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Over time, with playing constant playing, do vinyl records wear out?

I am resurrecting my 60's, 70's & 80's LPs. None have a clean apart from the cursory anti-static brush. My question is do these circular vinyl music discs wear out. With a new cartridge needle, gunge or no gunge in the groves, the hard needle material must wear away the indentations in a vinyl record. So no amount of cleaning will save them over time. Friction will win out...
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larryi
4,038 posts
 
Of course they can suffer wear from repeated playing.  But, most records, if kept reasonably clean, and if played with a stylus that is not worn and one that is properly aligned, will continue to sound good for so many play cycles that you will be sick of any record long before it is worn to the point you do not like the sound.  Noise levels (ticks and pops) tend to rise a bit with age, but, most other signs of wear seem to not be that noticeable.
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amg56 OP
887 posts
 

I remember ticks, pops and the sound dried beer sounded like on 45's and 60's , 70's LPs. These I still have an will be resurrecting them now I have time (retirement).

I probably bought Australian versions of the best LPs, made of the cheapest Vinyl. I now have time to scour the collectors bins for some quality replacements and a good quality cleaner. US$4000 for a top shelf ultrasonic can buy a lot of LPs I can put in the dishwasher (kidding). But then has any one tried a dishwasher, no soap?

helomech
1,698 posts
 
Get a decent vacuum RCM or one of the DIY ultrasonic kits on ebay. As for wear from repeated plays, it seems your question was rhetorical.
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bdp24
9,821 posts
 
The Last Factory makes a vinyl preservative that prevents wear in the groove of an LP (an LP has only one continuous groove, not multiple grooves). It is used by The Library Of Congress and many record collectors & audiophiles. But you need to start with a clean groove before applying the preservative. That means a wet cleaning, either by means of a vacuum machine (VPI, Okki Nokki, Nitty Gritty, Record Doctor, etc.) or cavitation/ultrasonic.
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