Polishing scratched CD

coffeehound

A cherished CD had been kicking around under the seats in the car for some time and it got quite badly scratched up as a result. It would cost £12+ to replace, so I was wondering: is there a cheaper way to polish out the scratches and make it playable again? Thanks for any suggestions!

thescouselander

I don't know of it will work on CDs but I've had a lot of success polishing up scratched perspex in other applications such as watch faces and rear car lights.

Basically the method I use is to sand the scratches down with 2000 wet and dry and then polish clear with a specialist plastic polish (I use Maguire's PlastX).

I expect it would work but the materials will probably cost the same amount as buying a new CD.

AndyPix

Here you go ..


http://www.instructables.com/id/Re-surfacing-CDs-so-they-work-again./

esuhl

You should be able to rip the CD using Exact Audio Copy (EAC). It's designed to get the best quality rip possible and can often get a perfect rip from a CD that's so badly scratched it doesn't even play.

Then burn a new CD.

http://www.exactaudiocopy.de/

fwor

As above, I would try ripping it with EAC or one of the alternatives (though EAC is probably the best you can get for free).

However... it would also be worth checking Ebay to see if there are secondhand copies available there. Companies like Music Magpie have made the market for secondhand CDs so cheap that you can sometimes pick up mint condition CDs for only a couple of quid - shipped.

Norman_Castle

The music is just under the painted surface. Hold the cd up to the light and look for any light coming through the mirrored surface. If there is any polishing wont help.

kwikbreaks

Ripping is probably the easiest answer but if it doesn't work and you can't find one secondhand so resort to polishing then for the final stage after light sanding toothpaste will do a decent job and avoids an extra purchase.

Head_The_Ball

What CD is it?

Almost everything produced in significant numbers on CD is available cheaply second hand on eBay, Amazon and other sites.

Most charity shops are full of CDs for about 50p each but that does involve searching through racks.

Stompa

Several decades ago I would occasionally polish out scratches using duraglit. It seemed to work most of the time.

System

Its not the bottom of the disc you've got to worry about but scratches on the label face because that's the one where the thin film which stores the data is. Scratches on that side can damage the layer the data is stored on making it irretrievable.

esuhl

DavidP24 wrote: »

Further to good suggestions above, just download what you need, tracks are out there, on youtube etc

It's pretty hard to get music in CD quality, though. :-(