Using wood glue to clean your vinyl records

I’m an engineer at heart. I love creative solutions to problems, even if they turn out not to be practical. I’ll leave it to the vinyl experts to decide if this process works better than a commercial record cleaner, but I give this video an A+ for clever.



16 thoughts on “Using wood glue to clean your vinyl records

  1. Matthew says:

    I’m going to try this on my signed copy of Hotel California this weekend. Maybe.

  2. stsk says:

    I wonder if this trick would clean up Jim’s guitar tone… spread a layer of wood glue on his beard and then just remove it the next day.

  3. Han Vota says:

    I used to do this in the 80’s using Elmer’s Glue.

  4. ProductiveMonk says:

    Maybe you could play the glue too, bit then the music would be backwards because the turntable would be rotating in the wrong direction at that point. Funny.

  5. Moeskido says:

    Bizarre. I’d want to know for a fact that the glue doesn’t remove any vinyl along with the dust.

  6. J. says:

    Both Titebond and Elmer’s are PVA (polyvinyl acetate) type glues, and won’t adhere to most plastics. Besides, they both come in plastic bottles. 🙂

  7. MichaelQ says:

    Little disconcerting there is an edit before and after he puts the glue on. Could be a different record.

    If you want to get rid of scratches, best way is to buy the CD or on itunes 🙂

  8. Moeskido says:

    Now you’ve done it. Here come the vinyl enthusiasts.

  9. MichaelQ says:

    Hehe

  10. MichaelQ says:

    Can you flip the glue platter over and play the record backwards?

  11. Bob says:

    THAT’S NUCKING FUTS!!!

  12. Mark says:

    I could see how that would work. I’ve always deep cleaned my dirty records by washing them with warm soapy water.

  13. Spy says:

    The fact that they come in plastic bottles does not have anything to do with adhering to plastics. Instant glue also comes in plastic bottles but it adheres to plastics like crazy. It’s the contact with air that matters.

  14. thmoore29 says:

    Have you tried it, link to your video? CD or Itunes? CD mehby < mspelled on purpose Itunes? are you tone deaf?

  15. JKHolman says:

    I tried this on a Thrift store LP of Hello Dolly. Played the record and heard a constant stream of pops & crackles. Applied a layer of Elmer’s Wood glue. Accidently went 48 hrs instead of the recommended minus 20. Had to be careful of the removal. One flake and a large circle of dried glue later, and I was ready to test the record. Sounded like a different LP than the thrift store one. This really works.

  16. JKHolman says:

    Edit: This does not fix the scratches. It grabs the dirt and grime over the years and leaves the vinyl in its current material condition. For best results in removal, do not let the glue dry completely [as I did]. It has to peel off. The record needs to be grimy enough so the glue is adhering to the debris and not the record itself. Experiment on less esteemed LPs before trying it on something you hold dear. Good luck

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