RCA Early 80’s Label “Oxidation”

This was casually mentioned in a different post, and it caught my eye
because it’s something I’ve often wondered about: What IS the cause
of that white residue that you see on the labels of so many early-to-mid
1980’s RCA 45’s?

In my experience, it’s impossible to remove; wiping it with a wet cloth
really doesn’t get rid of it - so it’s not water soluble.

Anyone have any insight?


Edited by Stanko

How obvious that answer should have been to me. Now that you
mention it, yes - it IS only on the styrene copies and I do see it on other
labels. (Epic and Elektra come to mind). Sometimes it takes a
different/outside perspective to realize something.

Thanks for accepting me to the forum. I’ve been lurking for a while and
I enjoy the info shared.     And - if anyone wants to talk about the
country-side of Top 40, that’s the bulk of my collection. (1993 and older)

William Brown, who knows more about these things than anybody, made the following comment on the Steve Hoffman forum about why the labels on styrene 45s differ from their vinyl counterparts:

...such labels were designated as "heat seal," with something put on the back of the label that, when heat was applied, would serve as adhesive and stay there, unlike the ones where glue or rubber cement(?) or mucilage (?!) was used.