Can the Worst Warped Record Be Flattened?

[@Motocicleiros]

The easiest and more safe way of unwarp a vinil record perfectly is by placing it between to pieces of thick glass (1/4" is enough) and clamp the "sandwich" to keep it together. Then put it in your yard at the noon Summer sun and leave it there for a couple hours. Then take it back, put in the shadow and wait until it cool down naturally. Then open the sandwich. Your record will be flat as new. In some cases of extreme warping it may not work completely the first time then repeat the process. My dad was a record collector in the 1980s and used this technique for years to straighten literally hundreds of records. Another interesting trick is for cleaning up extremely dirty records (including fungus). Forget about specialty products: just use the soft yellow side of a dishwashing sponge and detergent and the yellow . Begin wetting the record with water, then start washing it as you would do with dish rubbing the record gently with the foam soaked with detergent and water and spreading the foam around and always making circular movements around the label. Then just rinse under the tap. Depending on the conditions of the records you may need to repeat the process. Then leave it drying in shadow. This simple technique does miracles.

[@PerformanceArt19]

I think if you are using a really warped record as you where it might be a good idea to pre heat the cast iron while your pre heating the groovy pouch. It might reduce the amount of time needed to flatten

[@generalleoff]

Two heavy sheets of glass and the Florida sun works extremely well.

[@koozmusic]

Seems like you could completely automate multiple "treatments" by using a timer capable of running a set pattern 24/7 continuously (and maybe the one you're using can do this, I don't know). Set it to run for something like a [4 hours on, 1 hour off] repeating cycle. Leave it for a week or however long you want and check on the results when it's convenient!

[@LetsCleanaRecord]

That's a great idea! Thanks.

[@VB-bk1lh]

When I was a kid, my grandfather would get records for free from his brother who worked at one of the record companies in Philly. Many were likely seconds or rejects but he'd give them to the kids in the family. I remember a few that were really warped, and a few we likely warped by leaving them someplace we shouldn't have. He had a huge slab of maple or walnut that was about 3" thick and flat, probably about 20x20" or so. He'd set that thing in the oven with only the pilot light on. I don't know how hot it got but it was almost too hot to touch, at least for very long. He would let the wood get completely heated, then he'd take a piece of blotter paper and lay the record on the hot wood with another piece on top with another piece of thick wood with some weight, maybe a few old dishes or a brick and he'd let it sit there overnight. It seemed to work every time. I don't remember him melting any or any of them not being playable but we were also just kids then I do have a few of them still today, an early Hank Williams Greatest hits album, and a few Elvis records, although they're well used, they are not warped. As kids, we didn't do our records any favors with how they got treated, but we also were playing them on some portable record player he found in the trash too. Chances are the needle was as old as some of the records as well.

[@LetsCleanaRecord]

Love it!

[@joseauger1353]

I have the Furutech and a Record Pi. The Furutech does a superb job, but the Fecord Pi does a great job. I use the Furutech for those very warped records that I want to keep and play and the Record Pi for those that are not too warped. For some reason, the Furutech takes less time and less flattening cycles. I recommend both units. BTW, liked the Calvin at school watching the clock. Now we need Hobbes.

[@MrNicks-gn8jc]

I had a Vinyl Flat Gen 1; and got mixed results from it. ...on a whim (and some faith...) purchased a Record Pi. It does EXCELLENT WORK. HERE IS HOW I GET THE RECORD PI TO WORK REGULARLY: Set it to 133 degrees as the upper temp limit. Run for 4 hours per record, then turn off (I might try the "lights on/off timer" idea mentioned here) and then unzip the pouch and let it sit opened STILL CLAMPED overnight (16-20 hours)

[@gaborozorai3714]

Have been using a Vinyl Flat for several years now. It happens fairly regularly that the record develops an "orange peel" surface and becomes noisy even after a not very long session (hour and a half max) in the pouch. I guess it depends on the quality of the vinyl but it's pretty much impossible to predict. I'm surprised nobody had the same experience or did not mention it.

[@LetsCleanaRecord]

Interesting...and disturbing! I've not experienced that.

