Turntable Mat Destroyed My LP Collection...

[ic-racer]

Seemingly all of the sudden I have noticed some oddball destruction of my LPs. I though it might be heat damage or fungus. The damaged area aligns correctly with an aftermarket foam rubber turntable mat that came with my 1990s Technics turntable.

When I examine the turntable mat I see it is turning into a gummy mess.

What I think has happened is that I left LPs on that turntable mat for sometimes months at a time.

I tried cleaning off the damage on the vinyl, but it is permanent destruction of vinyl.

Turntable is Technics SL D2 and a new Technics 1200 rubber mat seems to fit perfectly.

Destruction = 1/3 of all the music.

Saved= sometimes most favorable side of an LP is preserved because it was the up-side.
Saved= sometimes the outer most tracks are damaged, and the inner tracks were preserved.

Pictures will follow.

 

[olddude55]

Leaving LPs in the turntable for months at a time is a bad idea, to state the obvious, however don't give up on those records yet. I've used Goo Gone to remove sticker residue from LP grooves and it worked. The Goo Gone needs to be thoroughly cleaned away afterwards.

 

[bob smog]

I had this happen to a couple LP when the foam mat on my AR-XA went to bits.

 

[ic-racer]

Leaving LPs in the turntable for months at a time is a bad idea, to state the obvious, however don't give up on those records yet. I've used Goo Gone to remove sticker residue from LP grooves and it worked. The Goo Gone needs to be thoroughly cleaned away afterwards.

I have some; will try.
Sad that some of the LPs were like new (like my Zepplin #2) which I recorded in 1979 when I got it and only used to play the tape.

 

[ic-racer]

I don't see why leaving the record on the platter would in any way be worse than in storage. I'd think that on the platter is the safest place for an LP. If a turntable mat can in any way damage an LP it will slowly do it 22 minutes at a time even if one takes the LP off right away.

 

[8xlaxx]

I own a few Herbie’s. Great mats and reasonably priced. No affiliation, just a satisfied customer.

Hope you’re able to clean up the LPs, although it sounds like a chemical reaction is taking place?

 

[olddude55]

That Zep II 1979 pressing, I think that was a remaster done by George Piros. Pretty good sounding version, used to have a copy.

 

[8xlaxx]

 

[Bob]

some foam disintegrates (like Philips filler in classical album boxes) and others melt and
turn to goo.

I'd suggest you look at LP cleaners. try the glue methods (titebond II) then alcohol.

 

[luvvinvinyl]

I don't see why leaving the record on the platter would in any way be worse than in storage. I'd think that on the platter is the safest place for an LP. If a turntable mat can in any way damage an LP it will slowly do it 22 minutes at a time even if one takes the LP off right away.

Let's do the math. How many 22-minute units are there in, say, three months. 60 mins/hour x 24 hrs/day x 30 days/ month x 3 months = 129,600 minutes divided by 22 mins/side = 5,891 plays.

So, three months of sitting on this mat is the equivalent of 5,891 plays worth of time on the mat. Maybe the mat does damage the LP every time it sits on it. One would hope not, but when you add up nearly 6K plays, then you see what happens. One is not likely to play the record 6K times, so one doesn't notice the very slow degradation.

 

[WaynerN]

There are some folks making mats out of the perforated "tool box" liner. I have this material in my tool box. It has left marks on my adjustable square's ruler, so to me, that is evidence that it is off-gasing and breaking down. Unfortunately the off-gas material is plating itself to what ever its in contact with. I don't know if your mat is made of this stuff, but any one using it for a mat should find a new mat.

 

[ic-racer]

I think this mat had

Let's do the math. How many 22-minute units are there in, say, three months. 60 mins/hour x 24 hrs/day x 30 days/ month x 3 months = 129,600 minutes divided by 22 mins/side = 5,891 plays.

