Suppose somebody invented a fluid to spritz on records that protected them against scratches, finger prints, and wear from repeated playings? The Ball Brothers, Inc., have done just that. They call it Sound Guard.

Sound is stored as a spiral groove pressed into the plastic surface of the record. The phonograph cartridge stylus is an exceptionally hard substance, a diamond or sapphire chip, that rides in the soft plastic groove translating the undulations of the left and right groove walls into corresponding electronic pulses which the speakers reproduce as sound. The progress of the stylus is hindered by dust particles, finger print oil, static electricity, and incorrect turntable adjustment. The stylus imbeds bits of dirt in the plastic groove as it rides over them; because it's pushed off-center by the debris it gouges plastic off the groove walls. The result is extraneous7 noise mixed with the sound on the record: the pop, hiss, and crackle that are heard in the speaker with the music — particularly on older records that have been played a lot.