People love to hear vinyl records, but usually we see scratches on it over time due to some reasons. These scratches can be fixed and you can find all those solutions here.

1. Can a Scratched Vinyl Record be Fixed?
It’s a terrible shame when your favourite record gets scratched. You
wish you could be able to listen to those fantastic songs, but every
time you try to play it the sound is interrupted by harsh scratches.
A scratch on a vinyl record will interfere with the quality of the
sound and a very deep scratch will cause the record to skip.
If a record is simply dirty it can be cleaned, but a damaged record
will have a terrible sound even when it is spotless. When a record
player gets bumped as a record is playing, the needle will skip
crosswise over the grooves and it will literally carve a path through
the soft vinyl. When a vinyl record becomes damaged in this way, is
it possible to repair it or is it a lost cause?
If a record is simply dirty it can be cleaned, but a damaged record
will have a terrible sound even when it is spotless. When a record
player gets bumped as a record is playing, the needle will skip
crosswise over the grooves and it will literally carve a path through

2. the soft vinyl. When a vinyl record becomes damaged in this way, is
it possible to repair it or is it a lost cause?
The answer is that it is sometimes possible to repair scratches on
vinyl records – but it is not always easy. You could simply buy
another version of that album that is in better condition, but
sometimes it is difficult to find the album again or the record itself
has sentimental value and you don’t want to replace it. Also,
sometimes you can save a lot of money buying used vinyl records
online or at thrift shops and used record stores and then restoring
them yourself. Either way, this strategy can help you to fix your
scratched vinyl records.
This strategy involves using sandpaper to alter the grooves on the
record, so although it makes the record playable again it will also
alter the structure of the record – so this method is not recognised
by audiophile purists.
Fixing Damaged Vinyl Records – One Strategy You Can Try
When the needle skips and it carves out some of the vinyl, that
vinyl goes somewhere. Sometimes it ends up at the bottom of the
groove, sometimes it is pushed out of the way and sometimes it
ends up on the needle. This is what causes the ticking sound, as
the needle bumps over these deformations in the vinyl. If this has
happened to your record, it can usually be fixed with a good
sanding.

3. First of all, it is necessary to get all of the gunk out of the grooves
with a pressure wash. Make sure you do some research into how to
clean vinyl records. Once you do this there should be less dirt in
the grooves of the record, but there might still be some deformities.
The next step is to try to repair these imperfections.
You will need some 1500 grit sandpaper in both wet and dry
varieties, as well as a sink, a towel and a smooth surface. You
might also want to use a microscope so that you can look closely at
the record and check your work.
The first step is to wet the sand paper and the record. You might
want to use distilled water, as tap water can contain minerals
which can damage the record. Lay the record on the flat surface
and use a bit of liquid soap on the sandpaper to act as a lubricant.
Gently sand each side of the record with the wet soapy sandpaper
while using curving strokes that are parallel with the record’s
grooves

4. Make sure that your hand is open and flat as you are holding the
sandpaper, which ensures that plenty of surface area is in contact
with the record. As you are doing this, you should frequently rinse
and re-wet both the record and paper. Make sure that you are not
using too much pressure, just sand the record very lightly. Also,
don’t sand the record too much – you should only need to go
around four or five times.
When you do this, your record will be restored and the edge of the
groove will be as sharp and crisp as the day it was pressed.
Technically you will be making the grooves a tiny bit shallower – but
the upper portion of the grooves has become redundant because the
new needle will go deeper within them.
After this step it is very important thoroughly wash your record
before you play it. By sanding it you will have created a lot of vinyl
dust and it will not be good for the record or the needle if you leave
it on there when you try to play it.

5. Make sure that you let the record dry completely before you try
playing it again. You can place the record in a dish rack so that it
can air dry vertically. When you play it again you should be able to
see the tone arm moving over the scratched area of your vinyl
record without skipping at all.
This method will work on small scratches, but it is not enough to fix
deep gouges in the record that have destroyed the entire groove. If
this is the case, there is not really a method to fix these issues and
you will need to live with a few “pops” when listening to your record.
If your vinyl is scratched to the point that you cannot listen to it
anymore, it is pretty much impossible to repair and you should
consider making a vinyl bowl out of it or hanging it on the wall as
decoration. It is not worth trying to fix it and you should instead
look for a replacement copy of that particular album which is in
better condition.
Important Note
It is important to note that although this method will make a record
more playable, it is considered destructive in the eyes of audiophile

6. purists. When you sand the album you are altering the groove
depth and therefore changing the sound quality.
Even if it makes it possible to listen to the album again, it would be
deceptive to sell the album without letting the buying know that it
had been sanded. You have not improved the condition of the
record or increased its value, you have just used a “hack” in order
to be able to play it without hearing the scratches.