Argh - A scratch on my CD

[methylatedghosts]

Ok, as from my "I have a new CD thread" you'll know I recently got a new CD. But alas, somehow it managed to get a scratch on it and now skips all the way through "7 Days To The Wolves"!!!:sad4: I don't want to pay another $30 for a brand new CD - is there a way to repair the scratch? Any cheap option with stuff I could find at home?

 

[silvermoon383]

You can get a CD/DVD repair kit from pretty much any music or electronic store. I'm not sure how much they are these days, but they're not that expensive (should be less than $10, but don't quote me on that).

As for things you'd have on hand at home, I haven't a clue.

 

[davidishere]

I spray deodorant on a disc thats stuffed up, and then get a tissue and wipe it from the middle of the disc to the outside, seems to work for me. I think it's because of the alcohol in deodorant.

 

[Shadow Wolf]

If there are any Gamecrazy stores in New Zealand, they have a machine that will repair CDs, and get them looking almost new again, and it's cheap.
Also, there are some pretty good at home CD repair machines. I don't think the good ones cost much more than 30 dollars (USD).

 

[yossarian22]

Try rubbing some iso-propanol (rubbing alcohol, pure as you can get. If it is below 30%, don't bother. Boiling works, but is dangerous.) on the scratch. Use something electrically neutral to rub.

 

[Mike182]

i feel for you... Nightwish CD's are too good to see hurt...

YouTube - Nightwish 7 Days to the Wolves

 

[BucephalusBB]

You can at least try to play it in your computer or other devices.
Not every laser is the same and it's perfectly possible that other devices will "ignore" the scratch.
Ofcourse, I have no idea how big the scratch is..

 

[Don Penguinoini]

Go back to the store and tell them when i bought it had a scratch on it.

 

[Kungfuzed]

From what I understand the way CD's work is that the bumps that the CD reads are on the aluminum foil within it and not on the surface of the plastic. CD repair kits will basically rub the plastic until the scratch disappears. Doing this manually will take a long time but they do sell machines that repair cd's too. Kind of expensive though. I don't think it works on burned CDs.

This one is on sale for under 30 dollars.

 

[Fluffy]

Try and recover the data onto your computer and then burn to a new cd. I believe that this is legal as long as you only listen to it yourself and destroy the original copy.

 

[Shadow Wolf]

Go back to the store and tell them when i bought it had a scratch on it.

Would doing that work in the UK? I know in the states you will basically be told "Sorry, can't help ya." I know some people who on very rare occasions have purchases a case with no cd in it, and no refunds or exchanges are allowed. I think it depends on the individual store policy though.

From what I understand the way CD's work is that the bumps that the CD reads are on the aluminum foil within it and not on the surface of the plastic.

That is true. A CD repair machine basically sands the bottom side smooth again, which is why they usually will not work with deep scratches, but will work wonders on surface scratches.

I believe that this is legal as long as you only listen to it yourself and destroy the original copy.

This might depend on national laws. In the states, you are legally entitled one back up copy along with the original, which doesn't have to be destroyed. Not to condone anything illegal, but there really is no way anyone can tell how many burnt copies of a CD you own, or if you "lost" the original and have only a burnt.

 

[Don Penguinoini]

Would doing that work in the UK? I know in the states you will basically be told "Sorry, can't help ya." I know some people who on very rare occasions have purchases a case with no cd in it, and no refunds or exchanges are allowed. I think it depends on the individual store policy though.

As long as you can prove it. It has to be within the 28 day curfew. Over here, you would get your money back or get a new one. I know i would, especially in shops like Gamestation, Virgin Megastore... etc.

 

[silvermoon383]

It worked for me. I got a pair of DVDs (one that was a single and another that was a 3 disc set). The single was scratched and the set was missing a DVD. I took them back to the store I bought them from with the receipt and they traded them for good copies no problem.

 

[methylatedghosts]

Ok, thanks guys - lots of tips.

But instead of rubbing alcohol, would methylated spirits work (seeing as that's methanol as opposed to ethanol)

 

[yossarian22]

Ok, thanks guys - lots of tips.

But instead of rubbing alcohol, would methylated spirits work (seeing as that's methanol as opposed to ethanol)

It *should*. I'd be a bit more careful with it in case its not over 50% pure and you need to purify it. Don't try to purify it yourself unless you know what you are doing. Its a fairly volatile liquid, so boiling won't help too much.
I would pick up some propanol next time you head to a store. Its great for electrical systems. Pick up gloves witih it. Get the 99% pure stuff. You may want some goggles too. This stuff burns. Also, don't drink any of it. You'll cough out your liver

 

[astarath]

rub toothpaste over the scratch with a soft cloth it works wonders!

 

[FFH]

You can at least try to play it in your computer or other devices.
Not every laser is the same and it's perfectly possible that other devices will "ignore" the scratch.
Ofcourse, I have no idea how big the scratch is..

Right, it seems the new CD players igonre scratches altogether.

Just bought a new computer and played some badly scratched CD's and absolutely no skipping, the older CD players must, of course, be designed differently, less advanced lasers/light readers.

There are scratch removers, not sure what they consist of. Alcohol seems like it would work, wonder if nail polish remover, which has a certain degree of acetone in it, would work better, it's not full strength acetone, so It might be just strong enough to smooth out the scratch without damaging the plastic..

 

[FFH]

rub toothpaste over the scratch with a soft cloth it works wonders!

No way man that will put more scratches on the CD.

I've tried stuff like that and it made it worse, so I ended up leaving the scratches and living with the skips until I got a new CD player, which seemed to ignore the skips, then just ripped them onto my computer and listened to them that way.

CD's are no good, rip them to your computer and load them onto a cheap MP3 player and hook your computer to your sound system.

Cheap and easy to do, forget the CD's.

 

[FFH]

Ok, thanks guys - lots of tips.

But instead of rubbing alcohol, would methylated spirits work (seeing as that's methanol as opposed to ethanol)

Trt it on an old CD or a cheap blank CD. Burn something on it, scratch it and rub methanol or whatever will smooth out the scratch.

Google it on the net, for instance CD scratch repair solutions.

I'll do it now, cuz I'ld like to know what works to.

Okay, just looked it up, the suggestions are toothpaste (no good), auto polish (no good), brass and silver polish (might be good).

An auto polish might work if it's non abrasive, most are, I've tried a couple of them and they scratched the CD pretty bad.

Try a metal polish, sounds like that might be a winner.

 

[Shadow Wolf]

Not every laser is the same and it's perfectly possible that other devices will "ignore" the scratch.

Yeah. I have a portable CD player from Sony. If a CD will play for at least a continual 45 seconds, the rest of the CD will not skip at all. It has a memory unit that will store that long of the song, and digitally remove the skips. I can even drop the CD player and it will continue to play for the 45 seconds even if the CD popped off the spinner and is no longer spinning.