Fixing Scratches On a CD

The Batlord · 10-21-2013, 10:33 AM

I know there are a million things on this on the net, but I never know when that crap is BS. I tried the toothpaste thing a while back and only destroyed my CD even more, so I want to get input from people whose opinions I might actually respect.

And does the Brasso thing actually work?

Plankton · 10-21-2013, 11:01 AM

There's really no quick fix to this problem. What I do (although you may not respect my opinion as stated) is to rip the CD first off, so I have an available backup if needed. For scratches there are some of the winder type doo-hickeys that do a fairly decent job, but ultimately what they are accomplishing can be done with a cloth, or even the shirt you are wearing. The thing to remember is that once a CD is scratched, that part of the material is gone forever and can't be magically replaced by any method. So what I do is just take the CD and (from center to out edge) rub outwards with a cloth or my shirt while turning the CD slightly. This will only take off the grime, and push micro-bits of material/grime into the scratches which may or may not make the CD playable again. Like I said there is no fixing a severely scratched CD. Thats what the backup RIP is for.

The brasso thing will likely destroy your CD. Use that method on severely messed up ones since you've got nothing to lose.

The Batlord · 10-21-2013, 11:04 AM

Unfortunately I'm dealing with an XBox game, so a backup isn't an option.

Plankton · 10-21-2013, 11:08 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by The Batlord

Unfortunately I'm dealing with an XBox game, so a backup isn't an option.

You'd need an .iso program for that. I use Deamon Tools. Terrific program.

The Batlord · 10-21-2013, 11:09 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Plankton

You'd need an .iso program for that. I use Deamon Tools. Terrific program.

Le huh?

Plankton · 10-21-2013, 11:16 AM

Le here:

Daemon Tools - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Home :: DAEMON-Tools.cc

You create an ISO image that can be burned to a DVD.

Mr. Charlie · 10-21-2013, 12:39 PM

Many stores that sell second hand CDs and videogames have disc repair machines and are very inexpensive to use. Might be worth checking your local stores.

Stephen · 10-21-2013, 06:42 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mr. Charlie

Many stores that sell second hand CDs and videogames have disc repair machines and are very inexpensive to use. Might be worth checking your local stores.

Yeah our local movie rental has a machine for repairing their dvds and they charge about $2 to polish a disc for you. Depends on the depth of the scratch though. It's good for repairing like surface grit abrasions but anything deeper usually has limited success.

Freebase Dali · 10-21-2013, 07:07 PM

It really matters whether the scratches are superficial or not. By that, I mean whether the scratches are on the surface of the clear plastic layer, halfway through it, or deep and into the actual metallic material upon which the pits and lands are etched. (If that's the case, no amount of restoration you do will help)
If they're superficial, then your goal is to simply make it so that the CD reader's optics can read these etchings unobstructed. This usually means removing a small layer of the plastic in order to remove the scratches (this is what your cd restoration kits do in general), but this presents a problem because the thickness of the plastic actually matters due to the preciseness needed for the laser optics being reflected from the metallic layer, and the path that laser will be reflected, taking into account the distance between the reflective surface and the density of the plastic layer.

What that means is if you remove too much plastic, the laser reflection's path will change due to a change in density, so it will not be picked up in the correct position by the optical receiver that encodes the digital signal.
Thus, you can only take so much surface layer off before you're making things worse.

As such, CD restoration kits are generally only suitable for relatively light scratches.
Secondly, they are designed to also polish the surface after removing the very small layer containing the scratches as to not create more obstruction.
You can follow this line of logic to its natural conclusion that any sort of addition of obstruction (putting toothpaste on the CD) is working counter to the goal. "Filling the cracks", as it were, is not doing anything for the optics in terms of making the obstructions go away. Indeed, it can be assumed that people who have reported success with such methods have likely, and simply, rubbed away the scratches themselves via fine abrasion alone, resulting in a faulty correlation.
This can be observed via the fact that heavy scratches will almost invariably not produce the results you may have heard about, simply because a lot more abrasion is needed.

I say all that to say, you need to gauge the severity of the obstructions then determine whether it is feasible to go the CD restoration abrasion route or some other method. If you think it's your best shot, try it. Just be careful and stage your efforts between tests, so you don't bring yourself to the point of no return with nothing to show for your efforts.
There may be other products on the market that attempt to settle into scratches and harden, then require a minimal amount of abrasion, but do be aware that such a substance will need to provide the same amount of density as the surrounding material, so whether that is out there or not, you may be paying more than it's worth in the long run.

Hope that helps.

