dust protection for turntables

I've had dust covers made for a Well Tempered table and an Acoustic Signature Hurricane NEO. Excellent workmanship and highly recommended!

Acrylic Turntable Dust Covers (stereosquares.com)

I bought a used $30 radioshack smoke-colored hinged cover and I just let the hinge tabs hang off the back of my Dual 1019 turntable. It’s close enough that if I place it just right I can cover the table when NOT in use. When playing a record I just pull it off and lean it against the wall until I’m done playing records - like one of the original United Audio 1019 covers!

Recently I bought some extra ebay plexiglass so that I could fine-tune the fitment. Plexiglass can be glued together by just wetting both pieces with acetone. I also bought a $10 DUAL aluminum logo to glue over the existng RS logo! I didn’t want to pay $150 for a custom clear plexiglass cover.

It is OUTRAGEOUS that these expensive Turntables are sold without dust Protection. Shamefull!

What's the problem with getting a DUST cover? Because it keeps off.....you know.......DUST.

I cover the platter to keep dust from cross-contaminating my records due to accumulation on the platter.  I use an unloved Charlie Rich album given to me as the platter dust cover (I also have a "Benji's in Love" (remember that movie mutt?) picturedisc for this purpose).  I also use an aluminum foil "hat" to cover the pivot area of my tonearm (see, tinfoil hats are not just for crazy people).  Once in a great while, I wipe away the dust accumulating elsewhere on the plinth and other surfaces (I don't want the table's suspension springs to sag from the excess weight).  Otherwise, I pretend that "dust damping" improves the sound quality.