CD scratches - how to polish them out?

[Andy Westcott 0]

My apologies if this is posted in the wrong place...... http://www.dj-forum.co.uk/html//emoticons/smile.gif

 

Have any of you people had dealings with these devices which are reputed to be able to polish out minor scratches from the surface of CDs?

 

Many of mine are sporting some handsome gouges and many minor abrasions, as a result of being dropped, stood on and generally fumbled with in less-than-adequate light, but I don't really want to fork out a chinkey's worth on one of these machines if they don't work that well.

 

Can anyone report on the success, or otherwise, of this technique of CD rejuvenation?

 

Thankyou. http://www.dj-forum.co.uk/html//emoticons/smile.gif

[Digital discos 0]

Moved PC Based, no more scratched cd's from now on:)

[chrismk 0]

Use car polish, T cut seems to work very well then finish it off usng a furniture spray polish like "Mr Sheen" use a soft cotton cloth and try it first on a CDR or a really old CD to get the hang of it 1st, you'll be surprised as you will need to apply a bit of pressure to results. These things happen

[Andy Westcott 0]

"Moved PC Based, no more scratched cd's from now on"

Just the bad sectors do deal with - you can't polish those out! http://www.dj-forum.co.uk/html//emoticons/biggrin.gif

 

Chris, thanks for the T-cut tip. Didn't think of that one even though it's an obvious choice for a very fine abrasive. I have just the CD to use as a test piece - one of the kids' CDs, so you can imagine what it's like....... Doesn't play at all at the moment, so I'll ty doing it by hand on this one and see how it goes.

 

But how about the automatic 'de-scratching' machines? Anyone recommend them in favour of a 'hand job'? http://www.dj-forum.co.uk/html//emoticons/huh.gif

[shifty 0]

Failing T cut, Brasso works well

[Andy Westcott 0]

Shifty, have you tried Brasso yourself?

I'd be a bit worried about the ammonia content damaging the CD - are there any long term effects?

[shifty 0]

I use brasso and had no problems

[chrismk 0]

No, I havnt used the little hand twisty CD polisher thingy ma bob, always used normal car polish, did once use Brasso on a really bad scratch once on one of the very early CD releases, it was Pet shop boys - Introspective, still have and still plays well.

 

Here's one for all to ponder on, possibly you might have heard it before but if you take a GREEN permanent marker and go around the edge of the CD it naturally boost the CD bass level, the green absorbs scattered laser light which robs the lower frequencies, thought I'd add that which reminds Im need to do a few I hanvt done

[M3KTG 0]

We have had good results with good ole Toothpaste

[Andy Westcott 0]

"if you take a GREEN permanent marker and go around the edge of the CD it naturally boost the CD bass level"

 

OK mate! http://www.dj-forum.co.uk/html//emoticons/071.gif

 

And did you know, if you have an item of electrical equipment which mums a little, you can discharge the electricity which causes this by drawing a fine pencil line across the front. The graphite is slightly conductive, and allows the accumulated charge to dissipate. eliminating the hum.

[brianmole 0]

No offence, but who told you that?

QUOTE

Here's one for all to ponder on, possibly you might have heard it before but if you take a GREEN permanent marker and go around the edge of the CD it naturally boost the CD bass level, the green absorbs scattered laser light which robs the lower frequencies, thought I'd add that which reminds Im need to do a few I hanvt done

 

...and my c..k is a kipper! http://www.dj-forum.co.uk/html//emoticons/tongue.gif

 

How can this be, a CD is a digital storage medium recording 1's and 0's. A Digital to Analogue Converter on the circuit board then reassembles the 10001010110010110010010101111001100 into music.

[ChrisPointon 0]

QUOTE (M3KTG @ Nov 13 2005, 07:36 PM)

We have had good results with good ole Toothpaste

Do you use the type with extra flouride in the minty stripes, or the Plaque control type? http://www.dj-forum.co.uk/html//emoticons/biggrin.gif

[Andy Westcott 0]

"How can this be?"

 

Brian! http://www.dj-forum.co.uk/html//emoticons/biggrin.gif

 

Have you ever been sent to the stores for a Long Weight?

Been asked to supply a packet of 4-inch holes, or been told you need to ask the swarf guard for permission to use a particular piece of equipment??!

