Can a Scratched Vinyl Record Be Fixed

Can a Scratched Vinyl Record be Fixed?

It’s a terrible shame when your favourite record gets scratched. You wish you could be able to listen to those fantastic songs, but every time you try to play it the sound is interrupted by harsh scratches.

A scratch on a vinyl record will interfere with the quality of the sound and a very deep scratch will cause the record to skip.

If a record is simply dirty it can be cleaned, but a damaged record will have a terrible sound even when it is spotless. When a record player gets bumped as a record is playing, the needle will skip crosswise over the grooves and it will literally carve a path through the soft vinyl. When a vinyl record becomes damaged in this way, is it possible to repair it or is it a lost cause?

If a record is simply dirty it can be cleaned, but a damaged record will have a terrible sound even when it is spotless. When a record player gets bumped as a record is playing, the needle will skip crosswise over the grooves and it will literally carve a path through

the soft vinyl. When a vinyl record becomes damaged in this way, is it possible to repair it or is it a lost cause?

The answer is that it is sometimes possible to repair scratches on vinyl records – but it is not always easy. You could simply buy another version of that album that is in better condition, but sometimes it is difficult to find the album again or the record itself has sentimental value and you don’t want to replace it. Also, sometimes you can save a lot of money buying used vinyl records online or at thrift shops and used record stores and then restoring them yourself. Either way, this strategy can help you to fix your scratched vinyl records.

This strategy involves using sandpaper to alter the grooves on the record, so although it makes the record playable again it will also alter the structure of the record – so this method is not recognised by audiophile purists.

Fixing Damaged Vinyl Records – One Strategy You Can Try When the needle skips and it carves out some of the vinyl, that vinyl goes somewhere. Sometimes it ends up at the bottom of the groove, sometimes it is pushed out of the way and sometimes it ends up on the needle. This is what causes the ticking sound, as the needle bumps over these deformations in the vinyl. If this has happened to your record, it can usually be fixed with a good sanding.

First of all, it is necessary to get all of the gunk out of the grooves with a pressure wash. Make sure you do some research into how to clean vinyl records. Once you do this there should be less dirt in the grooves of the record, but there might still be some deformities.

The next step is to try to repair these imperfections.

You will need some 1500 grit sandpaper in both wet and dry varieties, as well as a sink, a towel and a smooth surface. You might also want to use a microscope so that you can look closely at the record and check your work.

The first step is to wet the sand paper and the record. You might want to use distilled water, as tap water can contain minerals which can damage the record. Lay the record on the flat surface and use a bit of liquid soap on the sandpaper to act as a lubricant.

Gently sand each side of the record with the wet soapy sandpaper while using curving strokes that are parallel with the record’s grooves

Make sure that your hand is open and flat as you are holding the sandpaper, which ensures that plenty of surface area is in contact with the record. As you are doing this, you should frequently rinse and re-wet both the record and paper. Make sure that you are not using too much pressure, just sand the record very lightly. Also, don’t sand the record too much – you should only need to go around four or five times.

When you do this, your record will be restored and the edge of the groove will be as sharp and crisp as the day it was pressed.

Technically you will be making the grooves a tiny bit shallower – but the upper portion of the grooves has become redundant because the new needle will go deeper within them.

After this step it is very important thoroughly wash your record before you play it. By sanding it you will have created a lot of vinyl dust and it will not be good for the record or the needle if you leave it on there when you try to play it.

Make sure that you let the record dry completely before you try playing it again. You can place the record in a dish rack so that it can air dry vertically. When you play it again you should be able to see the tone arm moving over the scratched area of your vinyl record without skipping at all.

This method will work on small scratches, but it is not enough to fix deep gouges in the record that have destroyed the entire groove. If this is the case, there is not really a method to fix these issues and you will need to live with a few “pops� when listening to your record.

If your vinyl is scratched to the point that you cannot listen to it anymore, it is pretty much impossible to repair and you should consider making a vinyl bowl out of it or hanging it on the wall as decoration. It is not worth trying to fix it and you should instead look for a replacement copy of that particular album which is in better condition.

Important Note It is important to note that although this method will make a record more playable, it is considered destructive in the eyes of audiophile

purists. When you sand the album you are altering the groove depth and therefore changing the sound quality.

Even if it makes it possible to listen to the album again, it would be deceptive to sell the album without letting the buying know that it had been sanded. You have not improved the condition of the record or increased its value, you have just used a “hack� in order to be able to play it without hearing the scratches.