Dayvan Cowboy · 10-21-2013, 08:19 PM

anybody ever microwave a CD? ****'s so cool

but yeah, i've heard some weird fixes like bananas and stuff like that but please don't use a banana it accomplished nothing for me

also don't accidentally use a super cheap CD polisher. Its makes it worse if it's really really really dirt cheap lol/

10-21-2013, 11:01 AM	#2 (permalink)
Plankton Just Keep Swimming... Join Date: Apr 2012 Location: See signature... Posts: 7,765	There's really no quick fix to this problem. What I do (although you may not respect my opinion as stated) is to rip the CD first off, so I have an available backup if needed. For scratches there are some of the winder type doo-hickeys that do a fairly decent job, but ultimately what they are accomplishing can be done with a cloth, or even the shirt you are wearing. The thing to remember is that once a CD is scratched, that part of the material is gone forever and can't be magically replaced by any method. So what I do is just take the CD and (from center to out edge) rub outwards with a cloth or my shirt while turning the CD slightly. This will only take off the grime, and push micro-bits of material/grime into the scratches which may or may not make the CD playable again. Like I said there is no fixing a severely scratched CD. Thats what the backup RIP is for. The brasso thing will likely destroy your CD. Use that method on severely messed up ones since you've got nothing to lose. __________________ See location...

10-21-2013, 11:16 AM	#6 (permalink)
Plankton Just Keep Swimming... Join Date: Apr 2012 Location: See signature... Posts: 7,765	Le here: Daemon Tools - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Home :: DAEMON-Tools.cc You create an ISO image that can be burned to a DVD. __________________ See location...

10-21-2013, 07:07 PM	#9 (permalink)
Freebase Dali Partying on the inside Join Date: Mar 2009 Posts: 5,584	It really matters whether the scratches are superficial or not. By that, I mean whether the scratches are on the surface of the clear plastic layer, halfway through it, or deep and into the actual metallic material upon which the pits and lands are etched. (If that's the case, no amount of restoration you do will help) If they're superficial, then your goal is to simply make it so that the CD reader's optics can read these etchings unobstructed. This usually means removing a small layer of the plastic in order to remove the scratches (this is what your cd restoration kits do in general), but this presents a problem because the thickness of the plastic actually matters due to the preciseness needed for the laser optics being reflected from the metallic layer, and the path that laser will be reflected, taking into account the distance between the reflective surface and the density of the plastic layer. What that means is if you remove too much plastic, the laser reflection's path will change due to a change in density, so it will not be picked up in the correct position by the optical receiver that encodes the digital signal. Thus, you can only take so much surface layer off before you're making things worse. As such, CD restoration kits are generally only suitable for relatively light scratches. Secondly, they are designed to also polish the surface after removing the very small layer containing the scratches as to not create more obstruction. You can follow this line of logic to its natural conclusion that any sort of addition of obstruction (putting toothpaste on the CD) is working counter to the goal. "Filling the cracks", as it were, is not doing anything for the optics in terms of making the obstructions go away. Indeed, it can be assumed that people who have reported success with such methods have likely, and simply, rubbed away the scratches themselves via fine abrasion alone, resulting in a faulty correlation. This can be observed via the fact that heavy scratches will almost invariably not produce the results you may have heard about, simply because a lot more abrasion is needed. I say all that to say, you need to gauge the severity of the obstructions then determine whether it is feasible to go the CD restoration abrasion route or some other method. If you think it's your best shot, try it. Just be careful and stage your efforts between tests, so you don't bring yourself to the point of no return with nothing to show for your efforts. There may be other products on the market that attempt to settle into scratches and harden, then require a minimal amount of abrasion, but do be aware that such a substance will need to provide the same amount of density as the surrounding material, so whether that is out there or not, you may be paying more than it's worth in the long run. Hope that helps. __________________

10-21-2013, 12:39 PM	#7 (permalink)
Mr. Charlie Shoo Thoughts Join Date: Oct 2013 Location: These Mountains Posts: 2,308	Many stores that sell second hand CDs and videogames have disc repair machines and are very inexpensive to use. Might be worth checking your local stores.

10-21-2013, 08:19 PM	#10 (permalink)
Dayvan Cowboy Basscadet Join Date: Jul 2010 Location: Antarctica Posts: 1,258	anybody ever microwave a CD? ****'s so cool but yeah, i've heard some weird fixes like bananas and stuff like that but please don't use a banana it accomplished nothing for me also don't accidentally use a super cheap CD polisher. Its makes it worse if it's really really really dirt cheap lol/