Cleaning a Record with Wood Glue!? 

Well who would have thunk 😁 There is a noticable difference. I was hoping you would play the glue. I personally don't care what kinds of videos you make just keep making them. When is the next live event?

Also: the few pops and clicks that remained after the cleaning were damage to the vinyl itself. This of course is what happens over time when a diamond (or even sapphire) stylus keeps cutting into the record with each play. And this is why it's very common with older records like the one you played. There is absolutely nothing you can do about damage to vinyl--despite what some RU-vidrs will claim (I, or one, refuse to use sandpaper on my records, as one example of what's out there). But that's actually a part of the charm of records--the clicks and pops, when not too overbearing, are evidence of a well played--and well loved--record.

I heard significantly less pops and static on the “after” recording. Also, glad you tried playing the glue because that was my first thought when you took it off.

Great video. Retired audio engineer and DJ from the 70s and 80's, I've been doing wood glue (TiteBond II or III) for 20+ years. Works fantastic.

It’s like a biore pore strip for a record.

That was really cool. I can definitely hear a difference.

Here for the glue peel off ..😏😭😅 watched it twice 😂

The peeling was incredibly satisfying

I’ve heard that the use of wood glue may lead to static like you mentioned. I suppose if you ran it over with an anti static brush the quality would be even better!

If you're going to try and clean records with wood glue, I highly suggest you use Titebond II (blue label) instead of Gorilla Wood Glue. The reason being that Titebond is much more flexible, and not as prone to "flaking" as you see at 4:42 - 5:08. Furthermore, Titebond II does not adhere to the record as strongly as Gorilla Wood Glue, so it's better to use for those who are worried this method might damage their record via stripping.

Great Job. I have been doing this for about three years now. I have never been disapointed. This works. Since my video, I have now reverted to a cake decorating table and use the smoothing wand to spread the glue. I use Jot glue from Dollar Tree. I can get two 8oz. bottles for $1. I figured the glue would play. I just didn't have the guts to play it on my JVC.

Thanks, I have been trying this method on some of my old friends that I just don’t want to give up on. A couple of hacks that may help. I stage about 8 records to glue and lay them out on a thick plastic bag for drying, then flip them to the other side to be treated before peeling both sides. There is static that attracts small glue debris so I spray with 50/50 combo of distilled water and 90% alcohol then wipe with micro fiber towel. A fingernail or tooth pick helps get the peeling started. Be sure to pull up any remaining glue residual and best to do first playback on your backup turntable as I have concerns about damaging the stylus on a good TT. I think this method has merit but not sure it’s better than more conventional soft cleaning methods. I use an old credit card to spread the glue but will try with my finger as suggested by another responder.

This is awesome, my fiance got me a Prince record so I've been watching vinyl related videos, I gotta say, that one there looks so shiny and cool! Awesome video.

Peeling the glue always satisfies me 😍🖤

From my research, and I'm not sure why, but titebond II seems to be the best. I think it's the water resistant part that make it more flexible and easier to remove in one piece.

Mind. Blown. Very cool video. I thought it is sound better, seemed like the "sound" could "push" out better. Not sure that made any sense at all, but it sounded better to me. You blew me away at the end as well. lol

I tried this today for the first time. My records weren't nearly as noisy as the one you used, but almost all of the pops and cracks were eliminated using WOOD GLUE!?!??! WOW! Now I'm pulling other records out and cleaning them too ... awesome, thanks!

I can definitely hear the difference, well done 👍🏼

Thank you for playing the GLUE!!!!! :)

For anyone doing this, it helps alot to stick a piece of thicker paper or card stock to easily get the peel started. Pit a little extra glue on the paper and set on after applying glue

This reminds me of pore strips for the face lol. So glad you played the glue!

The way you handle your vinyl, I bet you have to clean often. Get done cleaning and immediately put your oily fingers right on the surface. Damn....

I’ve done this a lot. It almost always works well. Best success is a 1975 original pressing of Born to Run which went from unlistenable with a number of skips, to near mint quiet.

I’m embarrassed to say that the snap - crackle -pops sounded unchanged to me. But, as another commenter said, the music "pushed through" more on the after demo. Of course my perceptions are tied to my 78yo ears. So maybe what I received was unrelated to what was sent.👵🏻 🥴 🤔 😅. Sent by Patricia from N.H.. So thank you for all your videos and just keep ‘em coming.

Definitely hear a difference. Very cool!!

I like the results. Please post more record cleaning videos with that wood glue.

