Comments on How to Repair Scratched CDs

I saw the toothpaste tip on Tech TV, and it works. Do not use the gel toothpaste.

I had a badly scratched audio CD (couple of months in a shoulder bag with no protection), which wouldn't play at all. I polished it with toothpaste (straight lines from the inside to the outside), washed it thoroughly and let it dry. It now plays. This may not work for data CD's, where interpolation algorithms are not used to substitute for missing data. It is also possible that the sound quality is degraded, but I can't say that I noticed any difference.

Pour some rubbing alcohol over the CD and let it drip dry. Then put it in the freezer for 15 minutes or so. Take it out, let it warm back up to room temperature, and play it. I have no idea why, but it works for some scratches (not heavily damaged CDs though). I know it sounds weird, but try it.

Pour orange soda on it until it bubbles, then quickly wipe the CD off with a soft cloth in an outward motion from the center.

I have used household wood polish, such as Pledge. It is a mild form of wax and fills the scratches.

Non-abrasive is your key. Generally something you would clean your eyeglasses with, including fogging it with your breath and wiping with a soft, non-ribbed cotton shirt. Wipe with the inside of the shirt, it's likely more clean.

If you have damaged songs, wipe the CD using anything. Use alcohol, perfume, or any liquid. Dry it and place it in the PC. Copy the songs with your media player. It works 90% of the time, and this will not damage the CD (unlike toothpaste and other methods).

If you have grease or food on your CD, the best way to clean it is to gently wash it with dishwashing soap and warm water. It cuts grease on a CD just as well as it does with dishes.

It works great. Just put it on and wipe it off with toilet paper!

Use ChapStick or lip balm. Rub it in to the scratch and then buff with tissue paper. It works like a charm. It will also work on scratched DVDs.

Try using liquid car wax. Apply to CD, let dry to a haze, and wipe off. Good as new! It won't repair deep gouges.

I used some alcohol and a paper towel. I dipped the paper towel in the alcohol then began to wipe the CD in a circular motion for about five minutes. Most of the scratches were gone.

Whisky works great on any scratched cd or dvd. My PS2 game was really scratched and it didnt work , I put a few drops of whisky in the cd cleaned it with a clean piece of cloth and started the game, it worked great it was like new.

Use just a little bit of toothpaste. It's gritty enough to clean it well, but not enough to damage the CD.

I put my GTA:San Andreas in the freezer for 8-10 hours and wiped it off with a wet cloth. Now it works.

Don't ever use toothpaste on your CDs. We tried it on our Christina Aguilera and it left finger prints that won't come off for anything and that's making it skip even more than before! We did it to 5 different Christina Aguileras and they skip like crazy.

Rub the scratches with an ordinary pencil eraser, then wipe well with a dry face cloth or a soft cloth.

Now i reviewed almost every single one of the tips writen on here and i tried them all the scratch remover, alcohol, pledge, wax, and tooth paste i tried them all and none of them where successfull then i used a lighter and quickly went over the scratched area (on the clear side not the label) tell it got slightly hot and i did this a couple of times put my game in and it work i was surprised if you use this tip however i do not guarntee it will work for you but it did for me be careful and dont burn the data label

Take petroleum jelly (aka Vaseline) and apply it on the CD. Let sit for a couple of minutes and wipe off. It really works - even on fairly larger scratches!!

My CD wouldn't even play it skipped so bad. A friend told me to use toothpaste. I tried it and it's just like new. Just put toothpaste all around it and wipe in an outward motion, not circular, and it should fix it right up.

Use toothpaste. It works great on scratched CDs, and I also used it on my cell phone screen. For the phone screen, it takes a decent amount of rubbing, but after doing it for about 5-10 minutes, I notice a nice difference :-)

Rub vaseline on the disc. Then wipe it off using a soft cloth starting from the center and moving outward. That's all.

You can use a lighter. Quickly and lightly graze the flame around the bottom of the CD. Go around 1 to 2 times. If it doesn't work the first time, do it again. Do not hold the lighter in one place on the CD for any amount of time. You will burn it, and it won't work. Always keep the flame lightly moving across the CD.

My daughter's favorite PS2 game wouldn't even start. She was heartbroken. I tried putting Pledge on the CD and it worked! Thank you so much for the tip!

Rub the Vaseline on the CD using a Q-tip. Rub the Vaseline off with a soft tissue or a soft paper towel (you must use a soft item). Whatever you do, do not use your T-shirt to remove the Vaseline. This will only create more scratches on the CD.