 

Anyhow, the bit about the marker pen does work, only in my experience it needs to be a red one, as this allows the lower frequencies of light to pass easier, enhancing the bass response........ http://www.dj-forum.co.uk/html//emoticons/huh.gif

 

I expect there are those of a less technical learning who would be taken in by it though!

 

EDIT:

I would have thought toothpaste to be too coarse an abrasive, but I haven't tried it so welcome all suggestions.

Edited November 14, 2005 by Andy Westcott

[brianmole 0]

http://www.dj-forum.co.uk/html//emoticons/071.gif

 

No, but the missus used to send out the student nurses to the pharmacy for a roll of fallopian tubing.

[Andy Westcott 0]

"a roll of fallopian tubing"

 

Brilliant!

 

Ummm..... You don't happen to have any spare, do you??

[chrismk 0]

Ok, have a laugh on me now, but dig around on the net for the CD rings, some might recall them and back me up on this, as the saying goes "The last laughs on you" I wanna be there with a camera when you see I was right, incidently it does work

 

Have fun, I do....

[ChrisPointon 0]

I remember those CD ring things, looked like hula hoops for midgets...Ooops I mean vertically challenged people http://www.dj-forum.co.uk/html//emoticons/wacko.gif . I can't comment on whether they worked because I never used them, but I seem the recall them emerging in retailers like WH Smith and some of the independant outlets some years ago.

 

 

[chrismk 0]

Ah, even Chris P recalls them..

[Andy Westcott 0]

Someone enlighten me??

I recall a device some company attempted to market which was supposed to 'reduce vibration' and therefore produce a better quality sound. The same was tried for vinyl too, and was basically a 'ring'. http://www.dj-forum.co.uk/html//emoticons/tongue.gif

 

Is this the same rubbish you mention??

Oh, for a laff, do a search for both these words together: rods skyfish.

It's amazing what people will believe, even when the explanation is so obvious!

[supersound dj 0]

Someone enlighten me??

I recall a device some company attempted to market which was supposed to 'reduce vibration' and therefore produce a better quality sound. The same was tried for vinyl too, and was basically a 'ring'. tongue out icon

 

Is this the same rubbish you mention??

Oh, for a laff, do a search for both these words together: rods skyfish.

It's amazing what people will believe, even when the explanation is so obvious!

 

 

 

GOD A ndy havent you heard of flying fish?

 

 

Mind u you have to use helium weights.

[superstardeejay 0]

The important thing to remember when polishing cds is to only rub from the centre to the periphery. Dont rub in the same direction as the tracks, as this can introduce further read errors. Any scratches you introduce as a result of polishing will need to be like spokes on a wheel and therefore at right-angles to the data. This makes the error correction more effective and minimises tracking errors (which are worse than data errors as they cause skipping).

 

[Andy Westcott 0]

Yep - radial polishing only - that's the way I always understood it.

 

A light scratch at right angles to the track only damages a portion as wide as the scratch itself which the interlaced nature of the CD, and the error correction can compensate for, but a scratch going round with the track may damage too much of the track for the system to cope with.

 

As this thread is now 2 or 3 years old I'd better list my results:

I did use T cut in the end, and a moderately damaged CD which played but with occasional glitches now plays OK, although a really badly gouged CD could not be repaired in this manner.

 

Incidentally, the Skyfish/Rods rubbish is still being preached, although there are now plenty of sites debunking the idiots. Good to read for a laff though. :)

[superstardeejay 0]

The success of polishing also has alot to do with the type of CD player you have, it really does depend on the make and type of machine as to how well a scratched disc can be made to play again. I shan't tempt an argument as to which brands cope the best with scratches, but suffice to say that CD players may be unneccesarily condemned or taken to the repair shop when in fact their scratched-disc-performance is often just due to their design!

 

 

[djgb 0]

Glass hamer? and skirtingboard laders spring to mind? tongue out icon

 

Ive used Mr Muscle glass cleaner on my cds to clean them never been brave enough to use any thing else. I have to give The T-cut a go now . :Thumbup: Ive been tempted to get one of those cd polisher thingys but not been convinced how good they r . :shrug:

 

 

 

[superstardeejay 0]

Glass hamer? and skirtingboard laders

 

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