made using an acetate layer on a metal, often steel base. They're unlikely to snap, but even so you should take the same precautions as above as they are prone to bending. Whilst a bent record can be gently brought back to its original flat state the acetate layer is prone to brittleness over time as what little moisture it original contained slowly evaporates. Treat with care!