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How to Clean Records With Wood Glue

The sound of vinyl records is treasured by record collecting music lovers. But overtime, the grooves of a record can slowly accrue a build up of microscopic gunk. This in turn can degrade the quality of sound when playing the record. Having your records professionally cleaned or buying a record-cleaning machine can be expensive. An affordable and legitimate alternative is cleaning your records with wood glue. Wood glue will not adhere to the record because they are both vinyl-based substances. The only thing it will adhere to is the gunk in the record grooves. This allows you to pull the wood glue off and all of the gunk with it. The sound quality of your record will be vastly improved.

Things You'll Need

  • PVA wood glue
  • 1/2-inch transparent adhesive tape
  • Plastic putty knife
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Instructions

    • 1

      Set the record on a clean, flat surface.

    • 2

      Place four pieces of 1/2-inch transparent adhesive tape along the edge of the record. Place them evenly spaced, one at the top, one at the bottom and two on either side. Stick them on just past the lead-in groove. These will be your pull-tabs for helping you to peel off the glue later.

    • 3

      Spread a thick layer of wood glue on the record with a clean, plastic putty knife. An old credit card will work also. This part can be tricky. Instead of pouring a ton of glue on at once, pour on sizable dollops and spread them out as you go. The layer should be between 1/8 and 1/4 inches thick. Be very careful to not get glue on the center label. Also be careful not to scratch the record with the putty knife. Stop on the lead-in groove and do not let any glue pour over the edge.

    • 4

      Allow the glue to dry for six to eight hours.

    • 5

      Pull up on the pull-tabs to start peeling the layer of dry glue off the surface of the record. Once you have a good start on the edge, use your fingers to carefully pull off the rest of the glue.

    • 6

      Flip your record over and repeat the steps to clean the other side.

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