fixing cd scratches

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so a lot of my cds mysteriously get these really fine, threadlike markings all over, and they're usually visible on both sides. sometimes they're so dense they resmeble solid gunk, but i can't get them off with anything, so i'm assuming they're abrasions (although i have no idea how or when they appear). it's rendered a few of my cds completely unreadable. would buying one of those $30 "protective surface restoration" devices fix this problem? does anyone know what i'm talking about?

― ryan kuo (ryan kuo), Thursday, 19 August 2004 04:19 (twenty-one years ago)

i don't really know what you're talking about BUT my dad used to have a jukebox renting type business and the techs used brasso to get rid of shallow scratches. works a treat! and cheaper than $30. be gentle though.

― gem (trisk), Thursday, 19 August 2004 04:38 (twenty-one years ago)

i used to work at a used cd store. after i got totally sick of working retail, they gave me a job in the main office. one of the jobs i had to do was use this polishing machine that was pretty much like a shoe shiner with two spinning brushes. one got the deep scratches out and the other shined and buffed them. i had to do this for hours at a time. sucked. probably cost more than 30$

― JaXoN (JasonD), Thursday, 19 August 2004 04:43 (twenty-one years ago)

Dixon's in Australia offers a service where for $5 they fix up your scratched CDs. I'd be surprised if there wasn't an opportunity like that near you.

― Sasha (sgh), Thursday, 19 August 2004 05:49 (twenty-one years ago)

If the top layer of a CD is scratched, there is little chance of saving it. Scratches on the top damage the data.

Hold your discs up to the light. If you can see through the scratches you can forget about fixing them.

― Kent Burt (lingereffect), Thursday, 19 August 2004 10:38 (twenty-one years ago)

toothpaste

― Velveteen Bingo (Chris V), Thursday, 19 August 2004 10:41 (twenty-one years ago)

i tried tooshpaste but it didnt work. then i tried baking powder and it worked too well. now i work at this place that has precision polishing powders, those would work, but they're expensive.

― AaronK (AaronK), Thursday, 19 August 2004 11:03 (twenty-one years ago)

the used cd store where i work has a bunch of buffing machines like JaXoN describes, and one machine ill-suited to the volume we buff at the store, but maybegood for personal use. unfortunately, it costs like $1000...

― peter smith (plsmith), Thursday, 19 August 2004 12:03 (twenty-one years ago)

Try car wax? or rubbing compound? Progressively finer abrasives should work, but I've never actually tried it.

― dave225 (Dave225), Thursday, 19 August 2004 12:08 (twenty-one years ago)

my copy of Sacrilige looks perfect but doesn't rip :(

― ())(())()()()(()(LASER)()()()LA(Z)E(R)()()()((L)()()(A)(S(E)R()()()) (ex machina, Thursday, 19 August 2004 12:11 (twenty-one years ago)

blockbuster will fix scratched discs, i think. for a fee.

― el sabor de gene (yournullfame), Thursday, 19 August 2004 12:37 (twenty-one years ago)

for free?!?!?!?

― ())(())()()()(()(LASER)()()()LA(Z)E(R)()()()((L)()()(A)(S(E)R()()()) (ex machina, Thursday, 19 August 2004 12:39 (twenty-one years ago)

??"i tried tooshpaste but it didnt work. then i tried baking powder and it worked too well."???

How could something "work too well". If it works and it's cheap...please clarify before I go out and grab some.

― Thea (Thea), Thursday, 19 August 2004 20:39 (twenty-one years ago)

My friend showed me the toothpaste trick the other day, he rubbed toothpaste on the cd and ran it under the faucet. It worked!

― Jordan (Jordan), Thursday, 19 August 2004 20:44 (twenty-one years ago)

I used to boil em.

― sexyDancer, Thursday, 19 August 2004 20:45 (twenty-one years ago)

you can use wood polish and it really works well. you just have to quickly wipe it off after you spray it on there or it will leave a film on it.

