Vinyl deep cleaning, using woodglue - The process.

The woodglue is applied using the flexible spatula provided. I poured about 1/2 cup worth of woodglue and while the turntable is spinning, evenly spread out the glue as seen. Honestly it's kinda thick, I should be using less woodglue as this would aid faster drying/curing... since this is the first time, its okay.. we learn from experience.. ;)

The processed vinyl is place on a stand and left on the dining table with the ceiling fan switched on, to further expedite the drying process. Since this will take a few good hours dependent on the thickness of the woodclue, I did this just after dinner, anticipating that the woodglue should be dry in the morning... 

This is what I found in the morning! From apaque thick white covering it became 'hard' and translucent layer, ready to be peeled.. The trick here is to use your finger nails and pushed the layer at the edge, it should peel easily..

There you go, what did I tell ya?! Start peeling from the edge and work your way to the center... then work your way circumferentially... simple! ;)

As you can see the woodglue layer is very flexible, its neither soft or hard. Almost there and I can see that the vinyl surface has transformed.. like its brand new!!!

Voila! A spanking 'new' vinyl is in my hand ready to be tested/played! A quick test on the turntable revealed a much quiter surface noise, very minimal pops/crackles/etc... The stylus is left clean as opposed to be full of gooey/gunk/whatnots after a few turns..

Now you're ready to do the other side!!!

Findings:

PROS:

Very effective in deep cleaning very dirty vinyls.. I found later if you were to initially wet the surface then apply the woodglue, it is more penetrative.. the woodglue that I used was water soluble...

You can also treat the vinyl with isophrophyl alcohol.. this is preferable if the surface is 'oily' and would aid the woodglue in going into the grooves...

CON:

Its a lengthy labourous process.

Labourous as the application need to be done manually and carefully. I suggest you try it out on old unuseable vinyls to get the hang of it before venturing on your precious vinyls.

Lengthy because it'll take a while for the woodglue to cure/dry, again depending on the amount being used and the type of woodglue being used. The one that I used take between 4-6 hours before it's 'peelable'...

Warning. Do this at your own risk. So far I had a 100% success rate and you should be able to. Good luck and have fun! I did...!

Happy New Year 2010!