CDs, invented in Germany in 1982, are popular items in your home and vehicle. The idea about fixing CD scratches is similar to fixing those ‘indents’ in car paint, furniture, floors, or anything with a scratch. It’s about filling in the scratches and polish them once filled with a substance discussed further here.
How it Works Idea
I’ve had this work for a few of my CDs but not all of them. Give it a try since you have nothing to lose if it’s badly scratched.
Try the 3M® Advanced Scratch Remover sold on Amazon.com® that works well on my car although I’ve never tried it on my CDs. My friends have had good luck with it on their CDs.
Only a dab will do and it’s very powerful for removing scratches.
Polish straight down from the center hole, not in circles for older CDs from the 1990s. The lasers are improved since then and not so finicky, so a circular motion is fine to do.
Toothpaste Technique
If your CD scratches aren’t too bad, toothpaste should work for you. After all, it works on teeth surface scratches and polishes teeth. Just use plain white toothpaste without gels or whitening beads and other components. Simply put a small amount on your CDs and rub straight down from the center hole. Let the toothpaste dry then put it under cool running water to rinse off. Dry with a lint-free towel (not paper towels). Put into your CD player and see if it plays.
Wax the CD Scratches
Put a thin coating of liquid car wax, Vaseline®, colorless shoe polish, furniture polish, or Chapstick on the top and let it sit there for a few minutes to fill in the cracks so that the laser can read it again. Organic 100% carnauba wax (bee’s wax) is the best and will protect your CDs from future scratches.
If all of this fails and you love your CDs, you might want to take them to a professional CD repair store or gaming shop to fix CD scratches.
Once the cleaning has worked, be sure to burn a new CD copy because the fix is not permanent.
How to fix a scratched or damaged disc and unreadable disc error for Xbox®, PlayStation®, and PC demo video.