Comments on: How to Repair Scratched CDs

on 3/23/2006 I put a terry cloth buffing wheel on my grinder in the garage and buffed the scratches out. I have fixed over 30 CDs and DVDs this way.

on 10/21/2007 If you're trying to get rid of a scratched CD, try soaking it in Listerine for 2 minutes. It worked for me!

on 3/21/2006 This may seem weird but, put mustard on a CD, spread it out, then wipe it away inward to outward, then freeze it for about 8 minutes. Once you take it out it should be playing normally.

on 3/15/2006 I had tried a lot of the tips before and they didn't quite work. So, I got annoyed and I found nail polish remover. It worked! All you have to do is pour nail polish remover over the CD than wipe it off from the inside out.

on 2/15/2006 Try to use lotion on your CD's. Don't use too much, just a little, then rub it in and it's good as new.

on 1/26/2006 A software CD touched a sticker, which was on the sleeve, resulting with gunk on the CD that made it unreadable. Window cleaner nor isopropyl alcohol removed the gunk. Pledge did it right away! I got most of the Pledge off with a tissue, but got it clean with window cleaner. The CD now seems to be working fine.

on 1/23/2006 Don't use toothpaste- I almost ruined my Andrew Lloyd Webber CD. But then I tried the conditioner tip and it plays perfectly now- seriously! Even though it had a deep scratch in it! Personally, I think something different will work every time, so it might just be a matter of trying different things till the thing plays again.

on 12/19/2005 I thought I would give Pledge a go on my sons Gamecube game before buying a disc scratch kit. And to my surprise (and my sons delight) it worked. Thanks for the suggestion.

on 1/4/2006 I used Clorox bathroom cleaner with Teflon surface protector. It worked like a charm the very first time.

on 1/4/2006 These tips all sounded hard to believe, but I figured it would be worth a try since the data CD I had wouldn't run or open on any of our computers because of a huge scratch. The nearest oily substance I had was my Victoria Secret perfumed lotion, so I put a tiny, tiny bit along the scratch line then wiped it off against the grain of the CD as in the instructions. I used a lint-free cloth. A minute later I put it in my CD drive and it worked like a charm! I also copied all the files to my hard drive just in case the oil trick wears off.

on 12/30/2005 Believe it or not, this really worked. My Gran Turismo 3 CD quit working on me one day. I looked at the back and it had some pretty good scratches. I used 1000 grit sand paper hoping it would work, why I don't know, but we all know that I ruined the CD. I tried a lot of things from rubbing alcohol, to nail polish cleaner, to Rain-x. The CD did not work at all. Finally I decided to try the toothpaste trick. This took the scratches out, including a lot of the deep ones. Low and behold, it worked.

The way I did it was like this:
1. Put 1/4 of a pea size amount of toothpaste in the middle (between center and edge) and every 1/4" all the way around.
2. Let it dry. There will be a little residue, like car polish.
3. Rub back and forth from center to edge with quite a bit of force.
4. After all of it is wiped off, take a cloth, similar to the one I used (Crown Royal Bag), and also rub with quite a bit of force the same from center to edge
5. Clean with window cleaner or water to remove the rest of the residue, but be careful not to scratch it again or you have done this work for nothing.

If needed; repeat until satisfied. I did this to the 1000 grit sand papered CD only 4 times, and the game now works as if brand new.

Good luck to you.

on 12/8/2005 To remove fingerprints or light scratches, just use a soft cloth and water. When the CD is wet, wipe it off from the inside of the disc to the outside. Toothpaste also works on heavily scratched discs.

on 12/8/2005 Put the clear side to steam and let it fog up, then blow on it and wipe it with a soft paper towel.

on 10/21/2007 It's the baking soda in toothpaste that polishes and whitens. Using a paste made of baking soda and a soft cotton cloth, and buffing the bad scratch will help a lot. You must clean the baking soda off the CD before you put it in the disc drive. I was able to repair an unreadable game CD using this technique.

on 12/9/2005 Use anything that burns (hair spray,alcohol) put only on the scratches, then light on fire for 5-10 seconds or just let it burn out on its own. Then use water or CD cleaner to clean the residue off.