CD scratch removal

[esh4]

Hi all -- I'm looking to buy a disc repair kit to fix some scratched CDs that are generating errors in CD Ripper. There are many out there that I've researched, but I thought I'd ask if any members here have had good experiences with particular ones. I know that this question was asked in an older thread and didn't get any responses, so I thought I'd try again.

Thanks.

[Kiwi]

Re: CD scratch removal

I bought the Aleratec DVD/CD repair kit. It does an ok job though seriously scratched discs require some time/passes to get them to rip accurately.

I have been surprised how some visually seriously scratched CDs ripped without any "repairing" and some discs that looked fine, that wouldn't rip accurately even after a couple of "repairing" passes.

[bhoar]

Re: CD scratch removal

Hi all -- I'm looking to buy a disc repair kit to fix some scratched CDs that are generating errors in CD Ripper. There are many out there that I've researched, but I thought I'd ask if any members here have had good experiences with particular ones. I know that this question was asked in an older thread and didn't get any responses, so I thought I'd try again.

Note that I don't have a lot of scratched disc volume to go through, so I'm still in consumer-level device land.

I bought several automated repair kits from aleratec, xinix and memorex all of which are based on the same platform that looks like an older model portable cd player. I usually chose the lowest cost option (total price + shipping) at the time. They look like this: http://www.supermediastore.com/cd-re...eBase%20-%20AC but come in both white and black.

There are three swappable pad types: red/pink for grind, yellow for buff/polish and blue for clean. I never use the blue ones, figuring I can do the same with a soft-cloth. Note that some kits DO NOT COME WITH THE red/pink pads - presumably because people who did not use the yellow pads afterward complained about the circular scratches the red/pink pads create.

You need/want the red/pink pads. You might need to do some back of the envelope math about the best way to get the right number of devices and extra pad kits based on your usage level.

I find it useful to have two devices, one with the yellow pads installed and one with red/pink pads installed. Even better is four devices if you're going to be running through several discs at once.

I also find it useful to run discs through the red/pink process at least twice, and then through the yellow (+paste) process the same number of times you ran it through the red/pink process.

Also, do not over-apply the polish solution with the yellow pads, as this can cause them to swell up and detach from the plastic mounts after several over-applications.

Never put Blu-ray discs into scratch repair machines. Never put CDs or DVDs in upside down (unless they are two sided DVDs). Scratch machines cannot repair CDs with damage to the label side, so if a "scratch" isn't actually a scratch on the playback surface, but a gouge from the other side, just replace the disc. Treatment with this device may erase some of the printing around the hub on two-sided DVDs, so I advise caution especially if the DVDs aren't yours - this won't effect playback, but it makes it difficult to figure out at a glance which side is the widescreen side vs. fullscreen side.

Hope that helped.

-brendan

[esh4]

Re: CD scratch removal

Thanks all for the quick responses and suggestions. I'll look into them all. I've been using CD Ripper for a few weeks now, and probably 10% of my rips have generated errors which I'm guessing is due to some light scratches/blemishes on the CDs...

[EliC]

Re: CD scratch removal

my experiences:

http://www.hydrogenaudio.org/forums/index.php?showtopic=40732&hl

http://www.hydrogenaudio.org/forums/index.php?showtopic=60491&hl

[EliC]

Re: CD scratch removal

I bought the Aleratec DVD/CD repair kit. It does an ok job though seriously scratched discs require some time/passes to get them to rip accurately.

I have been surprised how some visually seriously scratched CDs ripped without any "repairing" and some discs that looked fine, that wouldn't rip accurately even after a couple of "repairing" passes.

Often this is because of label side damage. The data is very close to the top of the disc and a small scratch in the top (label side) can easily destroy the data. Severe scratches in the bottom make it harder to read the data.