How To Repair CD Scratches – Tip Sheet

There are plenty of tips found online for how to clean and fix CD scratches, some debunked and some debunking the debunkers (oy!). Here is a list of three methods (light, moderate and extreme) that should cover all your cd repair needs.

First Step: Clean The CD

Wash CDs with your fingers using a little detergent or rubbing alcohol, don’t use a sponge since it can scratch the CD. Rinse with water, shake off and allow dry.

Once the CD is dry, try playing it. If it works, you’re in luck! If not, move on to the methods below.

CD Scratch Repair Methods

• For light scratches: Apply a bit of toothpaste to a q-tip (cotton swab) and polish the scratches with toothpaste until you have removed the scratches. Now wash the CD in some water to remove the toothpaste. Dry the CD and test it. If it doesn’t work, you can try the toothpaste method again or move on to the next method below. See: Hardware Secrets: Recovering Scratched CDs (Toothpaste Method)
• For moderate to heavy scratches: If toothpaste doesn’t work, try using the metal polish “Brasso”. Working in a well ventilated area, pour a bit of Brasso on a paper towel and rub the CD with the Brasso in a circular motion, applying pressure if needed to work out the scratches (careful not to break the CD). After the scratch has been removed, apply a light pressure polish. During the process take a few breaks to allow the Brasso to haze and then remove it with toilet paper, this helps the polishing process. Rinse the CD and allow to dry before testing to see if it works. See: Instructables: Effective CD Scratch Repair and Instructables: Re-surfacing CDs So They Work Again
• For extreme repair jobs: When nothing else will do, you can try a heat and boil method (See: Extreme CD Repair). Once you’re finished you’ll want to make sure that the CD is not warped at all since it could damage your disk drive. I would try this if desperate just to make a copy and use that backup copy instead of the original.

Your goal is to buff or work out the scratches, not fill them. To do that you’ll likely need to work in circular motions, but doing so may create new light scratches so you’ll need to repair those as you go. If you can manage to work out a scratch by simply moving in an inner to outer motion (from the center of the cd to the outer edge, no circular motion), that would be ideal but it’s not feasible in all situations.

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