― rutherford (rutherford), Saturday, 21 August 2004 12:04 (twenty-one years ago)

I've been told that it's actually more important that the label side of a CD doesn't get scratched,, rather than the bottom, can anyone confirm this lunacy

― Tracer Hand (tracerhand), Saturday, 21 August 2004 13:25 (twenty-one years ago)

Yes, it's true that the top (label) side of the CD is quite fragile. The encoded data is closer to the label, whereas the playing side contains a thicker layer of protective polycarbonate. Scratches on the label side usually cause irreparable damage to the disc.

Fortunately, most scratches occur on the playing side, and these are easily fixed. Don't waste your money on expensive "CD repair kits" either. Nothing is more effective than Brasso and a very soft cloth. And Brasso is incredibly cheap.

This page explains what to do. I've followed this method several times, and it works perfectly:

http://www.mcgee-flutes.com/scratches.html

― kjoerup, Saturday, 21 August 2004 20:45 (twenty-one years ago)

I've repaired some pretty hammered looking discs using the Brasso method - including one I found at the bottom of a concrete staircase that looked scuffed beyond belief. Plays perfectly now.

I just wanted to mention that, to be on the safe side, you should practice before doing this for the first time on a CD you actually treasure. I recommend those damn AOL discs that litter every mailbox in the universe. Go ahead - take one and scratch it, scuff it, etc.; then Brasso.

― kjoerup, Sunday, 22 August 2004 02:35 (twenty-one years ago)

four years pass...

So Brasso, huh? Do people still have success with this method? My brand spankin' new copy of Circle' Holywood has a scratch that ruins the last 5 minutes of the last track.

― 3 mods 1 banhammer (jon /via/ chi 2.0), Wednesday, 12 August 2009 12:49 (sixteen years ago)

Aye, Brasso is the way to go. Use one of those fluffy yellow duster cloths and prepare for reasonable amounts of elbow grease. Or just return the CD if it's legitimately faulty. Brasso should stop it skipping, but it's going to look well and truly polished by the time you're done.

― krakow, Wednesday, 12 August 2009 21:06 (sixteen years ago)

you can always try ripping the cd using something with error correction and burning a new one. works sometimes.

― akm, Wednesday, 12 August 2009 22:21 (sixteen years ago)

^has worked for me on occasion

― badpowderfinger (electricsound), Wednesday, 12 August 2009 23:19 (sixteen years ago)

That's worked for some of the bronzing PDO-manufactured discs. Otherwise one could hopefully find mp3s out there - I had to do that with a number of CDRs that have died before I got around to ripping them.

― Gerald McBoing-Boing, Wednesday, 12 August 2009 23:32 (sixteen years ago)

fuck those PDO fuckers

― badpowderfinger (electricsound), Wednesday, 12 August 2009 23:37 (sixteen years ago)

Yeah, huh? I wrote to the address specified on their website looking for numerous replacements. It took me many, many tries to get a goddamn response and in the end only got a few replaced - because some were "out of print"! Uh, aren't you the manufacturing plant? Make more!! Others I simply repurchased or was able to rip what I had.

― Gerald McBoing-Boing, Wednesday, 12 August 2009 23:51 (sixteen years ago)

tbh i could replace most of the ones affected, but it's the couple of difficult or expensive ones (early 90s vinyl japan cds) to replace that hurt the most

― badpowderfinger (electricsound), Wednesday, 12 August 2009 23:54 (sixteen years ago)

funnily enough the two pulp cds with huge obvious rot and bronzing still rip A+

― badpowderfinger (electricsound), Wednesday, 12 August 2009 23:54 (sixteen years ago)

So yeah, the Brasso actually worked wonders. Also repaired Dots and Loops, which had previously had enough scratches to render the last three tracks unplayable.

― 3 mods 1 banhammer (jon /via/ chi 2.0), Thursday, 13 August 2009 04:06 (sixteen years ago)

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