Polishing A Turntable Dust Cover

We've all bought that "mint" condition turntable only to realize the dust cover is scratched to hell! My first ever attempt at polishing this cover from a Pioneer SPL-110 using a drill, some polishing pads and a some polishing paste. I also used a couple of old microfiber rags and a sock to get into the folds of the cover.
I'm currently editing a video detailing a full service of this turntable so stay tuned for that!
0:00 Introduction
2:19 Polishing
6:07 Waxing
6:56 The Results

[@stephanepotard-vu2rt]

Bien joué, chapeau l’artiste!

[@andymyers2759]

Excellent based explanation of what to do without spending the Royal Mint. Great!

[@williamdenton5716]

Wow, great job !!

[@ibleebinU]

I've been putting this off for too long. Thanks for the walk through. Time to get 'er done.

[@jonpatrick66]

Great job!! Doable. Thank you for sharing 👍

[@stevewestwood4832]

Good save mate 😀 I am now encouraged to have a second go on my 70’s deck which has a couple of deep scratches. Thanks for posting

[@vintageboulton]

Go for it! Let me know how it goes

[@sergioomar9090]

Perfect brother!

[@Mark-rw3kw]

When I sold my Thorens turntable years ago, I used a relatively cheap synthetic car wax on the dust cover and that worked fine.

[@LaurentValette1234]

The PL-110 is an excellent little machine, easy to use, musicality, with a good headschell like Ortofon OM20 it is really cool.

[@billphelps5611]

That really did a nice job. I just bought a used dust cover for a second turntable I have and it may need the same treatment. Thanks for the good video!

[@goodun2974]

I have been working on audio equipment for over 50 years and I know from experience that you could do a better job with a bottle of Novus Plastic Polish #2 which has a cream like consistency and is formulated specifically for plastics. Drill and buffing pads not needed, just some soft rags and Novus #2. No need to wax the dust cover afterwards either.

[@dickie8918]

Nice job 👍🏽

[@LamannaGarage]

nice video! good to see you back!

[@vintageboulton]

Your the best ❤️

[@MegaTubescreamer]

gotta try this on my old CJ Walker turntable lid, ,nice work !!

[@vintageboulton]

Thankyou!

[@cobar5342]

Really good job

[@vintageboulton]

Thanks you!

[@philfrydman2576]

Surptised you do the internal partof dust cover. Unless somebody's been eating inside it should be nice ad glossy !

[@guyb7005]

my exact thoughts

[@jackmatson962]

Of the dozens of dust covers I have cleaned up, I never used anything on the inside but an abrasive free clear liquid plastic cleaner/polish on a cotton cloth. I have seldom found anything more than dust or a little fogging from cig smoke or other air pollution. Well, there is the occasional d.h. who ships the tt without removing the platter!

[@tomiossi8092]

Bloody good job mate. From us yanks across the pond.👍🏽

[@vintageboulton]

Thank you!

[@PaulDoldenDetails]

Good video be very careful with rotary machines there generate a lot of heat metal polish is very aggressive start off with the least aggressive compound first then work your way up I machine polished my facia on my Sony CD player with a final finish polish it worked a treat 👍🏻🇬🇧

[@stratplayr6997]

You could also use the headlight lens restore kits for cars.

[@samuelrieder5480]

Oh wow that looks like new

[@jp93309]

I used Novus 1-3 step plastic polish and microfiber cloths. No drill needed just some elbow grease. Polished 5 lids so far and still have a lot of product left in the bottles.

[@FelixtheMetalcat]

Great to know ..I have used that polish and have it on hand....good stuff.

[@ENGLISHISBEST]

You are a youngster compared to me but it never occurred to me about amplification with the lid down but logic says you are correct. Not that I do it nowadays but when I had a cheapo system from the 70s onward there were times I closed the lid. Today I see my lid as a dust cover only when not in use, because I own a white rega planar 3 & think it's a gorgeous lookin turntable to watch & hear when playing.

[@jimthomson8774]

It didn't occur to you because it's absolute rubbish.

[@FelixtheMetalcat]

I second your thoughts on all of that. The only time I ever removed the dust cover to play records was because the table did not come with one.

[@TheLegendaryJackMcDuff]

Why did you wax it it? Seems to me that the wax would just cloud up with age and hold dust. Then, the dust would scratch the cover when being cleaned off.

[@user-bc6ok1yh4s]

Fantastic refinishing job. I have done a couple of these myself, but I don't see the point of the effort used on the inside of the dust-cover. I must have lucked out though since the few I have restored were like new on the inside of the cover.

