Tried the wood glue cleaning method and now I’m a believer.
I saw the videos on YouTube and read some scepticism on the practice, so I had to try it for myself. I used a filthy 70’s disco record that had so many pops and crackles that it drowned out the music and was virtually unplayable. I put it on a record player that I got for a few dollars at a garage sale. I found some wood glue in my garage (just happened to be Titebond II wood glue, though there may be better options). I pulled a business card from my wallet that was taking up space and used it to spread the glue across the record while it was spinning on the el cheapo record player to form a nice even layer. It doesn’t take much. I let it sit 24 hours to dry, then pulled the glue off. Pulling the glue off was super easy as I lifted one edge with my finger nail and it came off in one piece. The first thing I noticed was how shiney and reflective it looked from the dull dirty appearance it once had. I ended up taking a small bit of the label off around the edges where the glue had touched the label. I suggest being very careful in not letting the glue touch the label when spreading it if it is a valuable record. I then went over the record with my DAK record brush and there appeared to be some dusting on the brush. I played the record, and while there was some popping and crackling, I would not be apposed to playing the record in a live setting. So yes, I 100% support the wood glue cleaning method, and plan to do several more. Just be sure not to let the glue touch the label.
