# How do you fix a scratched CD? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [March 29, 2001, 12:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-fix-a-scratched-cd/59903 "2001-03-29T00:20:36Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 11\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![moronmountain](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b19c9b/32.png) [@moronmountain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/moronmountain)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2001, 12:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-fix-a-scratched-cd/59903/1 "2001-03-29T00:20:36Z")
Yep…happens to all of us…just I want a way to fix a scratched CD without risk of ruining it and without buying special CD scratch fixer. Any ideas, o teeming millions? ---
**Author:** ![MsWhatsit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/eb8c5e/32.png) [@MsWhatsit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MsWhatsit)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2001, 12:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-fix-a-scratched-cd/59903/2 "2001-03-29T00:25:14Z")
[Learn2.com](http://Learn2.com) has a good tutorial on this topic: [http://www.learn2.com/08/0836/0836.asp](http://www.learn2.com/08/0836/0836.asp) I haven’t personally used the techniques described, but they seem reasonable enough. ---
**Author:** ![handy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b5a626/32.png) [@handy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/handy)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2001, 1:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-fix-a-scratched-cd/59903/3 "2001-03-29T01:15:05Z")
There is a new product you can get at a music or software store called DiskDoctor, which does the trick. Around $15.00 . ---
**Author:** ![msc75](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/bc79bd/32.png) [@msc75](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/msc75)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2001, 3:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-fix-a-scratched-cd/59903/4 "2001-03-29T03:48:07Z")
A nice temporary fix that I’ve found is Carmex. The lip balm stuff. Rub a nice thin glossy layer onto the CD,then kind of smooth it out with your finger. It works like a charm. An even more temporary fix is to lick (I know how this sounds) the CD from inside to out, going around in a circle, then wiping it down in the same method. Hey, it sounds dumb, but it works. ---
**Author:** ![wolfseyn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/97f17d/32.png) [@wolfseyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfseyn)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2001, 4:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-fix-a-scratched-cd/59903/5 "2001-03-29T04:11:21Z")
Don’t try these: Mop ‘N’ Glo Sandpaper Rain-X Possible Solutions (I never tried these) Dishwasher Washing Machine Probably the best solutions: A CD cleaner… found @ your local CD shoppe sometimes HOT water works… Carmex? . . hmmm that’s a good idea I wonder if Chap Stick or Blistex works ---
**Author:** ![ookpik](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/c68b51/32.png) [@ookpik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ookpik)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2001, 4:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-fix-a-scratched-cd/59903/6 "2001-03-29T04:21:36Z")
I buy a fair amount of used CDs from 2 vendors. They both have devices that can, as a rule “sand down” a CD to the point where “most scratches” are eliminated. I say “as a rule” because defects vary a great deal. It obviously depends on the depth of the scratch. ---
**Author:** ![GilaB](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/8e7dd6/32.png) [@GilaB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GilaB)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2001, 4:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-fix-a-scratched-cd/59903/7 "2001-03-29T04:28:56Z")
Have you tried playing it on a portable CD player with a lot of antishock? I’ve only tried it once or twice, but it works. Obviously that doesn’t fix the CD, but it does let you listen to it. ---
**Author:** ![reprise](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/ea666f/32.png) [@reprise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/reprise)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2001, 4:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-fix-a-scratched-cd/59903/8 "2001-03-29T04:43:17Z")
it does actually depend on the direction in which the scatch runs, but if it’s fixable at all, Brasso will fix it. No cite - personal experience trying something I didn’t initially believe either. ---
**Author:** ![Running\_with\_Scissors](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/a183cd/32.png) [@Running\_with\_Scissors](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Running_with_Scissors)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2001, 4:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-fix-a-scratched-cd/59903/9 "2001-03-29T16:54:41Z")
One other note (becuase it doesn’t appear to have been mentioned yet): The data on a CD is stored on the _label side_\*, making it the more delicate side of the two. Apparently most people don’t know this. As long as the scratch on the bottom isn’t _too_ deep there’s an excellent chance that it can be fixed. Just as an aside, a DVD is a sandwich of two plastic discs, with the data in the middle (take a close look at the edge, you can see the two discs). So they’re actually more durable than CDs. ---
**Author:** ![wring](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/838e76/32.png) [@wring](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wring)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2001, 5:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-fix-a-scratched-cd/59903/10 "2001-03-29T17:02:33Z")
a word on hot water. Um. (ok, more than one word). I wouldn’t recommend it - I use old cd’s in crafting activities and the preferred method used for cutting them is to warm them in hot water first (which makes them easier to bend and cut). have no opinion on the other things. ---
**Author:** ![Necros](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/necros/32/11086_2.png) [@Necros](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Necros)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2001, 5:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-fix-a-scratched-cd/59903/11 "2001-03-29T17:53:07Z")
> [@](#): > > So [DVDs] are actually more durable than CDs. Ahhh…not exactly. Because of the way the information is stored on a DVD, they are actually much more fragile than CDs. Or, at least, the data is more susceptible to “physical corruption.”