How to reanimate a bent vinyl record?

Prehistory

Consider yourself warned: cats are treacherous - and at the same time amazingly cute creatures. They are not even particularly angry with them - and there's nothing you can do about it. Having recently come home, I found my cat on the couch. He yawned and got up - and then I saw that he was lying not just on the sofa, but on my vinyl record. And not on any, but on the recordings of the Rumors album by Fleetwood Mac . I listened to this album before the holes when I was a teenager - he managed to brighten up my life, and while I was doing endless homework in physics, and when I suffered from unrequited teenage love.

As it turned out, my cat produces as much heat as the forge of Mount Doom [the one in Mordor - approx. transl.] - when I picked up the cat from the plate, it turned out that the outlines of his body were imprinted on it. The record was bent.
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I will not lie - I was terribly upset. Of course, I myself am to blame for leaving her lying on the sofa after a nostalgia attack on me at night. And of course, my cat had no idea what vinyl was and was unaware of the importance of classic rock and roll. But this album was part of my youth - my thirteen-year-old teenage soul.


My furry destroyer of childhood memories

But everything was not so bad, right? I put the record on the turntable. The voices of the Knicks and Buckingham [Stevie Nix and Lindsay Buckingham - the vocalists of the group] were distorted due to the fact that the audio track was damaged. It was definitely the day the music died.

When my composure returned to me later, I decided that there was nothing irreparable in the problem. I had to fix everything - I just needed to understand how. So I called my friend (the owner of an amazing collection of records), who told me what to do. So, I grabbed my record and set to work. In the process, I managed to take a few photos, so that turned out a small guide.

What to do if your vinyl record is bent:

You will need two pieces of glass in size larger than the plate, but smaller than your oven. It is better to use heavy and thick glass.

Step 1

• Remove the record from the package and make sure it is free from dust or dirt.
• If the disc is dirty, clean it.
• Place the plate in the center of the piece of glass.

Step 2

• Gently cover the plate with another piece of glass.

Step 3

• Preheat oven to 80 degrees.

Step 4

• The glass may crack due to a sharp temperature drop. Make sure that the glass was previously kept at room temperature or place it in a warm enough place to avoid “temperature shock”.
• Place your plate, sandwiched between pieces of glass, in the oven.
• Always be near the oven. If you feel unpleasant smells or strange noises, immediately remove the recording from the oven.
• Warm up the sandwich from the plate and pieces of glass in the oven for 2-3 minutes.
• If you leave the plate in the oven for a longer period, it may melt.

Step 5

• Using pot holders, remove the glass and plate from the oven.
• Again, do not forget about the possibility of "temperature shock." Do not place glass on cold surfaces.
• Place glass on the surface at room temperature. To protect the surface, it is better to cover it with a towel or a special napkin "under the hot."

Step 6

• Press down the glass with a stack of books or other heavy, flat objects.
• Leave the structure to cool the glass.
• When the glass is completely cooled, you can reach the plate.

Step 7

• If while playing you still hear the distortion of sounds, it may be worth repeating the operation: hold the record in the oven a little longer and in the process of cooling down press it with slightly heavier objects.
• In the future, store the vinyl vertically and in a sufficiently cool place so that it will not bend again.

Note Trans.: if your record is in such a bad condition that it is not possible to reanimate it, remember: this and many other records on vinyl can be found in Audiomania's store .