is it possible to repair scratches in vinyl?

[chewy-chew-chew-bean-benitez]

...not on a computer-- i mean on the actual record-- i was just talking about this w/ someone....is there any methods of reparing scratches on vinyl?

[Teasing the Korean]

Yes.

a. Buy a second mint copy of the LP.

b. Lay the two records side by side.

c. scratch vinyl out from the mint record that is in exactly the same place, and the same length and depth as the scratches from the original scratched LP.

d. carefully super glue these tiny pieces of vinyl into the gouged sections of the original LP. They should fit perfectly.

e. VOILA! You have a mint record.

NOTE: Do not try this on your scratched Phil Collins LPs.

Edited August 29, 2007 by Teasing the Korean

[kh1958]

I've never heard of any such repair method. I'm afraid that scratched vinyl cannot be repaired.

Right now at my local Half Price Books there are three original Hampton Hawes Contemporary LPs that look like someone repeatedly raked a needle over the surface. That person should suffer greatly for that grievous sin. I wish there were a way to repair such transgressions.

[WD45]

I remember reading in the back of some hifi mag some years ago about someone that would repair your damaged records with locked grooves. They would play straight through, then, but man that has got to be some tricky business.

[clifford_thornton]

I heard they could be "smoothed out" by some special machine-method but that it would just replace the clicks with a continuous "whoosh."

[patricia]

So, Chewy, short answer is no, you can't repair scratches on vinyl records.

The reason that we vinyl freaks are so careful when we handle our records and become incensed when family or friends don't handle them with respect is that you can't repair scratches.

Dirt can be cleaned. But scratches and warping [record was exposed to excessive heat] are death.

Sorry.

[jazztrain]

It is possible to repair some locked grooves and some skips by very carefully using a suitable implement to reopen and/or realign the damaged grooves. In years past (when I had somewhat better eyesight, more patience, and more free time), I had some success in using a sewing needle to help reestablish the intended stylus path in the vinyl in some damaged LPs with the result that they became playable. It was only worth the effort in cases where a better copy of the record was unavailable and where the duration of the damage in the vinyl was limited to a few revolutions. Of course, there was also the risk of botching the operation (but if you were starting with a damaged record, what did it matter?).

If you're tempted to give this approach a try, it's best to practice on something relatively worthless to develop your technique.

I heard they could be "smoothed out" by some special machine-method but that it would just replace the clicks with a continuous "whoosh."

[Big Al]

Right now at my local Half Price Books there are three original Hampton Hawes Contemporary LPs that look like someone repeatedly raked a needle over the surface. That person should suffer greatly for that grievous sin. I wish there were a way to repair such transgressions.

You saw that too? I about had a conniption when I saw that! My first thought was to go back and ask if they keep a record of who sells what. Let's go find they culprit!!!

[kh1958]

Right now at my local Half Price Books there are three original Hampton Hawes Contemporary LPs that look like someone repeatedly raked a needle over the surface. That person should suffer greatly for that grievous sin. I wish there were a way to repair such transgressions.

You saw that too? I about had a conniption when I saw that! My first thought was to go back and ask if they keep a record of who sells what. Let's go find they culprit!!!

Yes, I was the guy holding the LPs and weeping, while thinking of sweet revenge.

[AllenLowe]

I have a little CEDAR module which is quite remarkable in this way - I've also had luck by deleting things directly on the wave-form (somewhat like micro-surgery, but it can be done) -

so - you can take the scratched cut, put it through CEDAR -

and than transfer it to a CDR -

and than send that CDR to have it re-pressed on vinyl - and VOILA you have removed the scratch from the record -

[sidewinder]

[Jazztropic]

I know this is not what you want but I read an article about a way of taking a picture of the record evev if it is broken or warpped and then a program can read the grooves and remaster the record with no noise what so ever.I beleive it was a college that developed it but that is all I can remember.

[Ken Dryden]

You can sometimes flatten LPs under sufficient weight to fix edge warps, but I don't know of a way to fix scratches.

Fred Cohen at Jazz Record Mart told me about a seller who lost a number of mint jazz LPs from the 1950s because his wife

learned of his adultery and took it out by using a razor blade on his favorite records. Ouch!

[Dan Gould]

You can sometimes flatten LPs under sufficient weight to fix edge warps, but I don't know of a way to fix scratches.

Fred Cohen at Jazz Record Mart told me about a seller who lost a number of mint jazz LPs from the 1950s because his wife

learned of his adultery and took it out by using a razor blade on his favorite records. Ouch!

another reason why its a good idea to run the bitch out of the house first.

