Is it true records are sealed to look better....

I'll say it is a LOT easier to see defects in the vinyl if it is BLACK. Clear or transparent vinyl is near impossible to see small imperfections in the grooves. (at least in my experience)

New records don’t need to be cleaned. There’s no mould release nothing, never has been, never will. Just nonsense from the misinformed. Ultra sonic cleaners are snake oil.

So I just opened a brand new Yarlung LP - - volume 2 of the Yuko Mabuchi - an audiophile pressing in a lovely non static inner liner. 

The disc was covered in a fine patina of card or paper scraps, probably from the jacket or something -- so whether or not mold release agent exists or not the assumption that new records are in any way clean is patently false.

On other threads there are postings of the far from asceptic interiors of pressing plants. Why wouldn't you clean a disc before playing? 

@twoleftears - I always wash new clothes before wearing.