Restoring Scratched CDs and DVDs

[Tim_4_Tile]

My wife and I have been considering buying a machine to fix scratches on our kids' DVDs, as well as some of my old CDs. There's a few different ones available; none of them very cheap. Sounded to me like the machines just buffed the disks with some kind of polishing solution, so I thought I'd try this first:

I picked up a buffing wheel for my bench grinder and some high gloss rubbing compound at Lowe's tonight and lightly buffed a disk. It worked great! The disks look just about new and played great. And man, some of them were really scratched to point of not playing at all before.

After buffing I washed them with some dish soap and dried with a paper towel.

I thought some folks out there might want to try it, especially all of you w/ kids and DVDs. Sure is cheaper than buying new disks!

Here's a picture of what I used.

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[Scooter]

Some software is better than others in playing scratched CD's. Audio Grabber is one which does a really good job.

[Tim_4_Tile]

Thanks for the advice Scooter.

The real problem we had was with the inexpensive DVD player that the kids use in the car on long trips. It was a gift, and we're glad to have it, but it skips terribly on even lightly scratched disks. It was really turning into a frustrating endeavor. It likes the buffed disks now! So replacing the DVD player was another expensive proposition that hopefully I've postponed.

[davem]

Pretty clever Tim. Thanks for sharing. :)

[Trask]

Won't it all be digital soon anyways? :gerg: Maybye not DVD.It'll hang on fer awhile.

[Davestone]

Good idear, Tim...hey, while you're at it, can you try polishing a front windshield on a Silverado, and see if it takes the scratches out? Mine's buggin me to death. :tup1:

[John Bridge]

Tim,

How do the CD restoration machines differ from your system?

[Tim_4_Tile]

Well, just from reading the various product descriptions/comments on Amazon, such as:

http://www.amazon.com/Aleratec-DVD-Disc-Repair-Plus/dp/B0002A9SJ2/sr=8-1/qid=1164763603/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1/103-3014475-8901428?ie=UTF8&s=electronics

it seems like they're spinning the disk against something abrasive, using drops of some kind of solution. One model is even hand cranked, and reviewers referred to a "sanding disk" that could easily ruin your CD if you overdid it.

So I guess we're both just buffing out the scratches on the surface of the plastic; other than that, my solution seems cheaper, easier to control, and has pretty cheap operating costs! :yeah:

I called my brother to alert him to this revelation and he says he's been doing it for years. Hey, thanks for sharing!!! :gerg:

[Tim_4_Tile]

Dave,

Might work, but I'll tell you this: I tried buffing scratches out of an old pair of safety glasses, pushed too hard, and made a sort of melty distorted spot. So don't bother with that!

[Deane100]

Another cheap way to repair CD's is to use toothpaste. Use paste not the gel type, put it on with a finger(size of a pencil eraser), small circular motion like putting wax on a car. Wait until it dries then run the CD under cold water to rinse off. Doesn't always work but I've been amazed at just how well it does work.

[EEEO]

while you're at it, can you try polishing a front windshield on a Silverado

Maybe you just need to junk it and get a Ford. :yeah:

I've barely got any CD's left, after ripping it all into mp3's, but that's a good trick for dvd's, although I don't have many of those, and the ones I do have probably won't get scratched.

[flatfloor]

Would it work on CX's 8 tracks? :D

[cx]

:tongue:


I tried it on one of my 45s once and it wouldn't never play at all after that. :D

[John Bridge]

You guys jest, but between us Patti and I have a couple hundred LPs (that's long playing 33-1/3 records for all you youngsters). Some of them scratched a bit.

So the question: Do they make a repair machine for . . . ? Aw, forget it. ;)

I love my CDs. Haven't advanced to MP3 yet. My kids have, of course. :D

[Scooter]

John's wax cylinders for his music did not respond well to heat.