How to polish a CD disc at home. How to remove scratches from a disc

CD/DVDs are an important means of storing data. You can store your favorite movies, songs, or even some important work projects on them. Discs must be stored in special packaging, and not in bulk in any box. But even if you handle the discs with the utmost care and in an appropriate manner, scratches cannot be ruled out on the surface of the discs.

This article will tell you about some simple ways get rid of scratches on CD. There are even special devices for polishing and “repairing” a scratched disc, however, these devices are quite expensive, so we will make do with “folk” remedies available in everyday life.

First you need to thoroughly clean the disk. This is necessary because sometimes dust and other contaminants can prevent the disk from reading data properly. In order to clean a CD from contaminants, you need to wash it in warm water and soap. You can also clean it with liquid soap, detergents or even alcohol.

Disk required clean away from the center of the disc to the periphery (i.e. to the edges of the disk). Necessary use a soft, lint-free cloth. After you wash the disc, you need to dry it. Do not dry the disc in the sun or under a lamp or use a towel.

If the CD does not work properly even after cleaning, then try turning it on in another player or drive. Often the cause of the problem is as much the disk as the laser of the “low” power of the player or drive.

If you begin to notice problems with reading data from a disk, and you value the data recorded on it, then you urgently need to make a copy of it or save its contents on your computer.

Note, How are the scratches located on the disc?. Their location directly affects the degree of disk damage. Scratches that are located perpendicular to the center of the disc have a much lesser impact on the functionality of the CD/DVD than scratches that are located spirally on the disc.

In a proven and reliable way Improving the quality of playback of a scratched disc is its polishing. For this you can use such means, like soda, toothpaste, alcohol, “anti-freeze” (window cleaning liquid). These products must be applied to the surface of the scratched disc and rubbed in a circular motion. As a doormat You must use a soft, lint-free cloth or wipes to wipe your glasses. The CD should then be washed and allowed to dry.

For polishing a disc you can also use polish for a car or neutral shoe polish.

After polishing a CD, check its surface. If you notice that the surface of the CD has become much shinier (although some small scratches may still remain on the surface), this means that the polishing has been effective. positive result. If you do not notice any difference, even after polishing the disc, then the scratches on its surface are large and deep, and in this case ordinary polishing will no longer help.

If everything worked out for you, then you can safely turn on your favorite CD player and go to

Working surface optical disks easily damaged - the protective layer becomes scratched even with not too intensive use. Deep defects often lead to the impossibility of extracting information from damaged media. Next, we will tell you how to restore a scratched disc by polishing using toothpaste, GOI paste, and also consider some “harmful” tips from the CD Resuscitation Network.

Rules for working with damaged optical discs

Let us say right away that an unreadable media with deep scratches can be restored in this way, at best, only partially. Moreover, you will have to act extremely carefully, otherwise the surface can be completely damaged. It would be better to first practice on old unnecessary media before restoring a disk with valuable information - this way you can evaluate the effectiveness of the method and, as they say, get better at it.

And do not try to immediately resort to using the method described below when a reading error occurs - check the disk on another computer - often it is the DVD drive that causes the problems. In addition, there are a lot of applications that allow you to extract maximum information from scratched blanks thanks to a modified reading algorithm. One effective solution is Durable Copy.

It is advisable to use the program to work with discs that have already been restored by polishing, because we have already noted that heavily damaged media can never be restored 100%.

How to polish a blank with toothpaste at home

The most affordable and safest way to polish is with toothpaste:

The movements during the polishing process should not be too intense so that the surface does not heat up quickly. There is no need to put pressure on the blank either. After 15-20 minutes, rinse the disc thoroughly in warm water. Its surface may become matte due to the appearance of many microscopic scratches, but deep damage will become much less noticeable, which should have a better effect on the readability of the disc.

Dry the optical drive, try inserting it into the DVD drive. If your goal is to retrieve photos, important documents, etc., use Durable Copy or similar app. Surely this time there will be noticeably more copied intact information.

If necessary, restoring the working surface using the method described above can be repeated, but it makes sense to carry it out for no more than an hour. As practice shows, polishing with paste for too long causes the opposite effect - there is less readable data on the media.

Professional polishing method

For truly valuable and expensive disks, such artisanal methods should no longer be used. To obtain an acceptable result, the polycarbonate base will need to be polished with fine abrasive GOI paste (sold in hardware stores) using an electric drill with a grinding attachment:

If you don’t have a power tool, polishing with GOI paste can also be done manually, but a positive result is far from guaranteed, and the process can take a long time.

How not to restore optical discs

You can often read a lot on the Internet alternative ways restoration of scratched compacts. For example, sometimes it is recommended to polish simply with soft or denim cloth. It is clear that you cannot polish the surface with non-abrasive materials. It will simply overheat and the media will no longer be recoverable.

