What do you find is the best way to "restore" noisy vinyl?

I have a couple of singles that would benefit from a good clean/restoration of some kind, but have never been sure of the best way to go about it.

What's the best way to clean/get rid of surface noise on those 45s you've managed to find in junk shops/warehouses/attics etc that are in a bit of a state?

Cheers

Click on any of the products on that site Bob, and on the left hand side you'll see a text link that reads "View MSDS Sheet". A quick scan of that tells you whether it is PVA or not. Here's the Elmer's selection of wood glues, all of which appear to be PVA based...

https://www.elmers.com/products/glues-and-adhesives/wood

Aha, my partner Bev has just walked in. She works with adhesives and the like professionally. I asked her about what passes as PVA/Wood glue in the States and without a moment's pause said Elmer's - and that's without her knowing we were talking about it on here.

Get yourself down the shops Bob, buy a small container of the stuff and have a go on a trashed 45...

A quick look on the Elmer's website shows that they supply a range of PVA/wood glues...

https://www.elmers.co...-and-adhesives/

That's the same link I sent you above! If you took a quick look at it you would see that all the wood glues are brown and not white, as I said...

I'm going to buy some elmers glue all (actually I think that's what I bought) and use it on a record that I can't get any cleaner my way. I have a really expensive record that has some sort of hazy stuff on it that isn't heat haze, if the glue got that off it would rule.

I invite anyone who's used the glue method unsatisfactorily to send me the record, I bet I can get it cleaner.

I did take a look. Did you read my post above?

Post 52 - the link is to their range of PVA/wood glues.

The technical data (the MSDS sheet) describes the colour as 'light yellow'. If you want to know the difference between white and yellow PVA, have a read of this.

https://www.woodbin.com/ref/etc/woodworking_glues.htm

I have this vintage record cleaner called "record factory disc preener" I never seen another like it..its a compact micro fiber record comb..works pretty good..you can actually see the dust comb out of the grooves

use a toothbrush!

Try a "Ladies" makeup brush as it is a lot softer

Face masks? can you elaborate?

With record cleaning machines, you apply the fluid and they all use vacuum cleaners to suck the fluid off the vinyl. I don't think I'm following here, though, you're saying you can get rid of warps somehow? I'm interested as I can't fix warps and have sent it to other people who had dewarping machines to do it for me.

HI MATE, First thing I must make clear to everyone, is to ask yourself an honest question, why did I by a f***ed copy & not a nice minty one? if the answer is "it's a bargain, & with a little restoration, it will be fine in my collection" "It's a rare record and if I manipulate some of it's flaws, and Mug it of on someone, as a Romany you will be stealing from me!

PVA is a safe product & it works very well, & safe on all 45s & LPs never tried it on a 78 rpm record, the success and benefits on applying it, is in it's molecular structure, it wraps around any lose stuff that has built up over the life of the record, how it works is it lifts upwards all the gunge & away, not shifting it to the side? if a person wants to remove layers of face make up and get just their natural skin to show? they use a face pack, which works in the same way, PVA is similar to latex, a product of rubber, copydex may do the same job? never tried I have to go out, will be back to finish and answer all questions at 17.00 DAVE

Thats the one for me right here, fantastic price - fantastic results:

https://www.ebay.de/itm/KNOSTI-Disco-Antistat-Schallplatten-Waschgerat-NEUWARE-/120857637969?pt=Audio_Zubeh%C3%B6r&hash=item1c23ad3451

Best of Luck,

Chris

there you go.

still sounds gash to me, even after he's cleaned it

I would have had that glue every flippin where, all over the record, labels, record player & me...it would have been a right pot mess lol .

Russ

Edited February 28, 201213 yr by Russ Vickers

I have this vintage record cleaner called "record factory disc preener" I never seen another like it..its a compact micro fiber record comb..works pretty good..you can actually see the dust comb out of the grooves

they still sell carbon fiber brushes if that's what you're talking about. it has like super thin black carbon fibers.

Thats the one for me right here, fantastic price - fantastic results:

https://www.ebay.de/i...=item1c23ad3451

Best of Luck,

Chris

I bought the first version of a cleaner like this, called something like the spin-it, it's an ugly yellow thing. I wasn't impressed. Now I don't have a good way to clean LPs but am able to hand clean 45s very well.

HI MATE, First thing I must make clear to everyone, is to ask yourself an honest question, why did I by a f***ed copy & not a nice minty one? if the answer is "it's a bargain, & with a little restoration, it will be fine in my collection" "It's a rare record and if I manipulate some of it's flaws, and Mug it of on someone, as a Romany you will be stealing from me!

PVA is a safe product & it works very well, & safe on all 45s & LPs never tried it on a 78 rpm record, the success and benefits on applying it, is in it's molecular structure, it wraps around any lose stuff that has built up over the life of the record, how it works is it lifts upwards all the gunge & away, not shifting it to the side? if a person wants to remove layers of face make up and get just their natural skin to show? they use a face pack, which works in the same way, PVA is similar to latex, a product of rubber, copydex may do the same job? never tried I have to go out, will be back to finish and answer all questions at 17.00 DAVE

ok thanks for the face mask explanation, I didn't understand you meant something like a beauty mask that women do at spas and stuff.

