Does Wood Glue REALLY Clean Vinyl Records?

We’d always heard stories about cleaning records with wood glue, but we decided to try it for ourselves. Check out our experience and find out the pros and cons of the wood glue method!

[@Downhuman74]

Of course, they don't show (or tell) you what kind of glue they used but it's important because that will cut down significantly on the issues that pop up here. Titebond #2 is generally considered the best (it looks like they used #1 here). Type 2 is made with actual PVC - the same material as the record itself - and lends itself to a pretty mess-free removal. They also applied way too thinly which leads to the breakage and chunks left on the record. The great thing about this method is that if you screw up and get chunks left - you can just reapply with a thicker layer and try again. But, like they said, this is a very expensive method - reserved only for records where nothing else has worked.

[@7JANEWAY]

A Spin Clean, which uses no alcohol in its cleaning solution, is a budget way to clean your records quite thoroughly. It’s a good solution for people on a budget. If the Spin Clean doesn’t get everything, there are other methods (vacuuming, etc.) that will get the gunk out without having to resort to using wood glue. Wood glue is NOT a safe way to clean your records, which is why anyone who is serious about record cleaning and collecting will always tell you NEVER to use it.

[@YellowRacket]

Yes, wood glue is definitely not something we recommend. Way too messy, way too much hassle, and way too much risk of damaging the record. But it was fun to test it out on an old record just to see if the rumors were true.

[@trevorevansyoung]

that is insane! I had never heard of this, always just used 1/3 alcohol 2/3 water, mix it up and apply, wipe off with an old t shirt

[@YellowRacket]

Keep doing it that way if it works for you. The wood glue method ain’t worth the trouble.

[@astolatpere11]

Fun to watch, but using wood glue on your records is verbotten!

[@YellowRacket]

Yup! There are so many better ways to clean records!

[@MichaelHansenFUN]

yes and no

[@brucespringsteen9550]

Don't imitate this stupid video, folks!

[@YellowRacket]

Haha. If you watch to the end you’ll notice we rated it a 3/10 and recommended that folks use one of the countless other good ways to clean records over using wood glue. The wood glue method does in fact work, but it’s messy, expensive, and time-consuming.

[@HandlewithcareVibes]

I disagree, this method worked wonders on very ruined dirty records for me.