Whats the best way to buff out a scratch on a DVD?

rudder

Lifer
Nov 9, 2000
19,441
86
91
My Call of Duty 2 DVD gets stuck at about 60% and I noticed a pretty good scratch on the back.

I have heard using tooth paste is one good way, but anyone have any other suggestion?

The game was bought used so I can't return it.
 

mshan

Diamond Member
Nov 16, 2004
7,868
0
71
Novus plastic polish is what I've seen recommended before for scratched cds:

http://www.novuspolish.com/

Toothpaste may work, but it also may be a little coarse and just replace a little scratch with lots of little scuffs.

Could also try going to Walmart and seeing if they have a cheap copy cat plastic polish.

EDIT: another idea might be to go to a local used cd shop and see if they will repair the disk for you for a small fee. They may use some sort of clear filler that "fixes" the scratch that way. And if you polish it yourself, you probably should polish radially so any scratches or scuffs you create are perpendicular to the path of the laser when reading data.
 

Oyeve

Lifer
Oct 18, 1999
22,046
875
126
What always works for me is a very soft eraser, like those gooey white or pink ones when we went to school. Rub the surface smoothly until the scratch is gone or barely noticable, get a nice clean piece of felt or lens cloth and buff that area remembering to go from center to edge, never in a circle. Works 99.9 % of the time for me.