Effective CD Scratch Repair

CD's scratch so easily as you all know, and the average scratch repair method sucks. Toothpaste doesn't work on moderate to heavy scratches, and the things that can fix those are to abraisive to use at all.

While searching for something to polish up my brass paintball gun, I stumbled across the perfect compund to repair CD's.

Step 1 What you need!

You will need

1 CD that is in desperate need of repair
1 roll of paper towel, and not necessarily the soft stuff
1 roll of reasonable soft and durable toilet paper
1 cloth do place the CD on as to not damage it, and soak up excess Brasso
1 Can of Brasso Metal Polish (MUST BE BRASSO)

Take a look at the intro picture to see what I used.

Brasso is a very unique polishing agent. It is just abrasive enough to remove mild to moderate scratches without being so abrasive that it will scuff the polycarbonate plastic..

One of it's listed uses on the back of the can is for polishing plastic watch crystals.

Comments

[dataphool]

Interesting. Will Silvo work as well as Brasso? If you are not familiar with it, it is a silver polish by the same manufacturer as Brasso.

[toilofday]

none of this will work anymore. They changed the compound. It's a paste and its to course. Silvo will not work. Its not really a compound. It's more a chemical paste. It works on a reaction.

[rizdek]

Whatever method you choose, I strongly recommend testing it on a CD or DVD that is no longer of value.

[CB2001]

 I know this was posted back in 2007, but I heard that sometime after this, the company that makes Brasso changed the formula so that it couldn't be used in this manner again.  Can anyone tell me if Brasso is still useful in this manner or if it's no longer useful?

[youngwikid]

yeah i have recognized htis because the new one is a paste and the old one is liquid.

[toilofday]

 I just bought some of the new stuff, and it destroyed a CD.  I highly doubt this method is effective anymore.  If you can find it in a metal tin, your all good.

[guag91]

toilofday i have a deep chip in my game disk. i was wondering if i could post a picture of it online for you to look at and tell me if it can even be fixed. i have tried, furniture polish, toothpaste, light bulb, um... idk what else its a really deep chip and im not sure if it can even be fixed. thanks 

[vluray]

Good job!
Glad to see another cd scratch recovery tutorial, I have recovered many compact disks from moderate scratches with just toothpaste but if they are too deep then this might work. I thought about making one on here but there seems to be enough instead i will just link to my tutorial www.vluray.com

[liMePod]

would this work on a scratched mp3 player screen (creative ZEN)?

[GreenDay]

NO! I ruined the screen on my phone trying this. It made the scratches look bigger, which really sucked.

[hominid]

Sorry to hear that. I would recommend using a Dremel with the buffer wheel and the polishing compound. It really does work well and I have used this to remove scratches on my Spectacles. Good luck. Maybe you could borrow one if you do not have one.

[sinsorrowmadness]

I just tried this on my new 360 game that i managed to scratch pretty badly, however thanks to your guide was able to fix it. thank you

[toilofday]

LOL, No I did not see that other instructable. My aproach is a little differnt with the Brasso aplication and method, so I think i'll keep it. This is also my first instructable! :) About Silvo: Yes it should work. I've haven't ran across it yet, but I do know it's much less abrasive and could be used as a finishing polisher to remove the swirl marks left by the Brasso. It is definately on my list of things to buy.

[toilofday]

Silvo does not work. It's operates off a chemical reaction, not by using an abrasive.

[murkin3432]

hey i tried it on a xbox 360 game and it worked for a couple of levels but not to where I wanted it to, and its brasso but in a bottol

[toilofday]

I'm assuming your disk was very scratched. Deep scratches are hard to get out and even after some minor polishing can still affect your game play (in this case). It's possible that you need to continue polishing until you've worn down the polycarbonate enough to have worn down any deep scratches. Then begin using a progressively lighter application of pressure in a few final passes to reduce swirling and scratches inflicted by the grit in brasso. Another method which has work faster but has a higher risk of damaging the disk is to use a harsher compound, such as automotive polishing compound, in order to get below the scratches faster. Brasso can take a considerable amount of time. It's very gentile. Once you've gotten below the scratches with a harsher compound, use the brasso to smooth it out. The only problem I've had with this second method is creating a valley in the plastic which sends the laser off course. This can be corrected by carefully creating a more gradual slope with the harsher compounds over working on just a small area. I usualy polish at least 1/2 a disk tapering outward in both directions from the scratch. Polishing is art. It's very similar to sharpening knives.

[talentboy95]

cool

[Mr.Roboto]

I'm wondering where Brasso is sold.

[Mr.Roboto]

Sorry, but all of the ones that I saw was for $20.00-$99.00, and I think it is not worth it to spend that much to repair a CD and/or game disc.

[toilofday]

I picked up my tin for roughly 7 bucks. Check a home depot, lowes, or Ace hardware.

[Mr.Roboto]

Thanks, i forgot abouth those places because i just used the internet to find it.

[ryan289]

i got brasso from walmart for like 3 bucks

[ryan289]

tarn-x wont work??

[toilofday]

I'm realy not sure. It depends on the grit and the chemical composition. It may not be suitable for plastics and polymers. Brasso is pretty fantastic and very inexepnsive. I'd just pick up a container of it and be safe. Plus this way you get a chance to run out to the hardware store. That's always a fun adventure. :P Just make sure you bring some other instructables with you so you can stock up on a supplies.

[lemonie]

Did you see this Instructable?
http://www.instructables.com/id/EAPIE0IPAUEP286T9M/

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