Wood glue method of record cleaning

VPI 16.5 is probably cheaper and is certainly faster.

Whoever said to try that was probably sniffing glue, not cleaning with it.

There are plenty of demos of it on You Tube. If you do it properly, the glue should come off in one piece. Personally, if I wanted to clean records on a budget, I would get a Spin-Clean. You also don't have to wait 8 hours to clean one side of a record.

I totally agree with Chayro...Get a Spin Clean. Wet washing records is the only real way to clean them AND the Spin Clean Fluid is Awesome. I use Gruve Glide to treat the record after I wash them. This process really makes a noticeably quieter record.

It's funny, once the topic of wood glue is brought up, you get the typical snarky responses from people like Zd542, who know absolutely nothing about it.

The wood glue method works and it works well. If you live in the states, Titebond II is the way to go. Once dried, the glue will pull off entirely. I've cleaned many a record using wood glue and have never damaged a stylus. You just have to be carefuly not to spread the glue too close to the label.

Records come out very clean, as well as nice and shiney. It doesn't always take 8 hours for the glue to dry either. It takes about 4 hours on average.

I have a VPI 16.5. I find that using Titebond II wood glue works better.I just cleaned two Allman Brothers albums this weeks and got them to sound very nice.

Just because something can be made to work doesn't necessarily mean it's the best way of doing it. This method may work 99 times out of 100 or more, but a 16.5 or some such RCM is many times cheaper than that INEVITABLE cantilever replacement you mention.

This doesn't even factor in wait time (for drying) and damage to your nervous system while you just wait for the god-awful sound your stylus will make when it eventually (or sooner) gets ripped from its moorings??

Hafta agree, seems inefficient and potentially dangerous to your cart. There are other ways and soaps (not "audiophile washing solution soaps") that are certainly cheaper than a goodly dose of wood glue.

Yeah, I wouldn't do the wood glue either. General consensus is to stick with more "traditional" methods of vinyl care. Way too many great Audiophile products available without going into the "dark side" of record cleaning, besides- glue is glue and what if it really didn't? peel off completely? I agree with everybody so far...stay away from glue. While you're at it, steer clear of stuff like WD40, 91 % Isopropyl alcohol, mineral oils, Windex, Pinesol, KY jelly, bong water. Too many crazy concoctions abound and everybody has different ideas and experiences, not all work so great, not all of them are very sane either, I.M.O.
I like my old Nitty Gritty best of all. Good luck!

It has worked for me, although I reserve it for my old-since-teens beat favorites. I've read page after page of online discussion of this method and have never read a single mention of a stylus or cantilever actually having been damaged. When you see how the Titebond II behaves on the record, this is easier to understand.

The Spin Clean works well. Life just seems too short to try the glue method, but then I'm old.

try bulldog cement...no#2. Works very well.

Tommyboy65,

"It's funny, once the topic of wood glue is brought up, you get the typical snarky responses from people like Zd542, who know absolutely nothing about it."

Thanks. I take that as a compliment. No ones ever called me snarky before. The names they usually call me always end up getting removed by Audiogon.

Tried it, record came off beautiful looking, caused no problems, but did not seem to fix any ticks and pops.

The only thing I've really seen consistently make records quieter is the Audio Desk system. Over the course of 30 years I have tried others, starting with Nitty Gritty, and noticed no improvement of any consequence other than records looking nicer.

Sounds to me like the guy on audiogon who is such a big believer in Bose 901 speakers and wants you to put some type of teflon tape for all the exposed plastic pieces sticking out of the speaker. Claims it makes them the best speakers in the world!! (No, I have not been sniffing glue myself.)

What's all this about teflon tape and what part of his Bose 901s does he stick it to? I can imagine that doing virtually anything to a Bose 901 would cause improvement so it aint that big of a stretch.
where do you find teflon tape and beside insulating wire what is it used for? Maybe Mylar tape would be better for speaker improvement and or repair?

I wrap Teflon pipe thread tape around my tonearm to dampen resonances. For my Technics SL12x0 M5G it works very well.

I've used Elmer's glue to try to clean a record but didn't hear a noticeable difference. Neither was it dangerous. If you put on a thick enough layer, the whole sheet of dried glue will pull off without any residue. However, I haven't tried it with Tite-Bond wood glue. One of the demos on YouTube where he plays "Kind of Blue" before and after is pretty impressive.

I may try it again with Tite-Bond, but in the meantime I get excellent results even with chronically noisy thrift shop records by washing them with Ajax dish detergent and microfiber terry towels, and then using a handheld steamer to blast the loosened gunk out of the groove.

Johnnyb53,
Doesn't that tape add considerable mass to your tonearm? I am no analog person so I don't know if that is a desired outcome in addition to dampening it. It is foamed so I guess it is not all that dense and heavy.
I was under the impression that the wood glue people were experimenting with was just the generic yellow opaque "Elmers" type glue. I haven't attempted myself it for the reasons you state. I can clean manually but I also have a record cleaning machine. I would like to get the ultra sonic cleaning machine. I am a fan of that technology having seen it work incredibly well on other things.

Mechans: It definitely doesn't add "considerable weight." Teflon tape is extremely thin and light. I s'pose I could tear off a length similar to what I wrapped and weigh it on my food scale, but I'll bet it's no more than a couple of grams. When I put it on I barely had to re-adjust the downforce and the sonic changes were all related to quelling resonances, not changing the arm/cartridge relationship.

As to ultrasonic cleaning, I first saw that in 1972 when I went to an audio engineer's house. He had a full quadraphonic setup with four EV bookshelf speakers. He had an ultrasonic cleaner for tableware, made to handle large dinner plates, so LPs fit right in. He'd fill it with distilled water and turn it on. When he lowered the record into it you could see the ultrasonic waves dislodging gunk from the record. I have no idea what that would have cost in 1972, esp. when adjusted for inflation, and when I search for ultrasonic cleaners today I never find one in that form factor.

This sounds like a BIG joke try VPI 16.5 or 17F.

Sounds perfect for spots of non-removable gunk stuck in the groove an RCM and solutions can not dispatch. Not a whole record but specific spot.

I think Notec is right, that seems the best way to use this process. However, in my experience, wood glue is far from ideal for the task, too hard to remove completely. I've had much better (and safer) results with Elmer's water soluble school glue. Comes in either green or clear gels. Cleaning with your record cleaning machine after using the Elmer's gel glue will dissolve any trace of adhesive that might remain. I recently purchased Ry Cooder's newest release and there was a speck of fibrous debris pressed into the vinyl and no amount of cleaning with my Nitty Gritty would phase it. The glue treatment removed the material and even though there is a visible depression where the material was removed, it plays without so much an audible tic.