[@tweakerman]

The groovy pouch, is just an electric blanket, but smaller, interesting concept 👍

[@vinyllpcare3619]

I don't know if anybody has mentioned it, but in the case of a 'hideously' warped record putting it through multiple consecutive flattening cycles doesn't work very well. It is better to set it aside after say three unsuccessful 'runs' and revisit it after a few days or maybe even a week and try again. You see there is this phenomenon called 'Vinyl Memory' which basically means that a misshaped vinyl regard will always try to retain its shape. Forcing it to do so, as decribed previously, isn't the best way, in my experience. Let it settle for a few days or more and come back to it then. Remember that in the case of long established and embedded warps that the record has been in that state for a long number of years or maybe has become warped over a long period of years. It will not flatten in a short time, usually. I remember buying the Dwight Yoakam "Just Looking For a Hit" Reprise album from a seller in Tulsa, OK. on Ebay in or about the early 2000s. It had been bought new in 1989, but had remained sealed. That album took 27 x 4 hour cycles to flatten on my 2005 edition AIR TIGHT Disc Flattener, over an extended period. It is best also to think 'outside the box' in taking on these 'projects'. Sometimes it will depend on what side of the record is facing up or down on the flattening unit. If results are not happening, reverse the record on the unit and you can often see progress then. It requires patience though and an understanding of the format. I have been doing this for over 19 years and run both a flattening service for vinyl records and a professional cleaning service here in Cork in Southern Ireland. In general, recently pressed records that arrive warped at the purchase point, can be corrected with just one or two cycles. Older records can be a challenge, but are almost always correctible, in my experience.

[@automatedelectronics6062]

Years ago, when I was dealing directly with Classic Records, I had some problems with a couple o records I had bought from them. One problem was a wrinkled label(which they quickly replaced) and the other was slightly warped records. They had a special service of which they would hand-select each record and would flatten them in one of those fancy, expensive, record flattening machines. They normally charged $1. for this service, but for me, there was no charge. I never had another problem with the records I bought from them. Awhile ago, I bought one of those "Record Flat" packages with the "groovy pouch" and it came with a digital thermometer. I had a bunch of slightly warped LP's which someone had given me a few years before that. So, I started experimenting. The first thing I noticed was that it took a very long time to come up to the recommended temperature. After the recommend time being heated and after the cooldown. The record was still slightly warped. I repeated the process for a longer period, it still was slightly warped. It could barely get up to the recommended minimum temperature. One thing I noticed was that if I put a blanket on top of the "groovy pouch" the temperature would get much higher more quickly. Doing this, the record still had a noticeable edge warp. So, I tried other records with the same result or worse. One record was an LP on the Windham Hill label. It was very thin and reminded me of an RCA "Dynaflex" LP. The first attempt to flatten it didn't work. I next tried it again with a slightly higher temperature and over a longer period of time. When it was done, the record was acceptably flattened but, the record surface looked like it had been fried. It was unplayable. I recently purchased and received a "Record Pi". It seemed to be a bit better so I ordered it. I will try it out soon. I paid their sale price of $249.99, but I did notice that their new sale price is what you stated. Oh, before all this, I had a couple of 1/4" glass panes cut for me. I was a wary of putting them in the oven for the temperature reason you stated and they are not made of tempered glass. Instead, I put them out in California summer sun which was over 100 degrees. I kept track of the glass sandwich with a digital infrared thermometer. The idea temperature seemed to be 135 degrees F before I brought them inside for cooldown overnight. It did OK on vinyl records. A friend at a record pressing plant told me that the vinyl biscuits were 270 degrees F, so I knew what not to heat the records to. I had some 50's vintage 78's which were noticeably warped, so I tried to flatten several between the glass panes one at a time. After cooldown the 78's now bulged out where the warps were. They were playable but at 78 rpm the tone arm would do a little dance back and forth. I was surprised that they played but worried about damaging the stylus. Ofcourse they are slower rpm's but I've had quite a few QRP pressings which were pressed off center on one side, so I am familiar with that. Maybe it was the lighter tracking weight on the vinyl records, but it would cause the records to skip. Another thought, when a records becomes warped, the vinyl grows. The record flattening system don't capture the record so that warped vinyl is going to cause the record to grow when it is flattened. It has to go somewhere. This is what happened to my 78's. It might be a good idea to measure the diameter of a record before and after it is flattened.

[@LetsCleanaRecord]

I will definitely try that next time. Thanks!

[@rolando_j_]

Orb makes the Furutech. It's one of those deals where contractor decides to sell the product they were hired to make for another. Then when the market is created and mutured by their customer in the retail space, they start selling through the grey market.

[@LetsCleanaRecord]

Good to know, thanks!

[@mondoenterprises6710]

I used 2 pieces of counter glass cutting boards with heat pad on top and bottom, then put on weight until the heat pads auto clicked off and waited for cooling. No such luck. I did have luck initally by setting the record under a 60 lbs box of books for a week. It was a 70's record. I got the edge warp down enough so it played. In your case I wonder if you had left it between the steel plates for a day or two after the heating if that would have worked better.

