Effective Optical Disc Repair? 554
CyberKnet writes "I have an extensive music collection on original CD media. While most of it is in impeccable condition, I have a few discs that have suffered extensive scratching through listening to the disc either via a portable disc player, or in a car CD stacker. I've long since learned the error of my old ways and don't listen to discs in those devices any more, but those discs are irreplaceable in many cases. I would very much like to be able to repair them or have them repaired to original condition, or at least well enough that I can pull the tracks off once and archive the track data. I have heard really uncomplimentary things about devices like the Skip Doctor; ranging from it not helping to it making things worse. I've heard great things about JFJ devices that are seen on the counters of most Hollywood and BlockBuster video stores, but even their consumer devices start at $250. I would appreciate any other suggestions for devices that people have had personal experience with that won't break the bank."
NOVUS plastic polish (Score:5, Informative)
Have had good luck using this stuff, a piece of chamois, and some elbow grease. Good on all kinds of plastics, not just CDs/DVDs.
http://www.amazon.com/Novus-Polish-Plastic-Scratch-Remover/dp/B000B4Q9Y6 [amazon.com]
Easy (Score:5, Informative)
I've got a $5 solution.. (Score:5, Informative)
Get a $5 tub of Mother's Metal Polish. It'll take out scratches in any plastic as long as you use a cotton or microfiber cloth.
It's also handy if you get a gimp DVD from NetFlix/Blockbuster and don't feel like waiting for a replacement.
Typically, you can buff down the worst of gashes in less than a minute. If you can't, then the $250 device probably wouldn't have worked either.
Since there's no way you'll use the whole tub on CDs or DVDs, you can use the rest to pretty up your silverware, brass stuff, and rub rust off things you don't feel safe using steel wool on.
Re:cdparanoia (Score:5, Informative)
Try ripping it with both cdparanoia and with Exact Audio Copy [exactaudiocopy.de] (Windows freeware that works well under Wine). Stuff that won't rip in one will often rip in the other.
Just a note (Score:5, Informative)
Otherwise, you may be *very* unhappy with the results (like if you use a "whitening" toothpaste, or if your tecnhique sucks).
Reminds of an A-Team episode where someone (Murdoch?) tells Mr. T to clean his gold jewelry by putting it in the microwave. Mr. T was not amused with the results, to say the least.
Re:Toothpaste (Score:2, Informative)
Polishing anything requires a lot of skill to get it right.
Its just as easy to screw up your cd than to make it better.
Learn how to carefully polish things before you start and practice on things you don't need.
Toothpaste will not remove scratches that you can feel, but it may clean out the grooves of the scratch enough for them to be read.
If in doubt, speak to one of your friends who buffs and polishes their car every weekend - they will likely have the tools, polishes and most importantly knowledge available to cure your problem.
Re:cleaning and buffing (Score:3, Informative)
Your skin oils and the buffing from the paper help remove or pad the sharp edges on the scratch, reducing glare from the laser. This helps the drive read the data immediately next to the damage and get more bits to process with reed-solomon, data which is usually obscured by the reflections off the damage.
I've used a fine-point sharpie to black-out a scratch, and the disc read perfectly after that.
Record Stores (Score:5, Informative)
Re:Toothpaste (Score:3, Informative)
agreed. In fact...that is sort of the POINT of a buffer. You heat up the paint, then move it across the scratch that you're trying to get rid of.
Re:Easy (Score:2, Informative)
I haven't tried the toothpaste, but I'll vouch for Brasso. I typically try to clean discs well before moving on to any other method, and then spray them with Pledge to see if that helps smooth out the smaller scratches/scuffs. If these two fail, I use put a small amount of Brasso on a cotton cloth (an old t-shirt) and buff out in a radial pattern or along deeper scratches. This has gotten some older discs to work, especially some PS2 discs I bought used.
Re:Define Irreplacable (Score:5, Informative)
Local artists that only ran a few thousand copies, and are no longer producing music?
That's how it worked before the internet, CD's or tapes was all they had for distribution and once those were gone, the band may as well never have existed.
