I have a tricky cleaning situation...

So, I found a practically virgin copy of Venus and Mars at Birdland in Virginia Beach. All of the inserts were intact, and untouched. The trouble is, the inserts were carelessly stored inside the sleeve, and the stickers were in contact with the the record - probably for decades. The vinyl is now infused with dead sticker goo. My first thought when cleaning sticker goo is to grab the Goo-Gone, but I am certain that wouldn't be good for the vinyl.

How can I clean this record?

 

I'd try heating up some distilled water in the microwave then dipping a microfibre towel in the warm water and working on it very slowly. I'd be afraid of Goo Gone too.

 

I'd try the wood glue method first and see how much of the goo you can get rid of before trying any distilled water/vinyl cleaner/chemicals approach.

 

Soap and warm water, and a soft sponge to get in the grooves, then rinse off, place in a Nitty Gritty or Disco Antistat with alcohol solution in, spin, dry off on the rack.

I have gotten a lot of gunk off records by doing these things, though I can't necessarily say it'll remove all the glue, depends if it is external or melted in.

 

I'd try lifting it off with scotch tape.

 

I find that the best way to get glue off of anything is to use... glue. Thinking a coat of Titebound II might do the trick.

 

Soak it in warm water for 24hrs. Then scrub with mofi brushes and some liquid dish soap. Will come off nicely. I definitley wouldn't take wood glue right to it first. You're gonna wanna loosen all that sticky stuff with warm water first. If you don't have a label protector, you'll need to get one.

 

If it is sticker residue, I would recommend 90%+ isopropyl alcohol to dissolve it, which has worked for me on sticker and tape residue that goof-off or goo-gone won't touch, and it won't leave oil behind. You'll have to wipe with towels and promptly irrigate so the suspended sticky doesn't just dry further into the groove.

 

Thanks to all for the tips. I soaked it in warm distilled water (suspended it with a string - no label protector) then tried some Dawn. No dice. Then I went with the isopropyl and microfiber... Still no dice. Next came the glue. Today, I peeled the Titebond II... Absolutely no dice. Those stickers must have been against that record for nearly 40 years. It is fused, and I will never try to play it. But, what the heck - it was $7.99 for a fine piece of handheld memorabilia, with virgin posters.

 

Well, if you've given up on listening to it, why not go after it with the Goo Gone now?

 

Nice new avatar! "Solid."

I guess the idea of the oil particles getting on my stylus is why.

 

not a particularly great sounding LP to these ears, you're not missing much
I'm really surprised the wood glue didn't work though.