A noticeable difference and very shiney! Wondered what the glue was going to sound like too. lol. That was awesome. I liked the name of your record player. Skippy, that's cute. 😆 I love all your videos. You put them out and I'll watch them. 😁🤗

Great tip, thanks for the vid

That sound is so satisfying

You can hear the difference, and I wonder if hitting it with a zerostat after peeling off the glue wouldn’t take it another step more quiet. If you use the triangle method using a zerostat, they work awesome (and should for the price), you should squeeze the zerostat slowly enough that it doesn’t emit an audible “click”. That’s the trick with those zerostats. Nice vid, good job!

Yes there is a difference. So cool.

Yes sounds much better! The end was super funny!!

Seeing how well the glue disc reproduces the sound, I'd only clean non copy write protected LPs in this way.🤣

Definitely could hear a difference, really cool video!

I’m more intrigued by whatever happened to that stylus! Thanks for sharing!

A lot of people don't understand the needles also collect dust which can affect the sound of the music. They still make cleaning solutions that are specifically made for vinyl those should also be used.

I’m definitely gonna try this with some old house records I’ve got. Some of them are SERIOUSLY bad.

just tried first time last night/today. I quickly learned that the key is to apply thick-enough glue, otherwise the peeling off is a pain and leaves all kinds of cracked pieces and you'll have to pry them up

Good to see something like that. Thanks

Clear difference. Thank you.

Amazing that the glue played!!

I did this myself and it was sooo satisfying to apply it.

"i came across a video of someone cleaning their records with wood glue and so thought i should just create the exact same video" cool

Beethoven's 5th symphony definitely sounded better after the glue cleaning! 📯🎶🎻🎼👏👍

This was very informative thanks one has to do it at home to judge the quality of the sound difference

Very interesting thing you show us today.

I've always had a question that might be stupid or could be interesting. I wonder if you were able to put the record into a vacuum chamber after the glue is applied, would it potentially draw tiny bits of air out of the grooves and allow the glue to get in deeper to grab more dirt. There wouldn't be much air trapped beneath the glue, but there could be just enough to help prevent it from doing as good a cleaning as it could.

Great video! So many of these record cleaning videos fail to show a before and after. You know it would really be interesting if you then did a before and after of the other side of the record just washing it with water. There was a real difference with the glue (I mean, aside from the scratches which glue can't fix) but I wonder if just cleaning with soap and water would do the same?

It's much better. Thank you for posting.

Ok I can see how satisfying this is and very affective. However I have over 3,000 to do. So I guess I’ll only do the bad ones but I’m in the process of finally sorting and moving from numerous storage locations into my studio. I have two boxes (600) 7” That have black mould - can help thinking a) I need a lot of glue, 2) 10 per night 60 nights - wow.

I heard the difference. Awesome results.

Would never have thought of that working but it did 🤯 I am in shock! I want to know who is "Skippy" on the turntable?

I don’t know what the difference is in the formula, but Elmers school glue remains more pliable than wood glue that is brittle and cracks when pealing. Still the best method I’ve found to clean dirty records.

Thanks for your video. I think liquid latex would be interesting, too: the stuff that is used as tubeless bike tire sealant or table tennis rubber glue. The thin layer of latex glue may be softer than the wood glue so that it wouldn't do any harm to the record discs. Furthermore, it peels off more easily than the wood glue after it is completely dried. I will try latex glue onto one of my LPs.

I think peeling off skin and peeling off layers of things is satisfying for humans because it's a vestigial memory from back when we were reptiles/fish :3

Oh, wow! I was wondering if the glue would play. Lol!

I love how your record player's name is Skippy! (Reminds me of a beer can I met.)

Improved. I would give it a 2nd glue as I still hear blips.

Does it not damage the surface?

A definite difference. I would need gallons and gallons to clean my collection. But when you played the glue and herd music, I wonder about the stripping of the vinyl. I will try an album that is in bad shape and that doesn't have a great importance to me. Wish me luck in finding one.

My wonder is if using the goo used to clean keyboards would work as well but faster. It looks like putty and presses in between the keys. Might do the same for the grooves.

So glad you played the glue

Sounds cleaner but I wonder if some compressed air would also do the trick? You should try it with another record!

