Disc Polishing

I have a couple of discs that are scratched in a fashion that prevents some of the videos on them from playing properly, and since I have seen at least one place where you can send a disc to for repolishing, I'm wondering if there is a way for me to do this myself?

Most of the devices that I have tried or read about are really nothing more than cleaning machines. What they call "cleaning fluid" is nothing more than water, with a trace of alcohol to prevent algae from forming.

I do have a Disc Doctor, which kind of abrades the disc surface to reduce scratches, but it leaves it's own scratches in a radial pattern, and too often, the disc is no better off after using it than before.

I have also read that using tooth paste works, but while I admit I only tried it once, I didn't have any success with it either.

Is there something affordable that will truely polish a disc to the original condition>

These are suposed to be quite good (not tried it myself) its a UK link but you may find a US outlet, PM you the link :)

Ciara said:

These are suposed to be quite good (not tried it myself) its a UK link but you may find a US outlet, PM you the link :)

No, that is what I already have, though I called it Disc Doctor, rather than Skip Doctor. I have had very little success with it in the past, and I only use it as a last resort, because I feel that the radial abrasion that it leaves is not good.

cyberzeus said:

what kind of disc are you talking about?

cd/dvd.

You could try a three stage acrylic /plastic polish set, like this one: Novus Acrylic Polish & Scratch Remover Kit w/ 2 oz each of #1, 2 & 3

I haven't used them on cds/dvds, but they work pretty good on other acrylic products. Could be worth a shot. You can do it by hand with a buffer cloth for each grit, or if you've got a random orbit sander, get a pack of buffer pads.

stevieray said:

You could try a three stage acrylic /plastic polish set, like this one: Novus Acrylic Polish & Scratch Remover Kit w/ 2 oz each of #1, 2 & 3

I haven't used them on cds/dvds, but they work pretty good on other acrylic products. Could be worth a shot. You can do it by hand with a buffer cloth for each grit, or if you've got a random orbit sander, get a pack of buffer pads.

That may be worth a shot. I already have the sander and pads, but the problem with that would be how to keep the disc stationary. Do you think that the entire surface of the disc would need polishing, or just the area around the scratches?

I think it would be far easier to just polish the whole thing. Lay the disc on a damp paper towel on a flat surface supporting the whole disc. I wouldn't try holding the disc in my hand and only polishing the damaged area... I think it would be too easy to snap the disc that way.

Make sure the disc is totally free of the polishing compound before it goes into the player; the fine grit in the liquid might damage delicate moving parts.

It would be easier to polish the whole disc, if one used a sander and pad, as you mentioned, but that would present the problem of keeping it stationary. If one used the hand method, it would be easier to focus on the damaged area, rather than the whole disc, but either way, a flat surface would definitely be best. I was thinking of some particular discs of mine that are still mirror smooth, except in a very small area that has some scratches. Somehow, it seems unnecessary to polish the whole thing, unless focusing on one area would create some kind of distortion in a CD/DVD player reading it.