I know I've got a dozen or so discs from the early 90's that fit that description, and I treat them better than I do myself. ;)
Re:Disc Doctor isn't all bad (Score:3, Informative)
Aircraft Plexi Repair to the rescue! (Score:4, Informative)
Use Micro-Mesh to remove scratches from the music side of the disc. It will remove scratches that you can catch a fingernail in, as well as the minor ones. Yes it is "sandpaper", but it is a system of varying grits that are used to restore the optics of aircraft windows, etc. I have extensive experience with it, and it works great when recovering a damaged CD. http://www.sisweb.com/micromesh/ [sisweb.com]
Re:Just a note (Score:4, Informative)
Ah, the lessons learned from Mr. T...
Skip Dr Works (Score:4, Informative)
I have a 4 year old that listens to CDs everynight at bed time. As you can image a small child can be a little bit tough on the old SpongeBob CD. Several of her CDs became unplayable. I purchased a Skip Dr at the local Best Buy for under $20. All I can say is it worked perfectly. All of the cheap solutions presented here, toothpaste, Brasso, etc all do the same thing. They are essentially rubbing compound. The difference with using the Skip Dr is that your strokes are perfectly uniform all the way around the surface of the disk and it takes less than 60 seconds to repair a disk. If you have severe scratches or gouges none of the inexpensive solutions are going to work well. One other note; when you read a forum and somebody says that the Skip Dr left scratches all over the CD, that person didn't bother to read the instructions. As with any of the buffing methods small radial scratching may occur and is normal, your player will ignore it.
Re:I've got a $5 solution.. (Score:5, Informative)
Since there's no way you'll use the whole tub on CDs or DVDs, you can use the rest to pretty up your silverware, brass stuff, and rub rust off things you don't feel safe using steel wool on.
This is probably off topic but I felt compelled to reply, never buff your silver. There's a super easy trick that companies don't want you to know. (IAAC) Get a container big enough for your silverware. Put aluminum foil in it, put the silver on top of it, fill with boiling water, sprinkle baking soda on top. The tarnished parts of the silver will disappear. It's an oxidation reduction reaction. Every atom of the silver will remain and it only removes the tarnish. No worry about scratches or wearing down the metal. I shine all my/my gf's/my family's silver jewelry and utensils this way. It only takes a few seconds.
Re:Toothpaste (Score:4, Informative)
I'm surprised no-one has caught the humor that was hopefully intended in this post. If the intent wasn't humor, then it may have been manslaughter...
30,000 RPM is more than high enough to cause the disc to fly apart - let alone the shattering splinters that would result (and could cause lacerations, embedded chunks of plastic) if you pressed against the disc at anywhere close to that speed.
Re:Two things: (Score:3, Informative)
Comment removed (Score:5, Informative)
Re:Toothpaste (Score:4, Informative)
How to fix optical media (Score:5, Informative)
We have kids, so I've seen a LOT of this between the movies, Xbox games, CDs, etc. I tried the commercial dr-fix-it products and found they were weak at best and only useful for removing the faintest of scratches.
What I did, which carries some risk (with great power...) was go to my local Home Depot/Lowes and purchase:
* bench grinder ($35)
* buffing wheels, high/low density ($20)
* plastic rouge paste ($5)
* plastic polish paste ($5)
After putting the buffing wheels on the grinder, I took one of my worst discs which was scratched beyond belief. I think the kids left it on a table covered with sand and then sat on it and moved it about.
Anyway, start with the low-density pad and some plastic polish. Only buff a section for one or two seconds at a time, keep rotating the disc. Make the buffer scrub from center to the outside edge. If the low-density doesn't work, try the high-density pad. Put the plastic polish/rouge stick against the wheel for a second and then work the disc around.
Once you think you've gotten the worst of the scratches out, finish off with the low-density wheel and the plastic polish. Wipe clean with a soft cloth and water if necessary.
I've restored 50 or 60 games and movies this way. Takes 5 - 20 minutes depending on damage.
WARNING: push too hard or move too slowly and the surface of the polycarbonate will overheat and TEAR. You cannot fix a torn surface, that disc is now trash.
Good luck.
Re:I've got a $5 solution.. (Score:5, Informative)
As a fine jeweler, I must say that you pose an interesting solution. However, I don't think that the reaction with aluminum is going to help you, the wearer, much. After putting the jewelry back on, you can still leave aluminum oxide all over your skin, which is very much an irritant.