Another extreme option (real advice from “experts” on the Internet) is polishing with fine-grained sandpaper. This method can immediately ruin the surface without even making an effort. The same applies to heating the disk in the microwave, under a table lamp, etc.

Another popular tip from the Internet is to cover the scratch with “green paint” or even completely treat the surface of the compact with it.

The worst enemy of CD/DVD discs is scratches. Because of one small scratch, you can lose a backup or an important file recorded 10 years ago. But if the disc is no longer readable, there is a fairly high chance of saving it by polishing the working surface. See instructions for assembling a homemade polishing machine.

With such a gadget, you can even open a small business “recovering information from disks.” The machine works quickly and can restore a dozen discs per hour. Five minutes is enough to polish one disc perfectly.

The design consists of a pair of motors: one slowly rotates the disk, turned upside down, and the second motor rotates the cleaning head. For the lower motor, the author took a 5 rpm motor from a microwave oven and rubber bands from a vacuum cleaner.

To attach the disc and polishing pad, you can use bearings from roller skates; the disc stand is made of any plastic with a soft pad.

The cleaning pad is made of a thin plastic base covered with felt.

The main rule is that the rotation of the pillow should be perpendicular to the location of the tracks. The direction is shown by arrows in the illustration.

The pad does not have to be pressed against the disc with its entire surface. This is quite normal, the front part of the cleaning pad will do all the work.

Don't forget about the polishing gel, it's better not to go cheap with it.

The first thing people notice when looking at a car is its overall appearance. Bright elements primarily attract the eye, and the same goes for disks. How they look and the condition they are in determines how highly the attractiveness of the car as a whole will be rated.

In fact, the shine of the discs speaks not only of beauty, but is also an indicator of the condition of this part. Polished discs also have increased anti-corrosion properties.

Why do you need to polish a disc?

Buying new discs makes the owner happy. Their impeccable appearance remains that way for several months, and after that various defects that appeared during operation become apparent. Discs are susceptible to corrosion, especially in harsh climates and on less than ideal roads. So it becomes necessary to clean them to get rid of scratches and corrosion.

The alloy from which the discs are made is often coated with paint. But to get rid of the old look and fading, it is not enough to paint the wheels again. In this case, they need to be polished. To do this, you can contact a car service, but if you wish, you can polish the discs yourself.

The task of polishing car wheels may sound easy, but in fact it is quite difficult and time-consuming. Despite this, many people prefer to do it themselves.

Stages of cleaning rims

Factory wheels are covered with a protective varnish film, which, when dried, becomes so hard that its hardness coefficient exceeds that of the alloy from which the disk is made. Accordingly, mechanically removing the coating from the disk is very unproductive, so a special paint remover is used.

When choosing a remover, you need to pay attention to the purposes for which it is used and what components are included in its composition. Flushing fluids often turn out to be toxic and in some cases useless. For example, if the disc was powder coated, washing off may not be effective. Already at this stage it becomes clear how difficult it can be to polish alloy wheels.

After the first cleaning stage rims we must receive a disk without a protective coating. After washing, you need to wash the disc thoroughly, as it can cause corrosion. Thorough cleaning of dirt is also necessary. After all, remaining sand in the polishing area can ruin the entire job.

The next stage of work will be grinding the disc and then polishing it, which will be discussed in more detail below.

Grinding

Grinding can be done in a professional workshop using specialized equipment or independently using simpler tools.

Today, diamond grinding of discs is popular, which involves restoring the outer side of the disc using special high-precision equipment controlled by software. Diamond cutting is carried out according to strictly specified parameters, which guarantees high-quality work.

Did you know?It is difficult to imagine high-quality polishing without the grinding stage. You can do without grinding only if the disc is already polished and without damage, and you only need to update the mirror.

You can perform grinding yourself using the following methods:

manually, without using tools– this method is practically not used due to its ineffectiveness and is used only in special cases;

using hand tools– a tool is used that transmits torque to a specialized attachment (drill, pneumatic tool, equipment with a flexible shaft);

on the machine– such equipment is not easy to find, but some people design it themselves. The principle of operation is that the disk rotates, and the grinding element must have the necessary degree of freedom to grind hard-to-reach areas. This is the fastest method, if you can implement it;

on the car hub– using a jack, the wheel is suspended and rotated by the engine, and at this moment grinding is carried out either manually or using electric pneumatic tools at minimum speed. An amateur method that simulates the presence of a machine.

For sanding you will need a drill and various sanding attachments. The most commonly used sanding paper is P 240, P 400, P 600, P 1000-1200 grit.

