Scratched dust covers...a never ending saga

[mrGrosvenor]

Hi,

I often think about all those scratched dust covers and why no one seemed to come up with an idea for a better material to use in dustcovers... everyone knows that as soon as you peel of that protective film the cover is gonna get scratched sooner or later...even a rebuffed cover will be scratched again...

In a way its like a fool who repeats the same mistake over and over again, and never learns...

Did any manufacturer use some kind of scratch free material in their dustcovers? I never heard of one...

So many times I have found nice turntables but of course they always have less or more scratched dustcovers and no matter how much time you spend refurbishing a TT, cosmetically the dust cover is always gonna be the weakest part...unless you buy a new cover.


Just some thoughts of mine...

 

[Arkay]

Those scratches, unless VERY deep, can be polished out, and the whole dustcover returned to a like-new glossy appearance. There have been a couple threads here that go into it in detail (I think there is a sticky on the Turntables & Tapes Forum...?). Do a search and you'll find a wealth of tips and suggestions for how to restore those scratched-up dustcovers.

As for the manufacturers making them better, Polycarbonate --the stuff used for aircraft front windows and "bulletproof" windows-- would make very clear, hard-to-scratch covers.... but it didn't exist yet (at least not commercially) when most vintage TTs were made, and is considerably more expensive than the usual softer acrylics. Far too expensive to be used for this purpose in a mass-market item made to a moderate price point. For a high-end or custom unit, it would be a good material to use.