[@vintageboulton]

Thankyou! Yeah I don't think I would usually have to do the inside, there were just a few scratches under there that bugged me 😊 some kid must have used it as a skateboard 😂

[@dison77433]

Thanks for this. I'm just about to do the same for my PL-550 cover which my roommates and I spent years marring. And only because I'm going to sell the turntable after close to a half century of ownership. Fortunately I was far more careful with the rest of the deck

[@vintageboulton]

Glad it helps 😊

[@FelixtheMetalcat]

After a half century I wouldn't sell it....43 years on my first rig, still running great.

[@stoojinator]

Nice work! What sort of wax did you use?

[@vintageboulton]

Thanks! Gilly's Cabinet Maker Wax

[@oliverdavidpatrick]

I just paused there at 3:14... Yes, I would have gone at it with sandpaper starting at 1500 grit then 2000, 3000, 4000 and 5000. When I do headlights I even start at 1000. And yes, at first it will look worse, but that is all part of the process. The final step would have been polishing with Meguiar's PlastiX. The reason for sanding this lies in the scratch in the turntable's cover. I will now continue watching and eager to see what happens. Left a like too

[@vintageboulton]

I do have another lid that needs more work, maybe I'll try the sandpaper too 👍

[@rafaelallenblock]

I don't know how I was referred t his video but I do have one suggestion and that is watch where you place your second hand whilst using the drill: They almost design on purpose to put the vents right where you would block them with your grip. Try to avoid covering those cooling vents and your power tools will thank you@@vintageboulton

[@PikkaBird]

Definitely agree on this. People are generally afraid of the process and if you search for other videos on this topic everybody starts at the polishing stage and it just takes ages and leaves the more significant scratches way too visible. But yeah, go at it with some 1000 or 1500 and make it entirely uniform and then you have a solid base to work from, plus you'll get rid of the deep stuff too. It's worth removing the logo for this process though (unless it's recessed quite deep)- it will not survive.

[@kadiummusic]

He kept saying elbow grease and then used an electric polisher! 😅

[@trevor245]

Idk if you have ever done this before but an hour of using a drill to polish a dustcover is exhausting.

[@jonpatrick66]

I don't know what you're laughing at.?? If you've ever done any work, you wouldn't have made that reply. .....

[@DuckAlertBeats]

​@@jonpatrick66 'elbow grease. Strenuous physical effort, as in You'll have to use some elbow grease to get the house painted in time. This term alludes to vigorous use of one's arm in cleaning, polishing, or the like' It doesn't refer to machinery :)

[@dtwistrewind7361]

Holtz polycarb headlight restoration kit you get everything buffing drill pads, 8000,5000,3000 grit disc's buffing compound and UV protective sealing spray, job done under £20👍

[@joetotale6354]

Cool tip. What about this part tho: "Simply sand back the oxidised surface, apply the polish and finish with protective sealer for long lasting clarity."

[@dtwistrewind7361]

​@@joetotale6354 you can forgo the lower grits and just use the higher grit to knock out light scratches, it will go completely cloudy, then when happy with the amount of removal I advise spray with rubbing alcohol, if you have deeper scratches start on the lowest grit supplied and work up, a couple of minutes after starting to use the buffing sponge disk and polishing compound, assuming it's your first time.. you will be impressed how clean it looks, then clean with more alcohol let dry and spray two coats of the sealing spray about 5-10 mins apart, touch dry in about 20-30 mins and solid in about 2 hours👍

[@jnicksnewstart]

Make sure you wipe that down with anti-static cloths now. If you can find one they used to have anti-static guns. I still have mine.

[@charlesvan9726]

Tip !, use polish / scratch remover for PMMA / plexiglass. What is used for motorcycle windshields. Polishing pads are fine, but apply polish to the pads first, not first on the plastic cover, and use a microfiber cloth last. Suc6. Ready in 15min. 😅

[@MarvinHartmann452]

They sell plastic polish made for that exact purpose, and I believe it would be more efficient. Metal polish isn't made for plastic. I did my SL-1200 MK2 cover because they're crazy expensive and it look like new. Only used a car buffer with polish that was made for plastic. Wax and metal polish isn't made for this and that's why it takes more time.

[@vintageboulton]

ekksol.com/45-applications-for-autosol-metal-polish

[@vintageboulton]

dwdavies.com/product/metal-plastic-polish#:~:text=%E2%80%9CMetal%20%26%20Plastic%20Polish%E2%80%9D%20can,Painted%20Surfaces%2C%20Plastics%20and%20Acrylics.

[@stephangielisse5527]

The speed of the machine does not have to be high. Otherwise, the plastic dust cover will melt

[@carlrudd1858]

ok, not bad at all. Thanks....