After sanding, you can begin polishing the car's rims. Polishing is performed using the same tools as grinding, the difference is in the use of soft attachments. Felt pads are good for polishing, as they tend to hold polishes well on their surface. Rag and felt tips are also useful for different areas. For initial and final polishing, fabric piercing wheels are recommended, which are produced in different designs.

For polishing, polishing materials are used, which come in different grain sizes, just like sanding paper. GOI paste is popular for use, and you need to purchase several types - with larger grains and with smaller grains for final processing. Usually these are pastes with grains of 100-40 microns and 14-5 microns.

At the end of polishing, the disc should be washed and wiped dry and preferably covered with a protective varnish layer.

How to polish wheels yourself

Polishing wheels can be a separate event, or it can be part of the overall polishing of the car. To polish a car, polishing machines, car polishing discs (for rough, medium and finishing), and polishing pastes are used.

After polishing a car, its body acquires a beautiful gloss, and this look should be complemented by polished glass, headlights, and, of course, wheel rims.

What you need for polishing

For polishing you will need a set of tools that can be found in almost every garage. But they can also be easily found at the market or in a store. Concerning special devices, such as a machine for polishing discs, then you can do without it, or you can make it yourself, using the work of predecessors in this matter. Working on the machine goes much faster and requires less physical effort.

Did you know?Many people take on the task of creating a machine for polishing discs. On the Internet you can find many schemes according to which you can assemble such a machine, but almost everyone replaces the specified parts with others that they consider more appropriate or that they simply have on hand. Therefore, it is unlikely to find 2 identical homemade polishing machines.

The polishing tool set includes:

paint remover;

Protective equipment for hands and respiratory organs;

Grinding machine (electric drill with special attachments);

Sandpaper with grit P 240-P 1200;

GOI paste;

Polish.

After collecting everything you need to polish your car's wheels, you can begin the actual work.

Work technology

The first thing you need to do at the very beginning of polishing discs is to remove the protective layer of varnish using a remover. Next, to do the work conveniently and correctly with your own hands, you will need equipment for polishing wheels such as a tire changer or a machine for polishing wheels. The disassembled disk is attached to it, after which it is inspected to assess the necessary work. Typically, the discs show signs of use that need to be removed by grinding.

Important!All work when polishing discs must be done with gloves. Regular work gloves will do for some steps, but you will also need rubber gloves to protect your hands.

When performing grinding, the first to use is a coarse-grained abrasive material, which is selected depending on the type of defects being eliminated. Then a finer-grained material is used, and so on average 3-4 materials of different grain sizes are used. After removing traces of the previous coarser-grained grinding material, the current work stops.

When grinding, a powder of abrasive grains and metal is formed on the surface of the disc, which must be constantly removed to avoid secondary scratching of the surface. When switching to a finer abrasive, you should first remove debris from the surface using a cloth rag.

It is recommended to operate at the lowest speed possible to prevent the disc from overheating. Also, you should not make a lot of effort, but it is better to pause the work in order to better visually control the process. This is especially true when working with coarse-grained abrasives, because you can change the profile of the disk if you do not calculate the forces.

The quality of the subsequent polishing will depend on the quality of grinding. To perform polishing with GOI paste, a coarser-grained paste is initially used, then a fine-grained paste is used for final polishing. The darker the color of the paste, the less grain. Before applying GOI paste to the disc, it must be diluted in kerosene or heated.

Features of polishing cast wheels

Mirror polishing of alloy wheels occurs as follows:

1. Gloves must be worn when working with chemicals.

2. We attach a felt circle to the drill, onto which we apply GOI paste.

3. Slowly, work the surface of the disc in a circular motion. The paste must be rubbed well over the surface until the color changes. At this stage, the mirror surface should begin to appear.

4. After treatment with GOI paste, the disc is wiped with a microfiber cloth.

5. Having finally polished the disc, you need to wash it and wipe it dry.

6. It is recommended to cover the disc with a protective varnish layer to protect it from the harmful effects of rainy weather and aggressive agents from the road - attach a woolen wheel with polish to the drill and slowly treat the surface.

As a result, the wheels have a mirror-like shine and look like new.

When working on polishing cast wheels, you should be careful about such features as the harmful effects of the components of the remover and aluminum shavings on the human body.

Important! Polishing discs is best done in well-ventilated areas. It is also necessary to use respirators to protect the respiratory tract from mechanical particles.

Very often, car wheels are one of the first elements of car tuning, as their owners want to emphasize their status and individuality. But no matter how expensive the discs are, sooner or later they become faded and dull. Polishing the discs can help with this problem.

Why is wheel polishing necessary?