[@ronhazer4804]

Have you thought about adding 4 small C clamps around the edges of the steel plates to add some pressure which it looks like it needs. The clamp in the middle makes it perfect to fix the very common dish warp but it can’t apply that same pressure to the warped edges of the vinyl. Add some felt to the clamps so they don’t scratch the outside of the plates. This might save you time.

[@LetsCleanaRecord]

Great idea, thanks!

[@mysterydude2020]

I have the competitor to this one, i have developed my own way I take a warped record place into mine exactly like he just did the difference is I put the record in heat bag set to 145 once it reaches 140 I start the timer for at least 5 hours sometimes 7 hours depending how bad the warp is, I usually do this in the evening so I can shut it off at bed time and let it cool until the bag and plates are cold then I take the record out and 99% of the time it is either perfectly flat but if the warp was Sevier there might remain a small warp. I find that taking the record out when it is warm the warp in many instances the warp will return especially a warp caused by heat, but leaving the record in the bag until completely cold alleviates that problem. Hope this helps someone.

[@LetsCleanaRecord]

It does, thanks!

[@TheAgeOfAnalog]

I gave up on all of the home anti-warping remedies, as well as the VinylFlat and bought an Orb Record Flattener. Yes, it was $1200, but I’ve owned it for almost 2 years now and it’s probably paid for itself already. I own a record store, so it pretty much runs all day, every day.

[@kurtmorgan2781]

A record store that thinks to flatten their records? My kind of store.

[@TheAgeOfAnalog]

@@kurtmorgan2781 ha, thanks. I pride myself on having the cleanest, flattest records in town.

[@LetsCleanaRecord]

@@TheAgeOfAnalog May we ask, where is your record store? Do you have a website?

[@LetsCleanaRecord]

@@TheAgeOfAnalog Is it Oil Capital Vinyl in Tulsa? I was just checking out your channel page.

[@TheAgeOfAnalog]

@@LetsCleanaRecord yes sir! I don't really do anything, as of yet, specifically for the store on KZbin, but I do post regularly to IG and FB.

[@Error2username]

I made almost the same thing yrs ago, out of two rega p3 glass plates, it need the same pressure on the outside to👌tra clamps, many. But dont tighten to much.

[@davepounds8924]

I know a friend who has flattened a couple of my warped records and he uses the oven to do it He says he’s pretty successful and has his own method He says it’s not recommended unless you really know what you’re doing

[@mikesaunders4694]

I have that Lena Horn LP on your cupboard!

[@Stinkinbadgez]

me too. Album art is great on this one.

[@dimebagdave77]

Many thanks!✌️

[@Roudaki677]

I occasionally see the Furutech for around $1500, still too much. At some point you can resort to using a great tracking MM cartridge and just use the KISS album as it is. I keep an SME series III as a second arm on my table for exactly cases like this one with one of Audio Technica higher end MM that track like a dream.

[@JWD1992]

Please make "Is Dressed To Kill flat yet?" a weekly installment. It can be a short.

[@LetsCleanaRecord]

Will do!

[@tedfarmer5649]

GROOVY, maybe referring to the records grooves.?

[@kurtmorgan2781]

That's it!

[@davej9228]

Take it directly out of the bag and put it in the frezzer

[@LetsCleanaRecord]

Seriously?

[@davej9228]

@@LetsCleanaRecord yes

[@nailsbarr7045]

Are you flipping the record every time you put it into the vinyl flat?

[@LetsCleanaRecord]

Not every time, but every other. I tried to mix it up as to where the record is placed. It's still going! Currently on a 6 1/2 hour bake.

[@danielleclare2938]

. You can't fix heat damage or bending damage that is basically the same thing with more heat. Buy the CD and fake it.

[@johnmiller3689]

Very cool video, that was fun. Is there a limit in terms of time, could you go 9, 10, 11+ hours? With the Kiss record, would you get a similar result if you "grooved" it 5 hours the first time rather than graduating to 5 hours. Thanks!

[@LetsCleanaRecord]

I've been wondering about that. I think it probably would have made sense to start at 5 hours, but I do not think there is an upper limit as long as the temperature doesn't get too hot.

[@berniedoman7161]

Easier and cheaper to just buy another un-warped album!

[@LetsCleanaRecord]

True!

[@Stinkinbadgez]

Why no sleeve covers on your collection. Album cover needs protecting. I cringe at seeing no protection.