Fix a scratched disc for cheap! (Not using toothpaste! CD/DVD only)

Fix a scratched disc by sanding and polishing the surface using sandpaper and plastic polishing techniques. This technique does the same thing as a resurfacer but costs less than $15 total.

Products I used:

To smooth out the disc surface:

With those items, you can probably fix 200 discs AND restore some head lights as well!

*Note* Bluray discs only have about 100um of hard coating and sanding it may not be a good idea.

*Update 5/12/2016*
Gamecube discs are small DVDs, this method will work with it.
Blue Playstation discs are CDs, this method will work with it. .

Other BeatTheBush Channels:

[robbyeaucoin]

Can we applaud this man who is still replying to comments on this video to this day?

[bmd]

To anyone who isn't aware, this the same process used to polish and remove scratches from anything. It's the same process used to get scratches out of your car's paint. You wet sand with very fine grit paper, follow up with a compound, then a polish, then a wax. It's the same process to restore cloudy headlights. You can even buy "headlight restoration kits" and it contains 4 small pieces of very fine sandpaper to wet sand with, and some rubbing compound. This is how you remove scratches regardless of what you are removing scratches from.

The reason it works is because you are smoothing out the scratches with the very find sand paper and following up with a compound that will polish those new, very fine scratches out completely. It works, trust me.

[saberwolf]

I don't know why this video doesn't have more likes! I just fixed 5 of my cd's that my CD player wouldn't even read. They all had pretty deep scratches. I used wet/dry 1500 grit, then wet/dry 2000 grit, then I followed up with wet/dry 3000 grit, and finished it off with rubbing compound. 3 of them worked right away, no skips! The other 2 still had some skips so I repeated the process with 2000 and 3000 grit and they work perfectly! Thank you so much for posting this video!! @BeatTheBush

[RedeemedIAm]

How about we thank him for trying to help. Everyone is so

[johnvaldez]

Just a note about a few things to think about. A) The disc has to be as clear of scratches only enough for the laser to deflect from the cd uninterrupted or it cannot read the data. That means that wax is unlikely to be effective in the long run as the disc heats up. Some high performance drives such as blue-ray are more likely to read a disc than older dvd players. B) Flatness of the disc is a factor in laser deflection, so sanding the disc by hand can cause an unevenness which will result in poor laser deflection. Using a mechanical means such as a buffer wheel is slightly better, but even then the disc may become concave and not be read. C) Some polishing compounds are for other materials. I find that the ones that work best are for automotive paint. Compounds meant for metal or acrylics may embed themselves into the disc destroying it forever even with a professional resurfacing. D) Quality of the disc is of high importance (not just the data, the physical disc). This means that you should inspect the center for cracks or separation, chips or cracks at the edge and the scrutinize the label by holding it up to the light and looking from the non-labeled side to see any holes that light may pass though. If you can see even a small scratch or pin hole of light, this is sufficient to kill a disc (however, I have seen some small amount of scratches make little impact on a game, and only a pinhole ruin an entire song...you take your chances). I can successfully resurface 60/100 by hand. Using a consumer machine, I can successfully resurface 95/100. I suggest using the least invasive methods by hand and invest in a machine. A good machine might mean dropping a $100, but I highly recommend it if you need to resurface 20 or more discs that are important for you (that means maybe you have some family album or special edition dvd that is hard to find). I would not try to resurface heavily scratched dvds or cds by hand, it is time consuming and almost never fully works.


Some fails:


I once used alcohol as a cleaning agent when resurfacing a disc. It wiped the label (and data) completely off the disc.
I use a green pad on a disc to remove scratches because I thought it was less abrasive than 2500 sand paper. I was wrong.
I tried resurfacing a Blue-ray disc on a machine. I mistakenly used the sanding function. Keyword: "mistakenly"
Experiences with slightly cracks or chipped discs: They like to explode in disc drives
Discs that have been professionally resurfaced two or more times will not polish by hand may be too thin to polish even with a machine.

[jokerofmorocco]

How to fix a disc not using toothpaste but using other things that people are more unlikely to have than toothpaste

[monkeywithocd]

0:56 - What you are talking about is specifically for CD's. DVD's have an extra layer of plastic between the label and the data layer. Still good to be careful regardless, if for no other reason than to just not scratch the label itself in the case of DVD's.

Oh, and thanks for this. I have some really badly scratched DVD's from garage sales and I've been trying to find a good method for buffing them. Going to see about getting some of the necessary materials when I go to the store next.

[miguelvarelas]

can you show us proof that it actually worked

[rwieber]

I would try the rubbing compound by itself first before using the sand paper because it has microscopic grains in it to cut through the imperfections on its own. You only need to wet sand if the scratches are too deep for the compound to remove alone. Like another commenter said on here this the exact same process you use to remove scratches from paint, repair headlights and other glass and basically anything that can be polished.

[crinsomscyth]

Honestly I wasn't sure to actually try the sand paper and using the buffing compound, but I thought it was worth the shot to fix a PS1 game that I love but was too scratched up from my mistreatment of the disk as a kid.
I used a "sacrifice" ps1 game that was in an even worse condition. I used all the same products that was used in the video and it didn't work the first time. I tried it again on the same cd cause I might as well and the game works. I tried this on the other game cd that used to crash all the time and I worked for that game as well.
Thanks man now I can go and actually finish breath of fire 4 :)

[justincupler]

Can't say I 've tried this method -- I will today, though -- but it seems logical. This is the same way I've fixed scratches in glass, headlights and paint over the years. Makes sense. I just wasn't sure it would work on a disc. Thanks tons for the thorough video! I wish you would have shown you playing the disc at the end :).

[giraffebecky]

This guy did a GREAT JOB! I appreciate him explaining where the data ACTUALLY IS. It made me realize that I don't have to be so afraid of a scratch! That was interesting to find out! (Maybe I'm behind the times, but I did not know that the data is on the silver back of the front label...)

[anglsreflections]

Very informative video and so helpful!! Your voice was clear, the view & lighting were excellent - overall an A+ job with easy-to-follow & concise directions. Thank you for helping me fix a scratched DVD and save our movie night, which was turning out to be a disaster! You rock!!

[mikekilmer]

THIS WORKS!! I wet sanded with 2000 grit in a circular motion like you said for about 4 rotations then I used 100 pound cardstock paper and wet sanded with that for 4 rotations. I didn't have any rubbing compound so I used toothpaste (not the same) The disc came out a little cloudy but it DOES work!! DON'T BE AFRAID TO TRY THIS. Thank you Beat The Bush

[BeenPaidRayy]

Who else thought he was scratching something off the disc in the thumbnail?

[jesseflow]

Wow, just tried this and it worked. Thanks!

[suewinter]

I like that he gives information about the direction of scratches and how it affects the disc and I like the information about being careful about the flip side, I was not aware. Although he does not show proof he does explain how it did not work and that it does work now.

[stephensmith]

This shit works better than toothpaste which I tried first (didn't work), but I used a cheapish brillo same method, then car wax/polish with leather cloth on laser burtnt mw2 game, and it actually worked, this guys idea is the one you just need to resurface in the best way possible. Good luck.

[RandallMacDonaldVIPness]

Can you use any window cleaner such as Bon Aim or does it have to be Windex?

[mannyokelly]

Yes thank you. Will this method, sanding, work on burned cd's?