So, three months of sitting on this mat is the equivalent of 5,891 plays worth of time on the mat. Maybe the mat does damage the LP every time it sits on it. One would hope not, but when you add up nearly 6K plays, then you see what happens. One is not likely to play the record 6K times, so one doesn't notice the very slow degradation.

By that account, storage off the platter could yield twice the damage, because both sides of the LP will be in contact with a foreign material rather than one side.

 

[Ken Boyd]

If you leave a record on your mat for that long, it doesn't sound like you listen to your records much anyway. And leaving a record on a mat is much different than leaving it in a jacket. In the jacket it is inside of a inner liner and then inside of the outer jacket, they protect the record from exposure to the elements. Leaving it on a mat, it has no protection.

 

[Ken Boyd]

I think this mat had

By that account, storage off the platter could yield twice the damage, because both sides of the LP will be in contact with a foreign material rather than one side.

Don't you put your records in their inner jackets and then the outer jacket? That is what protects them. A good inner jacket is made of archival materials, and that is why many of us replace the inner jacket with a better one than what some records come with. And then some of us also cover the outer jacket with a outer sleeve, that adds up to three (3) layers of protection.

You might want to look into this practice, good records are expensive.

 

[luvvinvinyl]

You assume that every foreign material is reactive. The mat could be breaking down because of concentrated off-gassing, due to the record preventing dispersion, for instance. The poly-lined sleeves, or acid-free paper sleeves, are archival. I have records that are 50-60 years old, and not damaged from storage because they spent their lifetime inside proper, non-reactive, material. There is a reason why we do the things we do. Preventing this kind of damage is a reason why we use proper sleeves for storage.

 

[ic-racer]

The mat is labeled: "TRI PAD EON R&D CORP. CANADA"

That makes sense since the turntable, mat and AKG P8ES cartridge came from a shop in Montreal according to the original purchaser.

One side is rubberized cork and the other side is what looks like thin neoprene foam rubber which is deteriorating. The rubberized cork side has the opposite problem, it has become crispy solid and brittle.

My French-Canadian friend that gave me the turntable was pretty knowledgeable about HiFi (more so than myself), so I never questioned the mat or the use of the rubberized side upward. In fact for years I did not know it was an aftermarket mat.

 

[Grenadeslio]

These records can not be salvaged, most likely its an Adiouquest mat made from sorbothane or something like it. The vinyl is blistered, had the same thing happen with much less time spent on the mat. The AQ mat was $90, I had two so the damage was twice as extensive. Some the blisters are faint and scattered with the records still playable, others not so much.

 

[luvvinvinyl]

BTW, the only time I left a record on the platter, because I was called away, I paid for it. The sun had been shining through the open window, and onto the LP. When I got back home, and realized what I had done, reflexively, I reached for the record, picking it up by the edges. it was warm enough, and soft enough, that it collapsed, and fell from my hands, landing, edgewise, on the floor, where it crumpled into a wrinkled pile of paperweight.

Once was enough. I have never left a record on the platter, since.

 

[ic-racer]

Don't you put your records in their inner jackets and then the outer jacket? That is what protects them. A good inner jacket is made of archival materials, and that is why many of us replace the inner jacket with a better one than what some records come with. And then some of us also cover the outer jacket with a outer sleeve, that adds up to three (3) layers of protection.

You might want to look into this practice, good records are expensive.

So the rubber 1200 Technics mat I just bought will also damage my records? I do have acid free rag board and archival paper that I could cut to cover the rubber mat. But have never heard of anyone else doing this.

Low level UV light and free movement of air around objects protects items from fungus damage. Those two conditions are not present in the jacket in storage.

 

[luvvinvinyl]

No, you are conflating the issues. It's more a question of the length of exposure time, than it is about exposure at all. Don't leave your records on the mat. Oh, and you might want to replace that Tri-Pad, as it is probably near 40 years old, as evidenced by your description of it being "crispy solid and brittle". Stuff doesn't last forever. Butyl rubber surrounds break down, too, after enough time has passed.