Removing scratches from CD or DVD

[Axes]

So how it's done? I think there's something you could buy which removes scratches, but what and from where?

 

[Jeff7]

Skip Doctor.
It takes a helluva lot of cranking for one disc, but it gives nice results on all but the very deepest scratches. They do have a motorized version available.

 

[ardenJ]

There's a lot of methods to remove scratches from CD's. Some people polish the cd with fine sandpaper (1500-2000 grit), sort of like lapping a heatsink. Some people use chemical Plastic polishes like Novus Plastic Restore. If you're asking for a product to clean CD's, I've heard the Game\CD\Disc doctors are pretty good, but I haven't used them myself, so I can't say for sure. You can find them here http://www.productwizard.com/dvdaccessories.html . Also, check out this thread from another forum for people's advice on removing scratches http://www.hydrogenaudio.org/forums/index.php?act=ST&f=20&t=2633

 

[Engineer]

Mother's Aluminum Mag Wheel Polish (found at many automotive parts stores and, IIRC, Walmart). It's about 5,000 grit and takes a little elbow grease, but it works very well. Not deep scrathces (gouges), but it has worked on every one that I've tried.

 

[OdiN]

Those skip doctors/cd doctors/whatever are horrible. They will actually scratch your CD more. I've never seen one be of any help.

 

[RaiderJ]

Originally posted by: OdiN
Those skip doctors/cd doctors/whatever are horrible. They will actually scratch your CD more. I've never seen one be of any help.

They've worked great for me. It might not leave the most professional finish on the discs, but it's made many of my unreadable discs work again. Plus, it only takes about a minute per disc.

However, fancy car polishes/waxes/etc do work better - they just take longer.

First thing when trying to repair a disc - hold it up to a light and see if you can see any pinholes. Those probably mean that area of the disc is unfixable.

 

[Jeff7]

Originally posted by: OdiN
Those skip doctors/cd doctors/whatever are horrible. They will actually scratch your CD more. I've never seen one be of any help.

Odd. Mine has worked fine on a number of discs. It looks awful on the disc, with all these radial swipe marks, but the laser is able to read the disc more accurately, which is what really matters - not what our eyes are able to discern.

First thing when trying to repair a disc - hold it up to a light and see if you can see any pinholes. Those probably mean that area of the disc is unfixable.

Yeah. That's the great thing about CDs and DVDs. One side has protection against damage, but the other side, the silvered side, any damage there and the data is gone, completely.

 

[tiap]

For deep scratches, bottom side only, start with 500 grit wet sand and go up from there to 1500 grit rough and fine compounds and glaze remover with a professionall car buffer.
Go ask a pro autobody/painter. Same process, same tools.
Dvd's are picky, but cd's are much more forgiving.
With a 5 year old, I've repaired a bunch.