Also, some of the stones you put in there will absolutely turn to crap if you try that. Don't do it with aquamarines, emeralds, opals, coral, turquoise, or any other soft stone.
That word you keep using... (Score:3, Informative)
FUD does not mean "false" or "myth" or "urban legend". The OP was not spreading Fear, Uncertainty or Denial. Stop using it that way.
Re:Toothpaste (Score:2, Informative)
Thanks for mentioning this so I didn't have to. I've actually saved a couple PS2 games this way.
The only other thing I could add to the original poster is... if the Skip Dr. is anything like the DVD Dr, then I'd recomend avoiding it like the plague. I used the DVD Dr. on two games that were "twitchy" (i.e. frequent skips in the audio, lag on the videos, etc) and they went from twitchy to unplayable (i.e. would not load).
Re:cdparanoia (Score:3, Informative)
In any case, burning CDs was my SOP for several years. I would never carry the original in the car, for, as you mentioned, the heat, vibrations, etc would invariable kill the CD.
Re:cdparanoia (Score:5, Informative)
Re:cdparanoia (Score:5, Informative)
You can learn more than you ever wanted to know about ripping discs from the guys at Chris Myden/UberNet. Not that I would ever have anything to do with such a network, that being illegal and such.
http://www.chrismyden.com/uber/ [chrismyden.com]
DVD Rental Place (Score:3, Informative)
Re:Radial vs Lateral (Score:3, Informative)
The principle is that if you wipe radially, if grit gets trapped and you cause a scratch by accident (which will happen, even if you don't notice it at the time), it's less likely to be fatal to the data because the error gets shared between more sectors.
A 5mmx1mm scratch can completely clobber hundreds of sectors if it's circumferential, but is (with a bit of a following wind) survivable with no loss if it's radial.
Re:I've got a $5 solution.. (Score:2, Informative)
...still leave aluminum oxide all over your skin, which is very much an irritant.
Al2O3, aka sand, is not an irritant. It is very stable chemically, and a very hard substance. The only known health problem with it is silicosis, resulting from breathing in lots of it into your lungs---totally does not apply in this case.
Re:I've got a $5 solution.. (Score:4, Informative)
Re:Toothepaste (Score:3, Informative)
I've heard that rubbing toothpaste on the shiny side and rinsing with water can be effective.
I've had good results using standard toothpaste. What follows pertains to only problems with the read-side surface of discs. Foil-side damage is another problem evident as bright holes/scratches when examining a disc with strong light behind it.
First make sure the disc is clean and free of things like pizza sauce, bean-dip, baby food, ice cream, sex-lubricant, etc. Rinsing in warm water alternated with gently rubbing the (read-side) surface with a finger that has a drop of liquid dish soap works well. Rinse completely, wipe (from center outwards) with a soft lint free cloth to dry. Minimize rubbing the top (foil side) of recordable discs. If there are any spots with slight damage to the foil you'd risk having it tear or peel up.
Visually inspect the read-side of the disk for damage. Nasty scuffed spots have been the most frequent culprit on discs I've seen. I polish just the areas where the scuffs are with some standard toothpaste on a cotton swab or a fingertip. A swab seems to work better for applying more pressure in a small area. Wash and dry well. The polished areas will look a bit cloudy. That usually doesn't seem to be a problem. Some discs still giving errors seem to do better polished with a little furniture polish afterward.
In normal use, I encourage people to treat CDs just like vinyl records should be treated. Pretend the groove or readable surface areas are deadly to the touch. Handle disks only with clean hands, and then on by the outer edge (and I mean edge, not fingers on both sides of the disc near the edge), and the center. Keep discs in clean cases away from direct sun and high temperatures. Do not allow people to smoke in the same area as your discs or optical disc units. Do not leave discs sitting out on a car seat, desk, floor, pet, friends body etc. Disc wallets/books are handy but tend to promote scratching, so avoid them if possible or use only for discs that aren't handled much. Do not crush, grind or eat your discs. Do not put them in a microwave or toaster. If you have a try-loading optical drive, periodically clean the try with a slightly damp lint-free cloth. (turntable mats should be removed and hand washed)
If you are having trouble reading older recordable discs that look clean and undamaged, try reading them in several different drives. The read sensitivity and wavelength of laser output may differ between drives causing some media-dependent variations in performance. A drive that works well with one brand of disc may not be the best with another.