I did take a look. Did you read my post above?

Post 52 - the link is to their range of PVA/wood glues.

The technical data (the MSDS sheet) describes the colour as 'light yellow'. If you want to know the difference between white and yellow PVA, have a read of this.

https://www.woodbin.c...rking_glues.htm

thanks for the link explaining the difference between white and yellow glue. I guess the yellow sets much faster? I think from reading the article you're recommending white because of this sentence on the yellow:

Yellow glue also tends to be thicker than white glue and does have some small gap-filling capabilities - but not nearly to the degree offered by epoxy.

So basically you're recommending the white because it gets better into the cracks? Is there some other reason? Also, does it make a really big difference between the two, especially if you're using a card to push them into the grooves? Just because I've had people tell me only to use one or the other with no specific reason, and the video posted here shows someone using the yellow glue (which I've actually never seen before). Is there something really bad that can happen using one or the other or is it just a question of effectiveness?

Also, that "elmers glue all" which I was already planning to use *is* what you're recommending, right? Thanks for your help.

Edited February 29, 201213 yr by boba

Used to have one of these in the good old days-

Can't remember how effective it was, probably not very.

Trawling ebay came acoss UFO LP cleaner-looks interesting, anybody else seen, bought ??

Tony

Used to have one of these in the good old days-

Can't remember how effective it was, probably not very.

Trawling ebay came acoss UFO LP cleaner-looks interesting, anybody else seen, bought ??

Tony

Those ronco things were motorised, and just had a thin slit covered by very cheap yellow sponge that was supposed to clean the record as it spun round - caused more damage/scratches than anything else!!

Dreadful!

Edited February 29, 201213 yr by MrC

I've only used the white glue and have found that to be excellent. As mentioned earlier, filling the grooves with the stuff does not appear to be a problem at all. If, on the other hand, the yellow glue has better gap-filling capabilities, then it may do a better job.

Just to confirm, what I'm suggesting is to use the Elmer's carpenter's wood glue product. I don't see "glue all" in this range and I think we may be having a bit of confusion. If you click through the link to their wood glue range, the products you want are on the bottom half of the page, not the top where the 'glue all' is shown. There are nine carpenter's wood glues in the range and 'glue all' is not among them.

In the video above, the person says they're using Titebond II. That appears to be exactly the same as Elmer's wood glue in all but name:

https://www.titebond.com/product.aspx?id=2ef3e95d-48d2-43bc-8e1b-217a38930fa2#

I've only used the white glue and have found that to be excellent. As mentioned earlier, filling the grooves with the stuff does not appear to be a problem at all. If, on the other hand, the yellow glue has better gap-filling capabilities, then it may do a better job.

Just to confirm, what I'm suggesting is to use the Elmer's carpenter's wood glue product. I don't see "glue all" in this range and I think we may be having a bit of confusion. If you click through the link to their wood glue range, the products you want are on the bottom half of the page, not the top where the 'glue all' is shown. There are nine carpenter's wood glues in the range and 'glue all' is not among them.

In the video above, the person says they're using Titebond II. That appears to be exactly the same as Elmer's wood glue in all but name:

https://www.titebond....b-217a38930fa2#

the article said that yellow glue had worse crack-filling abilities (someone make a joke here). Anyways, now I'm just totally confused. I think it probably doesn't matter that much as long as the stuff a) sticks to the crap that's in the grooves and b) you can get it off the vinyl. I would obviously try it on a cheap record first. I will maybe experiment with different types and report back. Thanks.

Also, that "titebond" thing scares me, it says it's sandable. I'm not sure I would want to put something that permanent sounding into the grooves of the vinyl.

still sounds gash to me, even after he's cleaned it

I can't tell if you're saying that miles davis kind of blue is a bad record or that it's still crackly.

the article said that yellow glue had worse crack-filling abilities (someone make a joke here). Anyways, now I'm just totally confused. I think it probably doesn't matter that much as long as the stuff a) sticks to the crap that's in the grooves and b) you can get it off the vinyl. I would obviously try it on a cheap record first. I will maybe experiment with different types and report back. Thanks.

The quote you pulled from the article suggests that yellow may be better for getting into grooves, cracks, etc. Certainly that's how I read it.

Yellow glue also tends to be thicker than white glue and does have some small gap-filling capabilities - but not nearly to the degree offered by epoxy.

At the end of the day, as long as you only use carpenter's wood glue (which will come off easily) you should not have a problem. Whether yellow is better than white, or vice-versa, no idea. But it might be fun to find out.

I thought "the epoxy" in that sentence was the white glue.

No, epoxy is a different type of adhesive all together. Let's put it this way, if you applied epoxy to a 45, I don't think it would come off - ever!

Thats the one for me right here, fantastic price - fantastic results:

https://www.ebay.de/i...=item1c23ad3451

Best of Luck,

Chris

I had one of those, it was rubbish, but the cleaning fluid that came with it was good

I can't tell if you're saying that miles davis kind of blue is a bad record or that it's still crackly.

