How to Fix Scratched CD, DVD, Blu-ray with Brasso Metal Polish

Picture © Nabil Bakri/2021

By Nabil Bakri^{The DVD Archivist}

OVERTURE

Since the introduction of CD to the public in the 80s, the format—being a digital media—promised tons of advantages over tapes or any other analog data storage medium. Even though the data stored inside a CD is digital, the media itself is physical. Therefore, CD is not immune to damage. However, the data is carved within the disc’s layers and read by laser, therefore it should—technically or theoretically—last much longer than tapes. Since tape is analog, it requires mechanical engineering to literally extract the data from the magnetic tape thus causing wear and tear just by accessing the data. The same problem, theoretically, should not happen to CD because its reading mechanism utilizes laser to read the data without physically touching the disc. This is the reason why CD manufacturers, back in the day, often claimed that a Compact Disc is virtually indestructible. As a matter of fact, manufacturers had already made the same claim as they pushed LaserDisc to the market—which came out prior to CD and is the predecessor of CD despite being analog—simply because the player is able to extract the data without actually touching it. It is thus not too far-fetched for manufacturers to call the CD as virtually indestructible—simply because the laser can actually still read the data underneath the disc’s layers even when the disc is covered with dust, fingerprints, or even scratches—while such dirty and damage on magnetic tape would render the data lost forever.

Picture © Millenniata

It is true that CD is in fact not indestructible. Manufacturers such as Sony, Philips, and Toshiba really tried to improve optical disc’s durability with stronger layers when they released DVD and later Blu-ray Disc. While it is true that scratches can damage the disc—making the data unreadable—it is not true when one claims that optical media is simply too fragile that even the slightest scratch can cause damage to the disc’s data. An optical disc, be it a CD, DVD, or Blu-ray, can to some extent withstand minor scratches. Different manufacturers, apparently, produce different quality of discs. Thus, some types of discs are more robust than other—some can withstand only minor scratches, some can withstand really deep scratches. Bear in mind that the optical disc was designed with a full understanding that scratches are simply UNAVOIDABLE. Thus, manufacturers designed the disc to withstand a certain amount of scratches—so scratches on an optical disc is practically normal—even expected. If you have a scratched discs, you can still do something to fix it. But before you start fixing it, make sure you know how bad the damage actually is. If the disc is filled with minor scratches and still play just fine, DO NOTHING—let it be. The minor scratches are normal, meaning there’s nothing wrong with your disc to begin with. Any attempt to fix something that is not broken, is often resulted in terrible outcomes. If you are sure that the scratch is rather deep and the scratch prevents the laser to read the data, then you can try to fix the disc.

Picture © SONY

HOW DEEP IS TOO DEEP?

As mentioned previously, you should not try to fix discs with minor scratches as long as they play just fine—the scratches are normal. If you notice a deep scratch and your player simply refuse to play the disc, then you must at least try to fix the disc before you throw it away and spend more money to find a replacement. There is, however, a limit on how deep the scratch can be for the disc to get properly fixed. If the scratch is too deep as you can feel its texture damaging the smooth texture of the reflective layer, you probably should not bother trying to fix it. Think about it like the scratch on the paint of your car. It’s the same thing with CD and DVD: you can use waxing compound to remove scratches from your car, but if the scratch is too deep and affect the texture of the panel, it needs a new paint job from the auto-care. You should also note that Disc Scratch is NOT Disc Rot. So if the disc is damaged by oxidation (noticeable dark or black spots within the disc layer), there is nothing you can do to fix the disc [check out this video to make sure whether your disc suffer from Disc Rot or not]. Now with that in mind, let’s fix our scratched disc.

Picture © Nabil Bakri/2021

WHAT SHOULD YOU PREPARE?

Before fixing scratches on our CD/DVD, we must prepare Brasso liquid Metal Polish and two Microfiber cloths. There are limitless options for metal polish products, but since this article talks about fixing scratched discs using Brasso, I strongly advise you to provide Brasso Metal Polish. There are two common types of Brasso Metal Polish: 1) Wax Polish, and 2) Liquid Polish. We are going to use the Liquid Metal Polish. Later, we are going to rub the liquid on the disc surface using a cloth. Since the reflective layer of the disc is fragile and susceptible to scratch, we cannot use any cloth—we must use Microfiber clothes. It is smooth and would not create new scratches or make the disc even worse. Be sure to provide two brand new Microfiber cloths.

Brasso Liquid Metal Polish : White Spirit 64% + Ammonia 0.6%

Microfiber Cloth : Polyester 80% + Polyamide 20%

Picture © Nabil Bakri/2021

I have a Jurassic Park VCD with a quite deep scratch. Back in (around) 2010, I played the disc on a faulty VCD player and the player scratched the disc. There is a noticeable black scratch near the inner ring of the disc, meaning that if the disc is damaged, it will damage some first parts of the movie. After checking the movie on my computer, I found that the player refuses to play the disc or encounters skipping/freezing/pixelated images during the scene in which John Hammond invites Alan and Ellie to observe Jurassic Park. This proves my suspicion that the scratch damages some earlier parts of the movie—since the movie data is stored from the inner ring to the outer ring of the disc. The scratch is pretty severe, so I did not see any point in fixing it. I ended up purchasing another copy but I did not throw the damaged cop away. I then used this copy to try Brasso Liquid Metal Polish because some forums online suggest that the Metal Polish can indeed fix scratched discs. So here’s the steps I did to fix my scratched Jurassic Park VCD and the outcome of my initial trial—I have never used it before.

Picture © Nabil Bakri/2021

STEPS

1| Shake Brasso Liquid Polish well and then pour it onto the scratched surface of the disc. Do not pour the liquid onto non-scratched surface. The amount of liquid needed depends on the amount of scratch on the disc.

2| Use the Microfiber cloth to gently rub the liquid on the scratch until all the scratch is covered with the liquid. Then, wait for a few minutes until it dry up. Do not use force to spread the liquid and do not rub the disc in circular motion.

3| Once the liquid dried up, it will look like an old coffee stain. Now you must rub the stain using the other/separate Microfiber cloth—we are using two cloths to avoid stains from the first cloth to land on the disc, making the job twice as difficult. Depending on the severity of the scratch/damage, you can use a little force in straight motion until all the stain is gone. If the scratch is persistent, you can follow all the steps for several attempts.

I had to reapply the liquid several times, but the scratch did go away. I then put the disc on my computer and it plays perfectly fine. The once unplayable disc is now playable, the once skipping part is now flawlessly presented by the player. After I was successful in fixing my Jurassic Park VCD, I tried the same method on two other discs and the result is similar. This method can really fix scratched discs—but it is not guaranteed to always work and almost certainly won’t work on severely damaged disc.

CODA

So, there you go, a simple guide to use Brasso liquid Metal Polish to fix your damaged DVD collection. The steps are incredibly simple, but it does not mean that it’s easy or will work on all discs—you can ended up damaging the disc even more if you are not careful. If you are not sure about the safety of the product—you are afraid that it will only cause more damage—you should pay attention to the disc I am using to show you how it works. I used VCD/Video Compact Disc which is less durable in withstanding scratches compared to DVD and Blu-ray. If we have a VCD, DVD, and Blu-ray Disc, then we scratch them equally with the exact same pattern, the VCD may no longer work while the DVD and Blu-ray can still play just fine. VCD, just like CD, is better at resisting Disc Rot, but worse at resisting scratch. So if it works on a VCD, I think it is save for DVD and Blu-ray. I hope this article is helpful, Cheers…