Hello everyone,

Ran into some trouble trying to clean up some serious scratches on my friend's DVD. There were two long and deep scratches (radial - from the middle to the outside), and I read that the best approach is sandpaper and Brasso. Therefore, I sanded down the scratches, and then eventually the whole DVD. Then I applied Brasso and rubbed it in there for a good 15 minutes. Now, no matter how hard I try to clean it (using water and a cloth), the layer remains pretty hazy (I can send pictures if that would help). When I put it into ANY DVD player in my house, the disc cannot be read. I even tried rubbing car wax on the layer, but that did not work. Is there a way to polish it up to make it readable? I really don't think I destroyed the disc - I just think that it needs to be polished. Again, I need help, please! Thanks to all!

Skip Dr?

Will try the good old Skip Dr. Is my technique wrong, though (so I know for the future)?

SANDPAPER!? Are you insane? That sure better be some very very fine grade stuff. If not, that DVD could be gone forever.

I recommend using toothpaste, as long as it doesn't feel gritty in your mouth. Used it on a friends DVD and got it working again.

1. apply toothpaste to finger
2. apply to scratch and buff
3. rinse off the disk
4. repeat if necessary

... sandpaper ::shakes head in disbelief:: .. that poor DVD

A very fine grit (maybe 400 or 600?) is often recommended. Haven't tried it myself.

This thread seems to have some pertinent information:

http://www.hydrogenaudio.org/forums/index....showtopic=40732

EDIT: I wouldn't use anything below 1000 grit sandpaper as it would probably be too abrasive on the CD/DVD and just serve to create more scratches.

Ouch - not good news. I was reading on the forums and Googled and found users used sandpaper...errr...guess I'm quite the newb. Well, I feel like an idiot. However, with the toothpaste method, it would have taken me ages - the scratches were really deep. Is there any way I can clean this DVD up now? I suppose I should go with a higher grain next time, huh?

P.S. The grit on the sandpaper is 220.

Your DVD is probably gone forever now.

Sandpaper is fine, but you need at least 1000 grit, as Zoom said. Toothpaste is nonsense, if only because you never know what ingredients and abrasiveness you get.

Okay, so I know now to use the sandpaper...but do I just use the sandpaper? What about this whole Brasso thing that I've been reading? Thanks for responding!

Only on HA

I actually tried this on a badly scratched CD but I used a gel toothpaste instead of regular toothpaste. I think regular toothpastes contain rougher abrasive than the gel variants. Anyway, the CD played fine and I took a backup on the first spin after the gel treatment. However, the next day it did not play properly. So, if you are using any of these homebrew tricks, the sooner you take a backup the better.

@HotshotGG
You are right. A normal person might think HA is populated by lunatics

You could try taking it to a DVD rental place. They usually have good polishers. If the scratches are really deep though, it's very unlikely that you will be able to polish down the plastic layer enough to really eliminate them.