HELP! Left rare Rolling Stones 45record in sun/heat & it warped! What is best way to fix?!

Hello all
I left this in my car or outside during a afternoon collectibles show (it's happened over a year ago; afterwards I put it in a drawer afterwards & tried not to think about what I did).
Is there any way to fix it? The record was mint(!) glossy black & looking like it was never played. Before I give up I thought if anyone knew how to safely return it to it's original condition it would be someone on the Antiquers forum!
Thanks all

 

Nothing is going to get it back to 100% original shape. There are specialty machines out there for $1000+ that are said to work well. Also, cheaper ways that some say work, and some say are worthless. https://www.discogs.com/group/thread/496098

You should try searching around on that discogs forum for other advice. There are many threads about warped records there.

I've seen mention of heating between glass sheets in an oven or just putting weight on them and let them sit for weeks. Most likely you'll still be left with heat damage to the grooves even if you do get them to lie flat.

 

Haven't read the discogs ideas but personally I would sandwich it between some thin (<5mm) dense foam then sandwich that between two panes of glass and do the oven trick. Might work.

 

I think it will be easier, no matter which option you choose, to flatten the record out, than to have it ever sound "mint" again. I'm sorry for your loss but I wish you success!

 

And it could melt and stick to the record.

 

That's what I was thinking. Then you've got a flower pot in the making - a very expensive flower pot.

 

Have you tried to play it? If it still plays, I was also thinking another car stint could return it to original. Any other heat treatment could badly affect the inside of the grooves.

 

I was thinking of putting it between 2 sheets of glass with weight on top & sitting it on the porch floor - it hit 91-92 here in Miami Tues!

 

Put on a flat surface and get another flat surface to put on afterwards . Then heat it with a hair dryer to get it soft and place the flat plate on top and leave it there until it's cools off . Then check and do again if needed . Done that in the old days and works

 

My parents lived with us for three months after my Dad had his stroke while they were waiting for elder housing. She rearranged the room I gave them and put a case of my records under a table next to the baseboard heater. About ten of my favorite vintage albums became very expensive warped art.

 

A lot of your value in this is in the cover, not the record. You are not likely to be able to fix the warp to make it sound good, even if you can make it look good. I would put the effort into looking for a copy of the record that lacks a cover. Good luck!

 

i concur......the record is important....but original cover art is sought after.....

 

Good idea - but this one may be difficult to find; it has 4 songs on the one 45 rpm record

 

Check out websites like Discogs - look for Decca 457.039 under the format 7" EP (extended play) and look for a copy with no cover, generic cover (which will be plain paper), or poor condition cover - should be able to find one between 4 and 10 euros plus shipping. If you live anywhere where there are used record stores, look there. Chances are it will be just a dollar or two without the sleeve. Far more people kept the records than then sleeves. (btw Discogs uses catalog photos - showing a sleeve doesn't mean they have one, you have to read the description.)

If you are planning to sell it, rather than going through the search, you could list it as "sleeve only" - sell it to someone who has a record & needs the cover or someone who just collects sleeves.

"People buy covers without records?" you ask. Yep - a record may have had a different cover in each country - some people want both but some find the covers alone easier to store. And then there are some covers - well - check out Herb Alpert's Whipped Cream. In 10 years in a used record store no-one ever asked me what condition the record was in.