How to Repair Phonograph Records
For the record collector, proper care and maintenance is paramount to the life and value of a record. Phonograph records are easily damaged. They scuff, scratch and warp very easily. But sometimes no matter what safety precautions you take to care for your records, accidents will happen. Whether you buy a record and leave it in your car in extreme heat, or handle your records carelessly, at some point your albums will suffer damage. It is important to know how to repair dings, scratches and warps in vinyl record albums.
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Things You'll Need
- Damaged Phonograph Record
- 2 pieces of 15-by-15 inch Glass
- Discwasher D4
Instructions
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Repairing Warped Records
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1
Purchase two glass plates. They need to be 15 inches by 15 inches or larger to cover an entire 12 inch record.
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2
Place the record between the two plates of glass firmly but carefully. If you are dealing with a record that is warped severely, it is possible to break the vinyl if you press down too hard.
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3
Place the record on a flat surface in the sun. Monitor the record closely so it does not get too hot. The idea is for the sun to heat up the glass which heats up the vinyl and will soften the vinyl and re-form the vinyl to its original shape. If the glass heats up too quickly, the record is likely to melt or suffer irreparable heat damage that will effect the grooves on the vinyl.
Repairing Record Scratches
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4
Purchase a record cleaning kit, preferably the Discwasher D4 kit. This kit comes with a brush and washing fluid. You can buy refills of the washing fluid for under $5. The Discwasher kit itself retails for about $25 at music and electronic retail outlets such as BestBuy or RadioShack.
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5
Lay the record on a flat surface and apply the washing fluid to the applicator brush. Never apply the liquid directly on the record. This will prevent the fluid from being applied unevenly and potentially damaging the record.
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6
Take the applicator brush and apply the washing fluid in a circular motion until you have covered the entire side of vinyl. Be careful not to apply too much pressure, you could risk scratching your record even further.
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Tips & Warnings
Once a record is scratched it is nearly impossible to remove a scratch completely. Cleaning your records correctly allows the record needle to glide evenly across the grooves in the vinyl. Dust and debris on a vinyl record makes for a noisy record and causes the record needle to scratch the vinyl.
There is popular technique for repairing warped records which involves placing your warped vinyl under a heavy stack of records or books. This is at best, a risky practice. It could take months, if not years for your vinyl to get back to normal. Even then, it is not uncommon for the vinyl to break under the pressure of the weight.
