Today I picked up a used LD at a local used book store. When I removed the disc from its jacket, I noticed the disc had a sticky tackiness around the edges and some was creeping up onto the surface. After cleaning it off, played fine. I wonder if it had been stored in a hot attic or something to make the glue ooze. Anyone else seen this ?


Brettv99

Some discs were manufactured with an excess of glue leaking out along the edges. It's usually nothing to worry about and is best left alone unless the disc is getting stuck in its sleeve.

My copy of Carnival of Souls (1962) [ID7767VA] is like this… the edges are tacky, but otherwise it's just fine.

Yeah, I watched part of the disc. Looked good to me !

i'm too lazy right now, you can search there is a topic about this.
just how some of the LDs were made, nothing to do with storage.

Hi brettv99,

This is very common on discs pressed at 3M in the 80's. A lot of the ones I bought new when I first started collecting in 1987 were pressed there. A number of them had this sticky glue around the edges, but no playback problems at all. I have all of them in my collection to this day, and they still look as good now as the day I bought them! 3M was one of the very best laserdisc pressing plants in the U.S. I would bet that the disc you bought recently was pressed there. Check the mint markings for "MADE BY 3M USA", and if you see that, you have nothing to worry about!

Best Regards,
David

Thanks David ! Just checked one of the discs.....yep 3M !


Brettv99

Hi Again brettv99,

Just one more note about 3M discs. They only had one bad period at that plant, during 1988-89. If you buy any discs made there during tat period, you should look closely at them. During that period, there was some sort of problem with the glue they were using. Look closely at the actual playing surface on both sides. If you see any irregular spots on the reflective layer underneath the plastic coating, avoid the disc at all costs! This is usually quite easy to notice if you look at it in a well-lit room. This seems to be a problem unique to 3M, and only during 1988-89, as far as I have been able to determine. I have encountered several of them over the years, and upon playback, they look just like a really bad case of laser rot. The good news is that you can usually see it upon visual inspection, without even playing the disc. The even better news is that I have been able to find good copies of almost all of these titles! In other words, not all of the copies pressed of these titles were defective. I just thought I should mention this as a word of warning to you, in case you plan on adding other 3M discs to your collection. As long as you watch out for the spotted ones during that period, you should be just fine.

Best Regards,
David

I received Lisa Stansfield: Live at Wembley (1992) [TOLW-3145] this week and this disc has a similar issue. It's also getting stuck in the disc sleeve. I replaced the 'phant johnny with a fresh sleeve (I use the Master ones. Master HiFi grade or whatever they are. Can't stand elephant johnnies).

I tried cleaning the edge of the disc in the affected areas using some adhesive remover and then cleaning off with a cotton bud and isopropyl but it's not helping. I'd like to play the disc but would worry any heat inside my player during playback may make the issue worse. Anyone got some good tips for cleaning a sticky disc?

Guys…just ignore it. Lots of LDs do this.

LaserDisc is the glue that keeps us together !

Happy Memorial Day weekend mates....

Ted i have only ever used a spray of iso, let it sit for a bit and then rub off with a decent mircofibre cloth slightly damp with a small amount of the womans dish liquid and dry.
My experience its works just obviously dry it.
Only the best for feeding the R7G we can agree

Use lighter fluid on a rag or towel and wipe it off, will take some work but won't mess up the player.
Don't soak it so it gets inside the halfs.

I have also used art rubber cement erasers and even my hand, enough friction will ball the stuff up then you can wipe it clean with
lighter fluid, denatured alcohol, bestine etc.

Agreed. I presently employ three people to assist me with playing discs in my R7G.

One to take the disc out the sleeve.

One to put it in and out of the player.

One to put it back in the sleeve.

I employ different people on a rotation system and issue a new pair of cotton gloves for every instance where the disc, sleeve, inner sleeve and any paperwork are handled. I find this method works best to minimise different levels of PH found from palm sweat coming in to contact with my collection.

Nothing but the best for the R7G.

I have some sticky side laserdiscs which don't have any issues playing in my ld players. I also recently picked up two cheap dvds online and both had 0 scratches on them but had sticky sides on them. They both appear to be working. Oh yeah one of them I think was a brand new copy of Zoolander and the other is Galaxy Quest.

That's the first time I felt one of those, and that's the "Festival of Claymation" disc, manufactured by 3M.