Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
Do you guys clean... (dvds or cds)
- Thread starter DJAKO
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
I've never had any luck with any of the scratch repair kits/devices that are available. My experience has been that if it is too scratched to be read normally, it is too scratched to be repaired. Cleaning can be accomplished with just a lightly moistened cloth. Only clean the bottom of the disc BTW. You don't want to risk damaging the label side.
I use a cotton T-shirt to clean finger prints and such. It's important that you wipe from the center straight out to the edge. You never wipe in a circular motion around the DVD. It has made unreadable DVDs readable again (by MTR).
it's a dirty job but someone has to do it...
Gezz.. I get cd/dvd's sent to me, they're all filthy! What the hell you guys do to them? Normally, I just wash them under the tap with some washing up liquid... using my fingers to rub off stubborn dirt.
Gezz.. I get cd/dvd's sent to me, they're all filthy! What the hell you guys do to them? Normally, I just wash them under the tap with some washing up liquid... using my fingers to rub off stubborn dirt.
The major problem with DVD/CDs in my experience isn't the plastic side getting scratched. It's the foil side where the data resides. If the plastic gets really scratched usually there is some defect on the other side as well. No amount of buffing can fix that. I wipe off fingerprints, food, grime before I rip (darn kids).
This was mentioned earlier, but it's worth repeating. The most important thing when cleaning CDs or DVDs is to wipe radially, not in circles. If you scratch a disc radially (from center to the edge), it's likely the player will able to error correct and it probably won't affect playback. If you scratch it in a circle, you could be creating too many errors for the machine to correct (since the data is laid out spirally).
There are some products that claim to be able to fix scratches. These work by actually grinding the playback surface smooth. Theoretically, this should work (since there's a lot of plastic between the surface and the ones/zeros). However, I would only recommend using one of these as a last resort, since it is irreversible.
There are some products that claim to be able to fix scratches. These work by actually grinding the playback surface smooth. Theoretically, this should work (since there's a lot of plastic between the surface and the ones/zeros). However, I would only recommend using one of these as a last resort, since it is irreversible.
Yea the foil side is just as delicate as the other. Usually if a CD/DVD gets scratched you can rip and burn another copy and it'll work, but if the foil is damaged there's no fixing it.
pledge helps, spray some on buff it off ! 
will help to reduce the effect of scratches! use only soft cotton or flannel ....
I did manage to get toothpaste to work once buffing out some bigger scratches ( or at least reducing their affect) so the disk was playable again.
I usually just wash them under tap water with liquid soap and rub gently with my fingers, and pat dry using a soft lint free towel, avoid paper towels because they are actually abrasive and can scratch if your not careful, cotton works very well ...
will help to reduce the effect of scratches! use only soft cotton or flannel .... I did manage to get toothpaste to work once buffing out some bigger scratches ( or at least reducing their affect) so the disk was playable again.
I usually just wash them under tap water with liquid soap and rub gently with my fingers, and pat dry using a soft lint free towel, avoid paper towels because they are actually abrasive and can scratch if your not careful, cotton works very well ...
I threw out one of thos $40 machines!
I go to an Auto Parts store and buy a product called ....
" BLUE MAGIC Plastic & Plexiglass Cleaner and Light Scratch Remover "
Originally bought it for use on motorcycle windshields but one day my son came to me with a non-working XBox game. I hit it with that and cleaned it up, and it plays still today.
I won't say it will fix them all, but it does a good job on most. There are some disks damaged beyond repair.
If you use any kind of wipe on/spray on polish try to keep it away from and out of the center hole. Disk are made in layers and if you get it in there you might see some of it migrate between the layers. I know this from experience!