[Teasing the Korean]

You can sometimes flatten LPs under sufficient weight to fix edge warps, but I don't know of a way to fix scratches.

Fred Cohen at Jazz Record Mart told me about a seller who lost a number of mint jazz LPs from the 1950s because his wife

learned of his adultery and took it out by using a razor blade on his favorite records. Ouch!

Amazing that a vinyl geek was able to score even a girlfriend, let alone a wife.

[StormP]

I know this doesn't address the subject of scratches but the info is interesting:

Shock-Waves--the Major Cause of Record Wear

The major cause of record wear/damage is "shock-wave fracturing" . A pressure wave is produced by the phono stylus (needle) as it passes through the record groove. Rapidly moving pressure waves radiate from the two areas of stylus contact on the groove wall. These pressure waves travel ahead of the stylus as it moves along the groove in the same way as a bow wave moves ahead of a boat.

When the pressure wave encounters a microcrack, flaws in the vinyl, or other surface imperfections, the energy builds up, forming a shock wave that can exceed the cohesive forces holding the surface together. When this happens, cracks occur in the vinyl and fragments can be blown off the groove wall. This kind of damage can occur on the very first play, and will increase exponentially as a function of both the number of plays and stylus loading.

For more info check this site:

http://www.lastfactory.com/record_wear.html

Hip Hip Hooray for Pete Barbuti, the best cornbroom player in the world.

Now tell me this: "How do you tune a cornbroom?"

[StormP]

Re: A.L. his CEDAR and "Why is the sky blue?".

I was looking out the window trying to figure this out, and suddenly it came to me, out of a clear blue sky:

CLICK REPAIR (Just GOOGLE it to find out more).

This is the most amazing software to digitize vinyl. (Free for 21 days, $35-- to buy. Works on both MAC and PC. It's written in Java.)

I have used it for about a month. I have been able to remove all the clicks from vinyls automatically

without the laboring process of wave repair. The software does it for you (wave repair).

No need to spend $$$$$ when this tool does the job.

Anybody use it? Comments please.

[Teasing the Korean]

How does click repair work on an all-percussion record?

[James_e69]

I have a couple of prized 12" that whenever I play them I have to remember to turn the tracking force way down. Then they play through w/ a tick. It's the opposite of what most would think to do which is add tracking force. That usually just deepens the locked groove. The only trick I've ever seen work to quite down noisy ticks and some locked grooves is to use some Jergens lotion (petroleum based)and gently rub a small amount back and forth over the scratched area w/ your finger. Be sure to clean the record first and again after. This works particularly well on surface scratches.

[ajf67]

You can sometimes flatten LPs under sufficient weight to fix edge warps, but I don't know of a way to fix scratches.

Fred Cohen at Jazz Record Mart told me about a seller who lost a number of mint jazz LPs from the 1950s because his wife

learned of his adultery and took it out by using a razor blade on his favorite records. Ouch!

another reason why its a good idea to run the bitch out of the house first.

This is probably the chief reason not to commit adultery!

[ajf67]

I have actually, I think, done this once with a sewing needle and a photographic loupe. I had an 8x loupe and looked through it over the damaged spot on the LP with bright light. However, I said "I think" in the first sentence because even with the loupe I am still not sure if I merely removed a small piece of debris or actually restored the groove. I think I restored the groove, but it is very difficult to tell because close up at magnification, LPS are hard to decipher. There were other problems with the LP (it was a Red Garland I think) so if I failed it wasn't a great tragedy. I would love to find someone who specialized in this because I have a few LPs that would be worth it to restore.

[Tom in RI]

Many years ago (maybe around 1979-80) I saw a guy repair a damaged groove on an lp with a needle and lamp like this one:

http://www.nationaljewelerssupplies.com/lamps/ETLMP120.html

Requires a steady hand, I know couldn't do it.

I use Goldwave for removing pops an ticks on the computer, have been very happy with it and it also serves as a frontend for LAME. I am sure its not as functional as CEDAR but it also cost me, I think, $35.

[Christiern]

This won't solve your problem (I don't think anything will, short of replacing the disc with a better one), but if you scroll to about the 4th paragraph from the bottom, you will at least find something pertinent to vinyl restoration.

De-bumping American Music

[Guest Wallace]

I have actually, I think, done this once with a sewing needle

No!

You use a pared fingernail.

I repaired a 10-skip rare Reign Ghost lp this way within 15 minutes.