Scratch removal before ripping

Go to your local auto parts store and pick up some fine scratch removal creme (i.e. polishing compound) for about $5-10 per tube. You now have a lifetime bounty of scratch removal product for you AND your friends.

Just use a little dab on a cotton cloth. swirl it around the disk making little circles in every direction you can until it gets dry looking. Then just rinse it off under the tap and pat dry with a paper towel.

This quick, easy and cheap solution will get rid of most any scratch related playback problem on a CD or DVD or game except if it's a really bad gouge.

Enjoy,
Bob

Bob, I agree with you. If you want to get this type of thing as a package product go to the Mapleshade website.

Bob is right on the money. I use and recommend Meguiar's PlastX Clear Plastic Cleaner & Polish. I apply it with a microfiber cloth. It is very effective, cheap and available everywhere.
JL

I got the Disc Doctor, it has a soft abrasive rotary wheel that resurfaces the disc. For $25 it works greats on discs that get stuck or skip, bad scratches require that you run it through 2-3x. Get an extra resurfacing discs because they wear out. The manual crank version takes about 30 seconds to do a disc.

Toothpaste is the perfect mild abrasive! I have been using it with good results for over 10 years- I apply it with my finger.

The reason an abrasive is neccessary is that the scratches create imperfections in the finishing coat of the disk. When the laser hits these imperfections it's beam gets reflected causing the pickup to error out.

Once the imperfections are smoothed out the laser has a clear shot at the data underneath the finishing coat. Not all scratches can be worked out but many can.