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How to Take the Scratches & the Rough Sound Off of a Vinyl Record

While vinyl is a tough material, dust, oil and other debris collect in the grooves of your records. This prevents the stylus on your record player from transmitting the sound smoothly, much as a bumpy road keeps a car from riding smoothly. Scratched, nicked, warped or dirty records skip, and they sound rough and "static-y." There are several methods you can use to restore the appearance and sound quality of vinyl records. However, if they are extremely dirty or scratched, you may need to have them professionally restored.

Things You'll Need

Dry carbon-fiber brush
Fluid record cleaner
3 Microfiber towels

Instructions

Dry Cleaning
- 1
  Remove your vinyl record from the sleeve. Examine it carefully, noting where fingerprint marks, scratches or other damage are evident.
- 2
  Lay two microfiber towels on a flat surface. Place the record on top of one of the towels.
- 3
  Use a dry carbon-bristle brush designed to clean vinyl records. Gently rub the fibers of the brush along the grooves of your records, moving in a clockwise direction. This will remove dust and oil.
- 4
  Play your record. The sound quality may now be acceptable, in which case you do not need to clean it further.
Wet Cleaning
- 5
  Lay two microfiber towels on a flat surface. Place the record on top of one of them.
- 6
  Saturate the record cleaning brush with record cleaning fluid until it begins to drip.
- 7
  Work the fluid into the record grooves. Gently rub the brush on the record in a clockwise circular motion for one to three minutes, or longer if the record is extremely dirty.
- 8
  Let the solution stand on the record for at least five minutes. The solution will lift dirt, dust and oil out of the grooves.
- 9
  Dry the record thoroughly and gently with another microfiber towel. Repeat the process on the other side.

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