Nightmare jigsaw puzzle department: I have heard of people gathering all the flakes and peels together and trying to assemble them in the proper places to glue back onto the base; but one such experience might be enough to provide an introduction to life in a rubber-padded room or to consider such lacquers irreparable. Depending on the extent of peeling, one might be able to color the missiing areas black and then try playing the disc with an ELP turntable (you'd have to color, because the ELP only recognizes black surfaces). I've had some success with high-quality arms (such as SME) and Shure cartridges playing what remains stuck to the base of such discs with light tracking weight and some manual assistance guiding the tracking, but that approach only works if most of the lacquer is still in position. If you try that method, keep the stylus pressure light or the stylus will peel any loose lacquer.
I was disappointed to see on "Save Our Sounds" that the Library of Congress considers peeling and flaking lacquers irreparable. I have one such disk, and was hoping that the prognosis was more positive.
I figure that if anyone knows the definitive answer(s), it must be one or more of the members of this group. Is a peeling/flaking lacquer disk truly irreparable? Are there any optical methods of retrieving the audio information from these disks?
Any responses, including negative ones, will be *greatly* appreciated.
Aaron Z Snyder 14 HEATHWOOD LN CHESTNUT HILL MA 02467-2685 US Tel: +1 617 232-6224 Fax +1 617 731-2272