If discs are used for backups, consider having more than one backup and using more than one brand of media. It is wise to keep the backups in different places in case of fire, theft etc.
Re:Toothepaste (Score:3, Informative)
Good to know it works. Yes, well worth it for a disk that would be tough to replace, either for availability or price. I think I'd try ripping it first, tho, just in case (as someone else said can happen) the machine EATS the disk.
I've gotten a couple DVDs from the library that were completely unwatchable, to the point that they'd lock up PowerDVD solid from hardware errors. On a whim I ran one through some basic DVD ripping app, and got a complete perfect watchable copy -- tho it took 14 hours, and the logfile recorded something like 20,000 retries -- no freakin' wonder it wouldn't play!! the disk didn't LOOK bad, no significant scratches either. Might be the media was starting to break down, which obviously no amount of polishing will fix. :(
Re:I've got a $5 solution.. (Score:4, Informative)
Al2O3, aka sand, is not an irritant. It is very stable chemically, and a very hard substance. The only known health problem with it is silicosis, resulting from breathing in lots of it into your lungs---totally does not apply in this case.
Hmmm... I think you are confusing aluminum oxide (Al2O3) [wikipedia.org] with silicon dioxide (SiO2) [wikipedia.org].
Re:Toothpaste (Score:3, Informative)
Get toothpaste. NOT GEL, but regular white paste. Get a small cloth, put a dab on it, then rub it from the center to the outside in straight lines going outwards around the whole disk. When you're done, clean it off and pat it dry. Disk will look like hell, but it'll work.
I have rescued lord knows how many CDs with this technique, including console ones that were completely screwed, and even resurrected a dead DVD-RW just this past weekend using this technique.
Just to reiterate: http://www.wikihow.com/Fix-a-Scratched-CD [wikihow.com]
I found this VERY helpful.
Re:I've got a $5 solution.. (Score:1, Informative)
I agree that soft stones could be ruined by this treatment, but there shouldn't be any aluminum oxide deposited on the jewelry. In fact, the tarnish-removing reaction does not even produce any aluminum oxide. Silver tarnish is caused by the formation of a silver sulfide layer; when the silver is in contact with a more reactive metal, such as aluminum, and suitable electrolyte is provided, an electrochemical reaction will occur, yielding metallic silver and aluminum sulfide.
Re:CD's and DVD's are BAD technology (Score:3, Informative)
We need to GET RID of this optical medium shit that is easily destroyed.
If you are careful with the media and the media is not junk in the first place you shouldn't have many problems. Sure, the media is not nearly as robust as other alternatives but if you stick your discs in cases when they are not in use and don't leave them in extreme heat/cold then you shouldn't have many discs get "easily destroyed".
We will be rid of optical media only if a replacement comes along that is just as cheap and easy to transport. I can mail/hand someone 8.5GB on a DVD+R DL and the media would only be about $1. I can put the disc into a cheap DVD case, put that in a CD/DVD mailer and mail it off for $2 at the most for the case/media. Optical media makes it very easy to transport a decent amount of data to someone quickly and extremely cheaply and nearly every modern computer has a CD/DVD drive so the person getting the media should have no problem reading the data. It also is great to use to get somewhat large amounts of data to a location that does not have any internet/network connection.
Another benefit is since the media is so cheap, you don't have to worry about needing to get the discs back from whoever they are given to. I can give someone ~100GB using a stack of 12 DVD+R DL's for a few bucks and who cares what happens to the discs after the person is done using them. If I gave the person a hard disk instead they would need to get it back to me or else I would be out quite a bit of money relatively speaking.
What other media can you do the same with so cheaply? The answer is none.
Re:cdparanoia (Score:3, Informative)
afaict what you want to do with scratches is fill them with something that has a similar refractive index to the scratched material. I guess the wax probablly has a much closer refractive index to the plastic than air does.
Re:CD's and DVD's are BAD technology (Score:3, Informative)
Besides, last time I checked, there's no such thing as a removable magnetic media which can store 4.7GB of data, or worse the 36GB that BD-R stores.
There is, it's called the IOMEGA REV. But it is stupidly expensive. Optical media is not particularlly reliable but it's so bloody cheap that you can get arround that by keeping multiple copies.