Polishing car wheels is designed not only to provide an external shine, but also to protect them from corrosion, which can occur in the smallest scratches and chips received during operation.

Polishing car wheels is designed not only to provide an external shine, but also to protect them from corrosion.

Necessary tools and scope of work

If you decide not to go to the salon, but to do the work yourself, please note that this process is long and labor-intensive, it must be carried out in a well-ventilated area. It consists of several stages:

• cleaning;
• grinding;
• polishing

During work, be sure to use personal protective equipment (gloves, respirators) to avoid chemical burns to the skin and respiratory tract and the entry of small particles into them.

To clean the disk from dirt and protect it, you will need:

• water and detergents;
• mini sink (Kärcher type), if available;
• remover for paint and varnish of the appropriate type;
• putty knife;
• abrasive of different grain sizes.

Mini washer

The grinding process requires a drill or sander with abrasive attachments. If you have a grinding machine, you can use it. Experienced car enthusiasts can try performing the sanding and polishing steps directly on the car. To do this, you need to jack up the body on one side and place the wheel and disc on the hub, then start the engine and carry out processing at low speeds.

The better you complete the previous steps, the more you will be pleased with the result when polishing is complete.

For polishing you will need:

• tools from the previous stage with felt, felt, denim attachments;
• polish;
• fine-grained abrasive;
• polishing paste;
• grinding/polishing machine (you can assemble it yourself using diagrams from the Internet).

Read also

Polishing paste

Do-it-yourself technology

The process of polishing discs with your own hands should be performed in the following sequence:

• remove the disks;
• Wash them using your hands with detergent or using a mini-wash;
• treat the surface with a remover and remove the old coating of the discs with a spatula (carefully, without leaving scratches; if you want to remove not only the varnish, but also the primer, apply the remover a second time, wait until the coating swells, and remove it with a spatula);
• wait until the chemical composition dries and wipe the disc with a soft cloth, the surface should be smooth and not porous (if not all of the soil has been removed);
• Sand the areas where the coating remains;
• grind the disc from the center using a power tool or on a machine at low speeds in several approaches so as not to overheat and damage the disc;
• use abrasive from coarse to fine (P240-1200), until traces of use disappear (small scratches and chips);

Use abrasive from coarse to fine

• Before each change of abrasive brand, blow abrasive dust from the surface of the disc and wipe with a rag;
• in hard-to-reach places (if the disk is not collapsible and of complex design), grind by hand or with narrow conical drill bits;
• polishing is performed in a similar way to grinding, using polishing paste of different grain sizes and soft attachments;
• at the end of the work, the discs must be washed with detergent and wiped dry;
• If desired, you can protect the surface of the disc with a layer of automotive varnish (apply from an aerosol can or with a thin brush).

Features of polishing cast wheels

There are three types of disks:

• steel;
• cast;
• forged.

Forged wheels

The lightest and most fragile of them are cast, so working with them deserves special attention:

• finish grinding the cast wheels with 3000 grit abrasive;
• perform work with power tools in short cycles and without force;
• grinding/polishing with one brand of abrasive should not exceed 5 minutes;
• To polish to a mirror finish, use soft polishing pastes;
• Apply the paste to the polishing wheel and “rub” it into the surface of the disc in a circular motion, first by hand until the color changes, then at low speed;
• wipe the surface with a microfiber cloth;
• wash and dry the disc;
• do not forget to protect the surface after polishing with polish (Teflon or wax);
• the entire process should take between 40 and 90 minutes.

You can omit the disc grinding process if there is no damage, and you just need to update the mirror shine.

Mirror polishing of discs

To simplify this difficult process, you can use life hacks from professionals:

• Before polishing, to speed up the process, heat the GOI paste or dilute it with kerosene;
• deep scratches can be sanded with a file;
• you can use toothpaste for polishing, and a toothbrush as a tool for hard-to-reach places;
• You need to work with aerosol varnish in a circular motion;
• The grinding/polishing paste should not dry out on the surface; periodically moisten it with water from a spray bottle;
• Using protective detergents to wash discs will prolong the polishing effect;
• be careful about the composition of the polish; ammonia or acid in the composition contributes to the destruction of the coating and, as a result, corrosion;
• Polishing wheels for power tools are distinguished by color: p polishing wheels for power tools are distinguished by color: white - for more grainy, black - for fine-grained, orange - universal;
• During operation, periodically clean the polishing wheels with a brush;
• Aluminum wheels do not tolerate polishing pastes; during operation, the surface heats up and reacts, which results in oxide and stains. If you want to polish with paste, do it by hand.

We remind you that you can entrust each of the described stages to professionals at the service station, who have high-precision equipment for diamond grinding and tumbling of discs to a mirror shine.