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[Jusman]

Wasn't sure whether to ask this here or in Life Advice, but I like this place better. Anyway I've been searching for something that'll fix minor scratches on disks, and though I've found a bunch of different techniques, they always have people that say it does work and people that say it doesn't. So I wondered if anyone here has had any experiences with repairing scratches, and which methods worked for you?

[Soulwynd]

Depends. If it scratched the reflective surface to the point you see light through it, then it's pretty much gone. You can try some silver/mirror paint but that's like a last chance thing.

If you have a DVDR, you can turn off uDMA on your device drivers and get a raw reading from the disk. Sometimes it's only the error checking that errors out, but the data is readable. You can then do a raw image copy to another disk and try that.

If that fails, you can try polishing your disk. There are many methods, but they all leave spiral scratches, including the repair kits. So it's something that either works or finishes busting your disk out.

Lastly, if you're talking about recordable dvds/cds, sadly those degenerate over time as the burnable coating isn't exactly stable. I've had entire batches stop reading and show as empty after a few years while others still work just fine. So it's a bit of luck there.

[Akura]

I bought this brown goo from GameStop once that was supposed to be for buffering out scratches. It didn't really work; none of the damaged disks I tried showed any improvement.

[Krelian]

you ask because they stop working or because you like to collect them? If the later, then sorry, I dont know, but if the former, to go a torrent site and avoid all those DRM rubbish

[0x517A5D]

In my opinion, automatic buffers that work by spinning the disk are likely to make things worse.

I've had decent luck with buffing/polishing compound and a soft cloth rag.  It's kind of a slurry with fine grit in it.  Brasso is one brand name.  Avoid the ones that have chemicals intended to untarnish metal.

Work radially, i.e. in the line from edge to center.  Vary the direction slightly as you work.  Go slowly.  Rinse off the CD (water and liquid hand soap, or rubbing alcohol, nothing stronger) often to check your progress.  It doesn't have to be perfectly smooth to get the data off.  Even smoothing the ridges of a deep scratch can be enough.

Try all CD drives you have access to.  Often one will work when others don't.

This won't fix burned CDs that have lost data due to internal layer separation, weak burns, chemical reactions in the data medium, or whatever.

[Thump]

A little pricey, but works for pretty much ANYTHING plastic. I used the kit on my 1999 Maxima Headlights since they were getting 'foggy' with scratches, they look as good as new. Also works on CDs/BluRay/DVD as long as there isn't light going through. Recovered some crazy bad CDs this way.

http://www.amazon.com/Novus-Plastic-Polish-Scratch-Remover/dp/B001J7EVCQ/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1306463473&sr=8-1

[Koja]

Don't touch clear nail polish unless you're not super attached to the disk. But it can work for filling in when you're super careful.

Car wax is supposedly good too, and less risky. Never used it. My intuition is telling me there's SOMETHING clear that can fill in effectively without being as risky as nail polish. If you end up experimenting, publish results

Disclaimer: Not an expert, google them up or something.

[Paul]

I knew a guy in college that supposedly fixed up several of his music CDs using car wax too, but I've never tried it either. I remember him saying something about having one wax ruin a disk before he tried a diff one though. So if you went that route you'd probably want to check that it didn't have anything in it that would be abrasive to plastic.

You might want to make sure its something that won't melt either. I went to high school with a guy that had used some kind of cheap wax to shine his car and after it had sat in the sun for a while it got all melty and sticky and made tree pollen stick all over it. I don't know the melting point on any of the car waxes, but if it did happen to melt in the player that would probably be a bad thing (what with the disk spinning, might sling off on something important in there, like the optical lens). I'm sure a CD drive's optical laser wouldn't produce near as much heat as a car sitting in the sun though, so it probably wouldn't be an issue.

[head]

I've fixed 2-3 discs usin a toothbrush and some toothpaste.

[Krath]

I bring all my scratched disks to a store called Mr. Video down the street.

For 5 bucks, and given a night or two, they can fix ANYTHING.

[0x517A5D]

I've fixed 2-3 discs usin a toothbrush and some toothpaste.

I've heard good things about toothpaste,  but ISTR the grit is coarser than metal polish compound.  YMMV.

I don't like the idea of using a toothbrush; I imagine it's too easy to rub the brush in circles which would be bad.  I'd go with a soft cloth.


I would never try nail polish under any circumstances.  If I ever tried a scratch filler it would have to be removable.  I would be willing to try car wax, but I'd test on a scratch disk (no pun intended).


At least you guys aren't suggesting weird and useless stuff like lemon juice or freezing the disk.

[Jusman]

It doesn't really matter if I end up scratching it even more, I just bought Condemned from Gamestop for $5 and it's not working. I'd like to fix it but it's no big deal if I don't. I might try the car wax.

[Fikes]

If only N64 cartridges had so many solutions on how to fix... When one of mine breaks, I am screwed.

My Dragon Warrior 3 freaked out way way back when. All at once my guys went beserk on eachother, hitting for negative damage with leather armor and all kinds of wacky crap. I fixed it by breaking the cartridge and taking out the actual game chip thing, then using an eraser on the metal contacts.

I then electric tapped the whole thing back together. It worked fine after that.

[Akura]

If only N64 cartridges had so many solutions on how to fix... When one of mine breaks, I am screwed.

My Dragon Warrior 3 freaked out way way back when. All at once my guys went beserk on eachother, hitting for negative damage with leather armor and all kinds of wacky crap. I fixed it by breaking the cartridge and taking out the actual game chip thing, then using an eraser on the metal contacts.

I then electric tapped the whole thing back together. It worked fine after that.

Huh, reminds me of how I completely glitched out my Ultima III game, I think by messing with the way the cartridge contacts with the console while trying to get the damn thing to work in the first place. Remember, Windows has the Blue Screen of Death, the NES had the Flashing Orange Screen of Death.

[freeformschooler]

While the other replies may seem legit, the only real way to fix a scratched disc is to take it to a Doctor.

Joking aside, my friend said he washed a CD once and then let it dry extensively to help with scratches. That doesn't exactly sound like a solution but it's a better last resort than throwing the thing in the garbage.