Difficulty: Easy
Instructions
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Step 1
Determine the nature of the problem. Turn over the CD and look first for a smudge (see "Clean CDs" under Related eHows). If you notice a scratch, however, continue on to step 2.
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Step 2
Buy a fluid-based CD scratch-repair kit.
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Step 3
Get a soft, lint-free cloth, such as one made for cleaning eyeglasses, if your scratch-repair kit doesn't come with cloths or swabs.
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Step 4
Follow the manufacturer's instructions. Wipe across the CD, working from the inside out in straight lines. Never wipe in a circular pattern.
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Step 5
Repeat the process, if necessary.
Comments
gamefreak31 said
on 10/13/2009 i think that the best thing to use for scratches is Scratchout. other methods have worsened my collection on beautiful discs. however this product i bought from blockbuster does the trick. i highly reccomend it to everyone.
eaegerton said
on 7/25/2009 Clear Plastic Polish (Meguiar's PlastX)
Inspired by the first comment, I buffed a severely damaged PS2 disc (this thing has been out of commission for years) using some Meguiar's PlastX clear plastic polish I had sitting around and -much to my surprise- it worked!
I've tried many other techniques (such as toothpaste and cd repair spray) and none worked on this disc. If you're interested in repairing a heavily damaged cd go to your local Auto Zone or automotive department and pick some of this stuff up.
Stixx said
on 1/19/2009 I highly disagree when saying not to polish or Buff. I've been Detailing Automobiles for 10 yrs and one thing I do quite a bit is removing scratches in plastics. One day I was listening to a CD and it skipped. I looked at the CD and noticed scratches and I thought to myself "I wonder if I can fix this" I grabbed a polish with a very fine grit and proceeded to buff out scratches. I put the CD back on the same song and noticed the skip was gone. The sound was not affected from polishing. I went through a number of my CD's I had that had skipped and fixed all of them. So I don't know why this article says not to polish or buff.
LM31 said
on 11/13/2008 Buy Skip Dr from Digital Innovations. A manual unit will run at $20 and a motorized one at $40. I used to save may CDs and DVDs over the years. A great product at a very affordable price that saved me a lot of money and precious content!
haulinkids said
on 3/10/2008 Doesn't always work. Profesional disc repair like discrepairservices.com will make it look new again. My xbox disc was scratched badly and it looks brand new