Sounds cleaner, less muffled

Greetings...I've been doing this for years and have tried many different glue brands and application techniques. If you continue to glue your old records (I typically only glue used records I buy from record shops), I'd recommend using Titebond II (blue bottle, found at Home Depot and Lowes) as your glue and use a finger to spread the glue, inside to outside, to inside. I start from the inside with some light pressure and draw a wave to the outside. This keeps a little higher edge on the outer rim and I don't get the left over residue on the outer edge. I then move back to the center using the same technique, pushing the wave to the inner groove. This ensures a thick inside edge as well and helps ensure no residue is left in the final part of the groove. Incidentally, if there is ever any residue that is stuck, just reglue again, and let it sit more than 24 hours. When you peel, it should remove the residue from the last gluing. I've found a sit of more than 24 hours yields better results (just not as fun when you want to get playing the record). I've also found that a wet clean first helps a lot. Not sure if it's because it removes dust that might sit on other dust, but I have found some serious differences from straight glue, to a glue after a wet clean. I've had lots of success as I've refined my process in the last few years, and I STILL make the record shop owners cringe when I talk about it. To many, this is a horrible process, however, no one has yet given me actually proof that when done correctly, I am damaging the vinyl. GREAT video! Thanks for helping promote a sound cleaning solution!

Yes I can clearly hear the difference. However, its a lot of work to do it on each record. I am going to try this myself on one of my records. Then share my experience

I have a "Disc Washer" that I used on records in the 80's. Do they still make something like that? I haven't listened to my albums ever since CD's came in.

I used to do this and then wipe it down with an anti static/lint free cloth, because I hate static lmao

Looks like I need to head to Lows for some wood glue

You should have placed a piece of card board at the end and ran the glue all the way into the locked groove too. Fingernails will scuff up and scratch the dead wax on the lead in grooves area. Tracks are on cd's, minidiscs and computer files. I call the songs or score selections on records/lp's..."cuts". Tracks are for cd's, dvd's, bluray's and computer folders with music files.

The glue sounded better than the vinyl. 😆

2nd had much less crackling

Congratulations for your video. It would be more useful if you had compared the glue method with the simple soap and water washing method.

Can you help me please? i did clean my vinyl with wood glue and after i leave it for more than 24 hours. i did peel the glue but a lot of resedue left on vinyl and i cant take it out coz of super thin resedue. what can i do to remove totally? thanks!

Maybe the tempo in the second one is more elongated and less static. But not much of a change

hahaha "I never even thought of doing that!" Mate thats hilarious irony. I swear these wood glue guys are doing send up videos of audiophiles without knowing it.

I hear a difference. Softer music might be more revealing. I have a Tschaikovsky Pathetique Symphony #6. This music starts softly and stays soft for quite a while. I am going to try wood glue.

Numark!!!!...ok back to the video!!

It's got to be better with all the dirt gone. Shelley says there's a difference, but my hearing has taken a severe hit from machinery, etc.

Will this work with Titebond original wood glue? I'm hoping I didn't make a mistake and use the wrong type.

👍

a bit of the old ludwig van

You should play the woodglue

Wow thanks. I actually used a similar technique for leaning underneath my flat top stove cos there were too many things stuck there and I didn't know how to take it apart to clean it.

The noise floor is definitely lower after the glue treatment. However nothing will fix the sever damage you inflicted in the entry groove. Even so, the entry was much cleaner. Word of advice, do Not manually place the stylus on the record. Humans are not as gentle as the auto lowering of modern turntables. Additionally, that is a shit cartridge and probably has a higher noise floor. I will be trying this with my Denon DL-103r to see how i do. Cheers

Lordy that is a bad Beethoven 5.

I wonder if this would work with Elmers 🤔

It did sound better afterwards

I'm defenetly going to try this. I just inherited a ton of old vinyl and need a hobby for the winter.

0:22 i physically cringed and clenched my cheeks.

yes there is a no scratching or popping sound on the after

You need to clean your turntable too lol

I prefer to use my industrial belt sander to clean my records, more efficient.

Play the glue record, you can listen to Beethoven backwards and hear secret satanic messages

7:40 is where it's at 😁

Assuming this actually cleans and improves the sound quality of the record, I’d still worry that the stylus picks up small remnants of glue, over time damaging the needle. I’m very tempted to try this on an old, beat up LP, but this other concern gives me pause. If anyone has used this practice over time, successfully, please chime in. I really don’t want to spend $1k on a record washer.

Have a small vinyl collection that I cherish. Want to preserve it best I can. Will need to start with this cleaning method. Once done, I intend to have purchased the plastic sleeves to store the record in. Didn't watch video till the very end the first time. Read a few comments and one pointed out that you tried playing the peeled glue. Went back and completed watching till the end. That was amazing! Thanks for the video 😎

did u think about putting the glue “album” on the turntable to see what it sounds like?… bet it would be cool!

how much did you pay for your denon small dj mixer.. can you send me the model number .. thank you..

Unfortunately it does not work that well considering the time and effort, I gave up on this method, no big difference in your before and after.