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Scratched discs - what do to?

I can't be the only person with this problem. My new GamuT CD-1 is wonderful, etc. (see my system), but it is sensitive to scratched discs. Email from the designer indicates that he decided on sound quality at the expense of robust correction (which, I guess isn't 'correction' so much as 'guessing').

Unfortunately, I have a good number of old discs that have been around the block a time or two--lent to friends who leave them out and stack them, caseless; carried around NYC in sub-par cd wallets (mea culpa); dropped, forgotten, lied to...

How can I fix them? I have heard of a number of products--potions, polishers, scrapers...

The following is a purely ad-hoc list of possible solutions. Can anyone comment? I'd love to just buy one that works instead of building a library of products that don't.

Novus #1 Plastic Cleaner
Novus #2 Fine Scratch Remover
Novus Perspex polish
Allsop cleaners ?
Brasso polish ?
Discwasher CD scratch repair kit (cleaner and polisher liquids)
Discwasher CD Cleaning system (turntable thingy)
BlueNote Galaktos CD treatment
Nitty Gritty Pure CD Fluid
Auric Illuminator kit - gell and pen (does this fix scratched discs?)
Mapleshade Mikro-Smooth polish
Mapleshade Optrix (enhancer?)
Finyl cd cleaner
Disc Doctor - Miracle CD Cleaner
Walker Vivid Cleaner kit (marketed as an enhancer, not a scratch remover.)

I'm leaning toward the Mapleshade combo--they seem to have good feedback on their website (not surprisingly), and the products seem fairly priced. Anyone here used it? (Anyone used their Maple platforms?)

Thanks. I will report results back here.

Regards,
Chris
cyounkman
pmkalby
130 posts
 
There's already at least one other thread with this topic- start by searching the archives.
sdcampbell
2,136 posts
 
Of the various products you list, the only one I have personally used is Mapleshade's Mikro-Smooth polisher. I have found it to be very effective at making scratched CD's playable, and even disks in good shape seem to sound better when they've been polished with this product.
dopogue
1,773 posts
 
I second the Mapleshade Mikro-Smooth as a general polish/enhancer. Also like Vivid and have been experimenting with Auric Illuminator as well. For those really badly scuffed/scratched CDs, though, I've had as much luck with toothpaste (not gel) as anything else. Just rub it in on the scratch/ding/scuff with your finger and rinse. No, I haven't done a toothpaste brand-by-brand comparison!
marakanetz's avatar
marakanetz
5,473 posts
 
You haven't mentioned buying a better CD instead of the one you have. Maybe it'll be much cheaper.
Living in NYC gives you that possibility greater than in any other city or town. Go to St Mark's Place where you might find a replacement for $2...3 mind piece. I go there almost every weekend and realy wonder how sealed CD-s cost $2...3!
I have approximately the same situation where some discs I scratched using my car-stereo but now I never place valuable CDs in the car and only use burned copies or cassettes.
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