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Experiments with badly scratched CDs

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I confess I've been using the public library's unplayable, horribly scratched CD's and DVDs to experiment with hand-polishing. They couldn't get worse so its done no harm... and I think I've found the right stuff!

I polish vigorously in a circular motion around the disc with Meguiar's "Scratch X 2.0" automobile clearcoat polishing compound. It has an extremely fine grit (maybe around 5000?) which is highly fugitive --it disappears after a couple strokes. I spread a dab about the size of a pencil-eraser and rub hard with a microfiber cloth until it almost dries. Buff that out and then wipe with a clean microfiber cloth and WD-40. Yup-- plain old WD-40. Rub off the excess but it seems a very light residue of WD-40 actually improves playback.

Wham-o-Zam-o! I have had 100% success rate thus far with discs that started off looking like they'd been used for air-hockey.
http://www.amazon.com/Meguiars-G10307-Scratch-X-2-0/dp/B0002 (Open in New Window)

Follow Ups:

RE: Experiments with badly scratched CDs - fantja 17:40:08 07/07/12 (0)
mr bear-

have you tried toothpaste?
RE: Experiments with badly scratched CDs - Land Shark 12:39:39 07/04/12 (0)
Thanks for the tip. I've been picking up a lot of used CDs (some even for free) and been looking for a way to restore the really scratched ones. Fortunately, I've been very lucky lately, most used discs I've picked up played and sounded good.
Best regards, Ralph
RE: Experiments with badly scratched CDs - jaydacus 07:25:46 07/04/12 (1)
WD-40 in a thin layer actually dries fairly quickly. If the WD-40 is helping at all then the results would only be temporary. The only logical thing to do in the window when the disc is still playable would be to rip it. Won't help the lender in your scenario, but it would keep the disc playable in the long term.
- RE: Right.... - mr.bear 18:33:24 07/06/12 (0)
  I did rip them right away or, in the case of the DVDs, play them immediately.
Were these discs unplayable? - J.Mac 00:33:15 07/03/12 (1)
Not sure what you mean when you say 100% success. I'm sure they look better, but are they really?

Did you happen to try ripping them with a good DAE program such as EAC or dbpoweramp, both before and after? That would be the only way to know whether there's really any difference - if the rips were more accurate after the treatment, or even if they ripped more easily, without retries.
- RE: Were these discs unplayable? - mr.bear 17:18:58 07/03/12 (0)
  They would not play on my Pio DVD-37 player, my PC, or my Yamaha CRW-F1 external CR-ROM (which could read a bagel, if it had digital data on the crust!) They played after polishing and were rippable using dB Power Ripper.
RE: Experiments with badly scratched CDs - pictureguy 23:23:17 07/02/12 (1)
I've got some CD's nearly 30 years old and they are still perfect.

I can't figure out how people destroy rented / borrowed CDs. It looks like the DOG chewed on 'em.
Too much is never enough
- "That which we obtain too easily, we esteem too lightly." - mr.bear 17:20:49 07/03/12 (0)
  Thomas Paine.
Great idea. - R Browne 21:44:48 07/02/12 (1)
Wonder if it works equally well on abused Netflix DVD's.
- RE: Great idea. - mr.bear 17:22:26 07/03/12 (0)
  I did get a severely scratched DVD to play using the Scratcx-X. It seemed perfectly, but I'm surely no 'videophile!'
RE: Experiments with badly scratched CDs - P.C. 12:59:02 07/02/12 (1)
Thanks for the tip, I was just looking for something to add to my Amazon basket to get me over $25 for the free shipping! and this will be ideal.
- OT but it worked swell on my Volvo, too - mr.bear 17:27:24 07/03/12 (0)
  I used almost 2 full bottles on my car last fall. It took off all the stains, goop, and effectively buffed out many light scratches. Well worth the money.

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