# Repairing Scuffed CDs **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [February 6, 2011, 11:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/repairing-scuffed-cds/570455 "2011-02-06T23:46:54Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Contrapuntal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e274bd/32.png) [@Contrapuntal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Contrapuntal)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2011, 11:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/repairing-scuffed-cds/570455/1 "2011-02-06T23:46:54Z")
Is there any product or process that repairs minor scuff marks on music CDs? ---
**Author:** ![Martini\_Enfield](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/martini_enfield/32/11123_2.png) [@Martini\_Enfield](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Martini_Enfield)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2011, 12:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/repairing-scuffed-cds/570455/2 "2011-02-07T00:22:23Z")
Heaps of them- go to any halfway decent electronics store and see what they’ve got, or alternatively, many video libraries around here will (try and) repair your scratched CDs and DVDs for a small fee (around $3 or so IIRC). ---
**Author:** ![Markxxx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/5daacb/32.png) [@Markxxx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Markxxx)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2011, 1:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/repairing-scuffed-cds/570455/3 "2011-02-07T01:31:31Z")
I found Brasso will work on a scratched CD a lot of the time. The thing that is key is WHERE the scratch is and what kind of scratch is it. If the scratch is on the label side it can’t be fixed. The data on a CD is stored right under the label which makes is 99% certain that it can’t be repaired. If the scratch is on the underside of the CD you have a decent shot at fixing it. If the scratch is curved and goes in a circle LIKE the CD the this is hard to fix. Scratches that do not follow the curves of the CD are much easier to fix. If you have a curved scratch that follows the round shape of the CD it’s hard to fix ---
**Author:** ![campp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c5a1d2/32.png) [@campp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/campp)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2011, 2:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/repairing-scuffed-cds/570455/4 "2011-02-07T02:36:23Z")
I had a scratched CD that I thought I would try to repair. First I burned a safety copy in case I screwed it up worse. Surprisingly, the safety copy played perfectly. My conclusion was that my computer was able to read the trashed CD properly, but my car player or home player could not. I still haven’t tried to fix the original, but I’ll probably try it. ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2011, 4:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/repairing-scuffed-cds/570455/5 "2011-02-07T04:32:23Z")
Go to Best Buy and get one of these [CD/DVD polishing gizmos](http://www.bestbuy.com/site/Digital+Innovations+-+SkipDR+Manual+Disc+Repair+System/7043549.p?id=1099396975848&skuId=7043549&cmp=RMX&ref=06&loc=01&ci_src=14110944&ci_sku=7043549). I have the motorized version, and it worked well enough on one of my Xbox DVDs to remove the scratches put in by jostling the xbox while it was running. It doesn’t look like it’s been polished well- it has a sort of pattern to it, but it does help scuffed ones quite a bit; apparently the polish pattern doesn’t affect the laser reading the CD/DVD. ---
**Author:** ![Full\_Metal\_Lotus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/df705f/32.png) [@Full\_Metal\_Lotus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Full_Metal_Lotus)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2011, 12:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/repairing-scuffed-cds/570455/6 "2011-02-08T00:04:13Z")
Cheap fast and easy, and works with many small scratches and scuffs. Get a box of crayons. Eat or throw away the coloured ones, use the white one and trace along the scuff/scratch. Buff with a cotton rag. This almost always works. ---
**Author:** ![wbeaty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/439d5e/32.png) [@wbeaty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wbeaty)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2011, 2:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/repairing-scuffed-cds/570455/7 "2011-02-08T02:35:08Z")
> [@Full\_Metal\_Lotus](#): > > Cheap fast and easy, and works with many small scratches and scuffs. > Get a box of crayons. Eat or throw away the coloured ones, use the white one and trace along the scuff/scratch. Buff with a cotton rag. This almost always works. Even faster: rub nose-grease into the scratch, then wipe off the excess. (Wipe across the scratch, so you leave some grease down in there.) Actually I found that cooking oil works a bit better. Less crusty skin flakes?