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Erasing scratches on vinyl, dishonestly..

Lazarus Long

Lazarus Long

Super Member
I bought a record today from a guy. It looked very clean. It does not sound right. Maybe it's just a bad pressing, but I can see some scratches on the dead wax that seem to disappear as they go into the grooves. Is there a way, maybe with a magic erasure, to make a bad vinyl look good? It's possible he didn't know any better ?
 
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It could be a number of things. Sometimes a record can look pretty good but it sounds like crap. I've had records played with bad needles that damage the grooves. Some shallow cut records reveal any surface wear. I'd talk to the guy you bought it from and have him listen to it. If he's a stand up person, he'll make good on it.

I sell a lot of records in the summer and it's impossible to listen to them all. I visually grade them and tell my customers if there is a problem, I'll make good on it. That's the best way to do business.
 
I have a few records that look very clean but are super noisy. I am also attributing it to being played with a badly set up table or a worn needle just wrecking the grooves rather than the usual scratches that are easily visible. I have a copy of The Wall that plays great except for side three that is crackly as anything. Looks just as good as the others but sounds nasty. I was given it along with a Marantz table with a worn out needle so I'm seeing a cause and effect in action.

I'm no vinyl expert but I really don't know how you'd be able to clean a record of scratches without removing the grooves at the same time. Then again, people can figure out some ingenious things.
 
I hit a bad scratch on a record with a magic eraser and it helped somewhat. The thing is, it dulled the surface of the record, so you'd probably be able to see if that were the case.
 
Well if you take 90% alcohol and wipe the record down it will make the scratches look translucent instead of frosty white by melting the vinyl. It will also shine the record up, maybe I shouldn't be putting this out here but oh well.
 
Depending on how the record was made, allot of late sixties records were thicker and could take a licking and still sound great. I found a Beatles record that had a mildewed cover and the LP was a bit too rough just looking at it. Took it home and played like it didn't have a scratch on it. But now the records after the late seventies I couldn't say that about them. Some of the older records just don't seem to wear out...
 
4-2-7 said:
Well if you take 90% alcohol and wipe the record down it will make the scratches look translucent instead of frosty white by melting the vinyl. It will also shine the record up, maybe I shouldn't be putting this out here but oh well.
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Clean a record with WD40 and it will look absolutely wonderful. Will sound worse than before, and put a huge glob of gunk on your stylus, but it sure will look pristine. I've tried this before.
 
Clean it then clean it again. Maybe even some white glue too. But a used record is just that. I have seen used pristine vinyl that sounds like $hit! I attribute it to a cheap setup in it's past.


Hope you didn't pay to much.



Barney
 
It was a Beatles album only $10. He said, yeah I clean em with a magic something... I said, magic erasure? He said, no I only use water and a cloth...

I thought it was weird. It's a capitol hey jude. It just sounds dull. It's not because of my setup either.
 
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