Straightening warped vinyl

horse

I've come across a pile of my dad's old LPs which have been stored flat in a pile in a garage for many years. I'm guessing they'll be rather warped.

Looking online there are tips such as using 2 glass plates in an oven to straighten them - anybody know if there's any mileage in that or is it likely to be a lost cause? Thinking of maybe getting a cheap deck!

SPECTRUM001

I’ve tried a number of times, and never really nailed it.

But give it a go - the two sheets of glass in the sun or oven method has been around a long time.

Bear in mind, you are actually heating/melting the vinyl to straighten it, so try out on something throwaway first.

TheMarlin

You only want the oven at low temperature, maybe 40/50 degrees. This will soften the vinyl to help recover that shape. 

If you’re melting the vinyl, then it’s only for for the bin. 

Two heavy sheets of thick flat toughened safety glass, as above. 

ToneControl

would underfloor heating do it, with a heavy book on top?

Fretwired

If you go the oven route make sure the records are clean or you run the risk of baking in dirt and dust.

darthed1981

Can't you just play them a bit warped, looks kinda like a rollercoaster going round there, I think its cool.

horse

darthed1981 said:

Can't you just play them a bit warped, looks kinda like a rollercoaster going round there, I think its cool.

It's an option, although I've recently had a bout of labyrinthitis, causing dizziness, so listening to badly warped records might not help!

hollywoodrox

I loaned 12” copy of youth gone wild to a friend in around 92 91 ,he left it on the parcel shelf of the car in the summer and it warped bad to the point of unplayable . For years it has been tightly sandwiched between my other records and after taking it out years later ,it’s still a bit warped but playable ,I was amazed . One of my motley crüe albums is warped slightly and one side will not play so good 

stonevibe

If it's lightweight '80s vinyl you can often get away with a record clamp or weight on your turntable. The older (proper) vinyl use the methods above, but it usually has an impact on the quality of sound, so there is some play off. Really bad warps, you are better off finding a new copy, to be honest.

TheMarlin

hollywoodrox said:

……One of my motley crüe albums is warped slightly and one side will not play so good 

I am thrilled for you

alalalkasar

Have you tried a rubber mallet?

horse

alalalkasar said:

Have you tried a rubber mallet?

As a sex toy?

alalalkasar

If you like.

Philly_Q

My dad put a warped single in a bowl of boiling water once, it came out looking like a poppadom.

It really pissed him off because he was the sort of person who liked to think he always knew what exactly he was doing, he didn't like it when things turned out wrong.

mart

alalalkasar said:

Have you tried a rubber mallet?

Yup, it sounded bloody awful and wrecked the stylus.

suspiciousminds

I’ve just been trying to fix some warped elvis lp’s with mixed success:
I placed the vinyl between 2 x 6mm pieces of glass and left them outside in the sun when it was warm the other weekend - the black vinyl seemed to absorb the heat well.
i had about 5 slightly warped lp’s from the ‘80’s - quite thin flexible vinyl - i’m guessing between 120-140g, 
it worked on 4 of them a treat but 1 actually warped even more oddly.
i also tried it on two 180g very rigid coloured vinyls and it had no effect BUT it may need more heat and additional weight on the glass so i’ll try these two again when things warm up.

horse

Thanks everyone. Despite the vinyl being stored flat in a big pile in a garage for at least 15 years, it is in remarkably good shape, and I've not found any of it to be badly warped yet! I had assumed from what you read about vinyl care that it would be ready for landfill, but so far so good :-)