You know how it goes. You’re kicking back in your car or your favorite easy chair listening to your favorite song on the CD player, when bam, it starts jumping around incomprehensibly. Don’t trash your CD just yet, try these tips to send those scratches packing. These tips are also applicable to CD-ROM’s and DVD’s
Table of Contents:
Prep your CD
Clean any gunk off of the disc
The first thing you should do if your disc is skipping or is unreadable is to clean it. It could be that there is just some dust or other debris on it. Even if you can see a couple of scratches on it, you may be able to just clean it to get it in working order again. For the step by step instructions on cleaning your disc, see how to clean CDs and DVDs. If this doesn’t resolve the problem, proceed to step two.
Locate and check the depth of the scratches
Taking a close look at the disc cab help you determine your course of action. Hold it up to the light by putting your thumb in the hole in the middle and grabbing the curved edges with your fingers. (Do not touch the main – shiny – part of the disc, since you could scratch it worse or add fingerprints). See if the scratches are minor scratches (barely breaking the surface), major scratches (about half the depth of the disc), very deep grooves or holes that cut through the entire surface of the disc.
Minor scratches should be a cinch to repair following the steps below. If there are any major scratches, you should concentrate your cleaning efforts on those areas and you may have to repeat the process a couple times. If the disc has a very deep groove or hole or the scratch is in the side of the disc with the label on it, it will be very difficult to repair, and you should either replace the disc or seek the help of a professional if this is not possible.
If you don’t see any scratches at all on your disc but it still won’t play properly, it is likely that the problem lies not with the disc but with your CD or DVD player. Try a few other discs in the player and you will likely come to the conclusion that this is the problem.
The Process
Assemble your cleaning supplies
There are several tricks that have proven helpful in getting scratched CDs and DVDs back to playable condition. Be aware that these tips will help the disc play better but not necessarily help it look better. In fact, the disc may even look worse after you fix it than it did before. It may be duller or have more minor scratches (key word: minor), but when you stick it in your CD player, DVD player or computer it should play cleanly – or at least skip a lot less than it did before.
- Toothpaste: Many swear by using toothpaste to smooth out the surface of CDs and DVDs. Most any variety of paste (not gel) will do, although plainer is better than fancier, i.e., ixnay on the fancy Crest with the polishing beads and breath strips. Do not use toothpastes containing abrasive particles such as baking soda or you will do more damage to your disc.
- Peanut butter: Okay, peanut butter does not seem like the optimal cleaning solution, but the oiliness and stickiness will actually help in this case, as they will smooth out the disc’s surface. Be sure to use creamy peanut butter, not crunchy. Talk about a way to scratch the disc worse.
- Metal polish: A somewhat more traditional route to take is using metal polish. Brasso is a brand that continually comes up as good for cleaning CDs and DVDs.
- Commercial disc repair liquid: Disc repair solutions can be found in most electronic stores, either by themselves or as part of a disc-cleaning kit. One example is Disk Doctor, but there are many others as well.
If your disc contains vital information, or you’re just nervous about polishing it with something you’d normally put on a sandwich, you can practice your polishing on a less important CD or DVD first to ensure that you apply the technique correctly.
Polish your disc
Whether you choose the metal polish or go with the peanut butter, you should basically follow the same technique in applying it to your scratched disc. Take a cotton cloth, like the sleeve of an old t-shirt, and dip it in your cleaning solution of choice. You won’t need a lot of your cleaning solution – a teaspoon at most for one disc.
Then use the cloth to gently buff the disc. Rub from the inner part of the disc to the edges in a straight line outward. Don’t move the cloth in circles or follow the lines imprinted in the disc. This could possibly scratch it worse.
Wipe or rinse off any excess solution
In many cases, you won’t even need to complete this step, as the disc will be pretty clean after you finish the polishing process. However it may be necessary to quickly rinse the disc with lukewarm water or window cleaner or wipe off any excess solution with a clean cloth. Be sure to dry it afterwards by using the cloth or letting it air dry.
If none of the suggested solutions work for you, repeat the process again. If you used the peanut butter or the toothpaste, try covering the disc in the solution and letting it set on the disc for five to ten minutes before wiping it off.
Sanding and Polishing by Machine
Disc still doesn’t work? You may need to bring in the big guns: a disc sanding or polishing machine. These machines can be pricey, so it is recommended to use them as a last resort, or if you have a large number of scratched discs you need fixed at the same time.
Prevention
To avoid having this problem in the future, make copies of your CDs and DVDs as soon as you notice any minor scratches on them. That way if the disc ever does become irreparable you won’t have a serious problem on your hands. You should always back up discs that contain important data anyway, or save the data in another format.
Also, be sure to store your discs in their cases, or at least in paper sleeves, when you’re not using them. And if your player, CD or DVD ROM or game system has a habit of scratching up discs, it is probably time to invest in a new one.
