So recently I was reading about wet playing vinyls on a message board and somebody said that he got really good results. He lost all the static and would barely hear crackles and pops. I know that sometimes these are part of the sound we all like but sometimes, you need a clean sample. So, I thought I would try it. Mind you, you don't need the record to be dripping. You just want the stylus to be in contact with the water. So, i'll just wet those microfiber rags that I buy at the dollarstore to clean vinyls fast and rub it on the vinyl. I know that I should be using distilled water, but i'm not a freak especially with thrift store records. Anyways, it works well, impressively well. It doesn't work with big scratches, you'll still hear it pop, but in general, I do it all the time now. Go read on it! Wet playing, really cool!!!

edit: Don't do it!!!!!!!!!!!!! I know I was all excited but it's not recommended at all. It supposedly just pushes the gunk deeper into the grooves. And, I realized it doesn't even work that good. I'd rather use click removal in Audacity with big pops that are too extreme.

interesting! i'll try it out sometime.

i'd grab a stylus/cartridge that you use specifically for this and not play your good records on the same needle, and i'd also not throw the record back in the sleeve without letting it dry thoroughly.....

i'm also neurotic about my records though and wouldn't want to risk damaging my valuable and hard to find shit

Gave it a shot. .. mixed results

you're right, it's also an old technique. There used to be tables sold specifically for wet playing. I don't think it was that popular but it works. I combine this with the "click removal" in audacity(something i never used before because I thought it would suck like the noise removal) for bigger pops. It's not supposed to damage anything though. Except maybe the minerals from the water but I already clean my vinyls with dishsoap so it's fine.

Has anyone here had success with the woodglue method of restoring shitty sounding wax?

I tried it. I got the same results for cheaper with dish soap in the kitchen sink.