# Q: Preserving Your CDs and DVDs?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/q-preserving-your-cds-and-dvds/707941>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [December 22, 2014, 7:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/q-preserving-your-cds-and-dvds/707941 "2014-12-22T19:30:21Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 4\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![Jinx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/c6cbf5/32.png) [@Jinx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jinx)\
**Post date:** [December 22, 2014, 7:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/q-preserving-your-cds-and-dvds/707941/1 "2014-12-22T19:30:21Z")

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I once heard there is a way to re-polish the surface of CDs and DVDs to buff out light scratches and such superficial defects and blemishes. Yet, I do not see any device nor service offering to do so. On one hand, it would seem a rather simple matter. And, libraries could surely use this service! (Doing away with books on tape is the WORST thing libraries could do. Every book on CD now skips!)

Anyhoo, I digress: OTOH, I am picturing a device that would spin the CD while buffing the surface; however, then I realized you are suppose to wipe radially (and not circumferentially) when wiping the readable surface of a CD or DVD.

So, is there actually some automated way to “polish” CD/DVD surfaces other than by hand? (After one or two by hand, it quickly becomes a pain in the butt! And, results are not guaranteed!) What’s the SD on this?

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**Author:** ![beowulff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beowulff/32/542_2.png) [@beowulff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beowulff)\
**Post date:** [December 22, 2014, 7:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/q-preserving-your-cds-and-dvds/707941/2 "2014-12-22T19:46:42Z")

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Rip them to a hard drive.

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**Author:** ![Omar\_Little](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/omar_little/32/269_2.png) [@Omar\_Little](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omar_Little)\
**Post date:** [December 22, 2014, 7:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/q-preserving-your-cds-and-dvds/707941/3 "2014-12-22T19:46:47Z")

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> [@Jinx](#):
>
> I do not see any device nor service offering to do so.

[http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb\_sb\_ss\_i\_0\_7?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=cd+polisher&sprefix=CD+poli%2Caps%2C340](http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_ss_i_0_7?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=cd+polisher&sprefix=CD+poli%2Caps%2C340)

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**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\
**Post date:** [December 22, 2014, 8:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/q-preserving-your-cds-and-dvds/707941/4 "2014-12-22T20:05:23Z")

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Whenever I rent DVDs from the local video store, they always stick them in a machine that cleans/polishes them for a few seconds.