Repair a scratched CD

CDs and DVDs are vulnerable to scratches that can cause jumping audio and video or lost data. Cleaning with a suitable cloth is often all that’s necessary, but if that fails you could try a gadget like this Premier Disc Repair kit.

There are some things it can’t fix; it works by polishing the plastic on the underside of the disc to remove scratches that disrupt the laser beam in the drive. It can’t fix scratches that have reached the silver disc inside the CD. This can happen if the scratch is very deep, or from the label side, where the plastic is much thinner.

The Disc Repair gadget can be powered by batteries or an AC adapter.

To use it, make sure that there is no dirt on the CD and then spray the resurfacing fluid liberally over the shiny side of the disc. Gently press the CD into the top slot with the shiny side facing the wheel. The device will start automatically and rotate the disc. It will finish automatically as well and the disc will pop out.

Take the blue cloth and carefully dry and remaining fluid from the disc.

Finally lay the cloth down on the table, rest the CD on it with shiny side up and buff the disc with the felt square. Keep the strokes from the centre to the outside.

Don’t make circular motions. This buffing helps make the disc shiny again, which helps drives to read the information.