No amount of cleaning will make 'Miles Ahead' sound like 'Kind Of Blue' !!

No amount of cleaning will make 'Miles Ahead' sound like 'Kind Of Blue' !!

this is another excellent point

No, epoxy is a different type of adhesive all together. Let's put it this way, if you applied epoxy to a 45, I don't think it would come off - ever!

ok thanks for the clarification. i'm not as immersed in glue culture so i'm having a hard time processing the descriptions in the site.

ok thanks for the clarification. i'm not as immersed in glue culture so i'm having a hard time processing the descriptions in the site.

There seems to be plenty of glue experts on this thread....it's amazing what can be learnt from a misspent youth round the back of the offy.....

Just waiting for some-one to suggest rubbing wild mushrooms over the vinyl will help....bet the same experts come out to play

I can't tell if you're saying that miles davis kind of blue is a bad record or that it's still crackly.

It sounds like it cleaned up pretty well. just a shame about the music, sounds like he's sucking through a trumpet

with regular cloth (or worse, cotton), it's not even small slivers ... when you play the 45 you can see all this gunk the color of your cloth coming up and sticking to the needle.

that looks sort of like felt, is that true? if so it's different from the carbon fiber brush as the fibers are longer on that. it could be like the discwasher brushes that were sold for LPs.

i'm confused though, are you responding to my comment about not using something that's lint free? thanks.

that looks sort of like felt, is that true? if so it's different from the carbon fiber brush as the fibers are longer on that. it could be like the discwasher brushes that were sold for LPs.

i'm confused though, are you responding to my comment about not using something that's lint free? thanks.

I was actually replying to this " they still sell carbon fiber brushes if that's what you're talking about. it has like super thin black carbon fibers."

the pics were to explain what I was talking about..I been trying to find those small brushes "in the photo" and I dont ever see them..nothing compared to a VPI of course.they work real well for on the go dj'ing and really comb the dust out.however I do use the microfiber cloth myself and it works real good..thank you

I was actually replying to this " they still sell carbon fiber brushes if that's what you're talking about. it has like super thin black carbon fibers."

the pics were to explain what I was talking about..I been trying to find those small brushes "in the photo" and I dont ever see them..nothing compared to a VPI of course.they work real well for on the go dj'ing and really comb the dust out.however I do use the microfiber cloth myself and it works real good..thank you

the discwasher brush which is mainly for cleaning LPs is sort of like that thing. It's weird because it's directional, you have to wipe holding the brush at a specific angle and then dry holding the brush at the opposite angle.

Okay guys, can anyone clarify for me exactly which brand of yellow PVA wood glue in U.K.?

I've got a rather dirty Herbert Hunter on Spar could deffo benefit from a really good clean like this.

Aid.

Been to the pound shop and picked up some PVA I will let you know the results in the morning when I peel the glue off and play it.

Been to the pound shop and picked up some PVA I will let you know the results in the morning when I peel the glue off and play it.

I thought it had to be special yellow 'wood' PVA or is there no difference that normal PVA my kids use for school stuff?

Aid

water and washing up liquid as Steve says, works a treat and costs nothing.... give it a try

I thought it had to be special yellow 'wood' PVA or is there no difference that normal PVA my kids use for school stuff?

Aid

The standard white PVA is fine apparently, that's what I've been advised to try, think it's not quite as thick as the yellow wood glue type (some of which actually seems to have wood particles in it to help it bond better, so I'm guessing they're not the types to use!)

The standard white PVA is fine apparently, that's what I've been advised to try, think it's not quite as thick as the yellow wood glue type (some of which actually seems to have wood particles in it to help it bond better, so I'm guessing they're not the types to use!)

it's better for it to not be as thick as that means it has less surface tension and can get into the grooves better. I think the wood particles are there to make it sandable (at least that's what it said on one of the many pages about glue I have read at this point). You definitely wouldn't want to put that on your record, it could scratch it up.

Well Gents I have given the glue treatment a try and I have got to say it has made a difference to the record just make sure you spread it on thick and make sure you put a plastic sheet on the turntable to cover it.

I thought it had to be special yellow 'wood' PVA or is there no difference that normal PVA my kids use for school stuff?

Aid

Just go to the pound shop and get some white PVA and just put it on thick

Well Gents I have given the glue treatment a try and I have got to say it has made a difference to the record just make sure you spread it on thick and make sure you put a plastic sheet on the turntable to cover it.

Cheers for that, good to know it worked :thumbup:

Cheers for that, good to know it worked :thumbup:

To be honest its ok but to me it seems like a lot of farting around for what you gain really.

To be honest its ok but to me it seems like a lot of farting around for what you gain really.

I guess it depends just how dusty/dirty the records are to start with too.

Been some great suggestions/ideas for my original question, so "Thanks!" to everyone who's replied.

It's also good to know at least a couple of people (me included) have learned something new from the thread.

It does seem to have run it's course now, and did just turn into a Glue based discussion. That part has now been hijacked for a new thread, so I'll lock this one for now.

Once again, thanks to everyone who contributed

Paul.