How to Fix Gamecube Games With Scratches

By Chris Moore

Updated September 22, 2017

Items you will need

  • Toothpaste

  • Cotton swab

  • Soft cloth

  • Auto cleaner, petroleum jelly or furniture wax

Scratches on your Nintendo GameCube game discs can be a huge problem when trying to play them, since they impede the console's laser from reading the disc. If at all possible, repairing these discs will be less expensive and time consuming than trying to find a replacement game. Since GameCube game discs are essentially miniaturized CDs or DVDs, the same repair methods apply to them, and there are a few you can try. The larger the scratch, though, the more difficult it will be to fix and remove.

Clean the game disc with toothpaste. Apply the paste to a cotton swab and gently rub the swab against the scratch (rubbing outward from the disc's center) until you have wiped away the scratch as best as you can. Wash the disc in water afterward and dry it with a very soft cloth.

Apply a commercial cleaning solution designed for CDs and similar discs. Follow the packet's instructions for using the substance; it usually involves applying the solution to the surface and rubbing it across with the included cloth in an outward direction.

Switch to other possible solutions if the above substances didn't work. Some examples that can work include an auto interior cleaner like Armor-All, furniture wax like Pledge, a brass polish or petroleum jelly like Vaseline. Wipe the substance outward with the cloth and wash the disc afterward, like with the cleaning solution.

Locate a video store that can refinish the disc if the scratches are too large to remove or none of the the above methods work. These stores can have finishing machines where the fee they charge for using it will still be much less than replacing the disc.

Tips

Look over the disc and see if the problem is a dirty disc instead of a scratched one. Try cleaning the disc with a small bit of detergent and wiping it clean with your fingers (sponges can scratch the disc).

Nintendo does offer replacement discs for any scratched or damaged games. The contact information regarding this is in the game's instruction manual, Any attempts to personally repair the game will void this offer.

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