[@JesseSkwierawski]

Try polishing some records!

[@stevelibby6852]

I used to take old turntable cover to body shop and pay a pro to buff them out.

[@vintageboulton]

Not a bad idea at all, local body shops are legends, super helpful sometimes. I get them to respray platters sometimes

[@stevelibby6852]

@@vintageboulton I used to work for a chain of body shops, so it was super convenient, too. Fun fact, your insurance bill is so high because body shops operate at about45 to 50% margins.

[@Paajtor]

Ever considered ordinary toothpaste as polisher?

[@vintageboulton]

Yes I did! I think if I didn't have this stuff already laying around I would have tried it 😊

[@craigmiller1034]

There would not be any scratches on the inside of the dust cover.

[@vintageboulton]

I wish :(

[@SHTIRLIC-007]

Бля, рукавом протёр пасту с крышки, надо запомнить ))

[@PetraKann]

Using whatever you have "laying around" can also destroy the item you are trying to repair or refurbish. You may have some battery acid "laying around"

[@vintageboulton]

Yeah within reason

[@PetraKann]

@@vintageboulton Actually there are polishing kits available at auto shops which are used to buff up the lens covers of your headlights, indicators. Not too expensive, I purchased one for about $12 in Australia.

[@vintageboulton]

@@PetraKann that's probably my point, I don't want to rush out and buy something just because some company is marketing it to me. Instead I try to use some common sense first - polishing any material is literally taking layers off, just like sanding wood. All you need is something with grit and elbow grease 👍

[@goodun2974]

​@@vintageboulton, metal polish typically contains chemicals formulated to remove tarnish from metals and those are neither necessary nor appropriate for cleaning and buffing plastic. The abrasive grit in metal polish is likely to be of the wrong material and the wrong grit size for plastic use. Buy yourself a bottle of Novus Plastic Polish #2, with the consistency of heavy cream. I have been working on audio equipment for 50 years and that stuff is damn near magical (works great on old Bakelite and plastic radios as well, and I've not seen it damage anything). I know from experience that I could have cleaned that dust cover with a soft rag and Novus Polish as quickly, perhaps more so, than you did with the drill and buffing pads. The same company also makes a light #1 plastic cleaning spray and a heavier paste-like #3 polishing compound, which might have gotten some of that deep gouge out (though even the best polishing formulas have their limits).

[@dickie8918]

@petrakan you obvs a bit special Ey… 😉

[@jockmattock9239]

That was my Dad's exact turntable. WTF

[@vintageboulton]

I love it when that happens!

[@manchesterexplorer8519]

People used to use turntables to just simply listen to records and to not worry about either being some sort of prized collectors item .

[@vintageboulton]

Like cars

[@jasonemanuel9070]

Nothing wrong about been proud of your gear

[@bruceinraleigh9999]

If that 1000x portion of video was truly at 1000x speed, then that short segment took you 2.5 hours of polishing. Really? That long?

[@vintageboulton]

Sounds about right, I lose track of time in my shed 🤣

[@vintageboulton]

Then again, it is Adobe Premiere so who knows what that program is doing... I just right click the clip and set speed to 1000

[@jimthomson8774]

The cover does not act as an amplifier or an echo chamber, utter,utter rubbish.

[@vintageboulton]

its got 5 walls and its shaped like a box with no diffusion material.... sounds like an echo chamber to me

[@jimthomson8774]

Yeah. I mean every record player manufacturer tells you to remove the carefully engineered, product tested, specifically designed dust cover, due to sonic issues. All of them, all of the time, for decades! I mean it is so obvious, that until very recently ,during the craze for snake oil tweaks , no one in the history of hi-fi had ever noticed. Confirmation bias, totally. Let your cat jump on the record, attract extra static dust on your records, etc. I tell you what, play a record, dust cover down and tap the side of the cover, you may be surprised, nothing happens, nothing picked up. It is impossible for the stylus reading the groove while playing to affect that operation by picking up signals in what you describe as an echo chamber. You obviously know how a stylus works and why your scenario cannot, not doesn't but cannot actually happen. There is enough rubbish talked about in this hobby as it is.

[@vintageboulton]

@@jimthomson8774 if the snake oil is free then I'll have a sip 👍

[@jimthomson8774]

@@vintageboulton lol, true enough. Free is always best.

[@ziondanny7081]

Get a real life, rather than spend it polishing plastic.

[@vintageboulton]

Haha I agree with that

[@josephrich3509]

Thats crap. Use Meguiars Scratch X 2.0 and a cotton cloth or microfiber cloth.