I was watching NBC. they said that Pledge wood polishers fills up the scratches.
There’s nothing better than CAR WAX for cleaning CDs and DVDs!
I use car wax for repairing CD’s and DVD’s and it works great!
I just tried the toothpaste and it scratched the heck out of my disk, now it wont read at all! thanks a lot!
I tried using car polisher but it didn’t work to well, it got one disc for my PS2 to run, but not very well, and not very long, not sure how its worked for others.
I tried the tooth paste and it did not work.
A guy at work told me to use Baby Wipes and what do you know, it actually worked great!
I’m giving away a trade secret, but I live far enough that it won’t matter too much, If you can find it, use a Hard stick plastic polishing wax on a 6inch bench grinder that has 2 buffing wheels(the buffing wheels need to be the soft terrycloth ones, use the wax stick on one side and the other with nothing, then with light pressure buff the disc from the center outwards and turn, repeat process until the disc is coated then switch to the bare wheel and repeat the process, and it should look like new! Just make sure you hold on tightly to the disc as the bench grinder can snag the disc from your hands and throw it against the wall. Good luck finding the wax though.
Hi I fixed my friends music CD’s that had scratches on it with Furniture polish and a dry sock making circles with it then rubbing it on my t shirt – OMG it worked!
You can also use the cleaning solution for eye glasses.
I have used Brasso with excellent results, it took 3-5 coats to get the deep scratches fixed. Put the Brasso on a soft cloth, working from the center out in a straight line. The Brasso doesn’t dry, so apply a coat let it rest for a few minutes, then take a soft cloth and again working in a straight line remove the residue. Repeat until the scratch is gone. It really does work.
I have fixed a ton of CD´s with hydrogen peroxide. It really works! This is not a scam it really works!!
Instructions:
1. First, apply hydrogen on your CD (like a teaspoon).
2. Rub it with a paper towel.
3. Dry the CD and then try it out. I really recommend this for you if you don’t want to get yourself in a sticky situation with thoothpaste and peanut butter.
Thanks a lot, I tried the whole vegetable oil thing and now my Wii doesn’t work with any game. It is now broken – thanks for the tip! >:<
Hydrogen peroxide is not vegetable oil, I don’t know what it is, but its not vegetable oil. JEEZ.
Hydrogen is not vegetable oil. Hydrogen is a gas.
I’ve got an intensely scratched copy of one of my favorite PS2 games that often freezes at a particularly graphics-heavy part of the game. Each time this happens, I clean the disk with creamy peanut butter, make sure there’s no excess residue, and pop it back in my PS2. It works every time! I definitely recommend this process to anyone with scratched CD’s… don’t use toothpaste, it will just scratch the CD up more. Peanut butter is the way to go!
OMG… The baby wipes worked on all my scratched CD’s. Thanks for posting that, Hardy!
Won’t scratch your CD’s like toothpaste, don’t have to clean up sticky peanut butter afterward, and your CD’s will smell like baby oil. Love it.
I used the toothpaste one and it worked great. I worked from the center out, let it dry and then used a little water with an old white shirt and it worked perfect!
Do not use paper towels or anything else containing wood fibers to clean CD’s (or anything else made of soft plastic, e.g., sunglasses lenses, etc). You will scratch them up even worse.
Use a SOFT COTTON RAG as the article suggests.
Well, I’ve tried the toothpaste 2 or 3 times, doesn’t work, I tried the furniture polish, and the baby wipes. I’ve even tried electronics screen cleaning wipes which seem like the first logical choice. But none of these things work. My CD is only slightly scratched and they aren’t very deep scratches so I don’t know why nothing is working.
Glasses Cleaner Really Does Work! I tried it with my favorite game and now it is as good as new!
I have a Dvd the has Scratches and i Have Tried Furniture Polish Toothpaste And Nothing Worked. but now i have a bad Haze on the Dvd. Is there a way to Clear the Haze?
I used pledge lemon furniture polish and it worked! I just sprayed a little bit on a cotton round, wiped it on the cd from the inside to the outside, wiped it off the same way with a clean cotton round. I was afraid of the pledge getting into my computer so I rinsed it off and wiped off the water with another cotton round. Popped it into my computer and it worked perfectly!
My little bo tried using toothpaste and it didn’t work. We used a car polisher brush and peanut butter and I was amazing. Good as new! Thx! =]
I used toothpaste on my ps2 game and it didn’t work, but it sounded much better when i put it in. Good idea, I’m going to try it on my other game. Thanks!
I guess that’s the kind of CD it is, to be able to know what to use.
Hey, I tried everything at the same time, and now my ps2 game works perfectly! Thanks.
How am I able to clean the lens of my ps2?