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Vinyl, car parcel shelf, sunshine = disaster.

I’d advise against clamping too as there is a real risk of squishing the vinyl.

I would advise using clamps.

Without using clamps there is a risk of causing movement when moving the glass sandwich from oven or lawn…

There is a distinct difference between clamping with adequate force to prevent movement, and the pressure one would need to ‘squish’ vinyl.
The fact that one is clamping glass encourages one to be frugal with the force applied.

In my experience, I have never managed to squish a record with the method I have described.
Oven temperature is the key, 30° to 40° C. being useful - try not to get near 55° C. +
 
You lot are brilliant! Record 1 is now flat and sounding fab. It’s a verve jazz btw.

method: 2 porcelain floor tiles baked to 50 degrees c in oven (checked using infra red thermometer. Record then sandwiched between the two and cooked v gently for 30 min ( temp between 50-60) and then cooled between some flat books for an hour or two.

Expensive Blue note next!
 
Oh gosh, I think you were very lucky! I have just very recently got an AFI record flattener which I’m getting to grips with slowly. It has a few settings but none of them go higher than 59 degrees C. If I was you I would err on the side of caution and use a lower temperature and let it cool for longer.

Do as @Alun Rains says and sandwich the record between two felt mats and make sure that it is clean, you don’t want to press any rogue grit into the surfaces. His method is actually quite close to the AFI lower temperature (55 C) setting and can be repeated as long as you don’t overcook it!
 
You lot are brilliant! Record 1 is now flat and sounding fab. It’s a verve jazz btw.

method: 2 porcelain floor tiles baked to 50 degrees c in oven (checked using infra red thermometer. Record then sandwiched between the two and cooked v gently for 30 min ( temp between 50-60) and then cooled between some flat books for an hour or two.

Expensive Blue note next!

note: not all vinyl reacts the same way…
if it cost a bomb, I would be weary of farting about with it.
 
Try baking the record between the tiles from cold then allow them to cool completely before removing the record. That's what I do with my vinyl flat.
 
Great work so far.
Inspect it with a magnifier. Might be a bit of something pressed into the surface. Nothing to loose.
 
blue note album not so good. Flat(ish) but has a jump. However, is listenable too and improves as the arm moves in. I suspect the groves are damaged. Anyway, a learning experience. Thanks for all the ideas and support!

None of my beeswax but I'm dying to know what the Blue Note record is!
 
I went the whole hog and bought an ORB flattening machine. It's quite expensive but the cost of finding flatter copies would have cost a lot more. It's also taken away some of the anxiety of future online purchases. I figure also a flatter record is less strain on the stylus potentially extending its lifespan.
 


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