A stupid CD question about scuffs, scratches, etc.

[Peggy-Ann]

A stupid CD question about scuffs, scratches, defects, etc.

When you buy a new CD, how perfect should the plastic bottom surface be from imperfections? Should you return the CD if the plastic is slightly scuffed or has a small scratch? Related to this, when I see adds for multiple CD collections (box sets, etc) I see its common for the add to display the CD’s overlapped on a table (the way a deck of playing cards is overlapped by magicians). Are the CD’s that durable? And should I only be worried about the metal surface and not the plastic?

[jazzbo]

You should be careful handling cds, certainly. In fact you have to be careful not to scratch the top layer as well as the bottom.

That said, they are more durable than one might think, and yet oddly vulnerable too. Sometimes you can slide one across the floor by accident, and not one problem will ensue, and sometimes you can just put a finger on the playing side it seems and get a skip.

Also some players are very sensitive to skuffs and scratches and others aren't. . . .

Best to just be careful and respectful of the silver discs!

[rostasi]

A stupid CD question about scuffs, scratches, defects, etc.

When you buy a new CD, how perfect should the plastic bottom surface be from imperfections?  Should you return the CD if the plastic is slightly scuffed or has a small scratch?  Related to this, when I see adds for multiple CD collections (box sets, etc) I see its common for the add to display the CD’s overlapped on a table (the way a deck of playing cards is overlapped by magicians).  Are the CD’s that durable? And should I only be worried about the metal surface and not the plastic?

Welcome Peggy-Ann!

Not a stupid question! Very important to know these things.

CDs are incredibly durable.

"Slightly scuffed" is different than "small scratch" tho,

but checking them to see if they play fine is a good idea.

If you can, try as many different kinds of players if you're

real worried about a particular disc.

If you're buying from a store, ask them about thir policy

on returns. Many "used" CD stores have players there

that you can use to test.

If you got the CD home already and opened it up to discover something strange looking,

then try it on different machines if possible -

car stereo, home stereo, computer -

you don't want to discover the fault later after the return policy of the store has expired.

Also, you should know, if you don't already:

Clean your CD with a soft cloth from the inside of the disc outwards -

not in a circle like LPs.

hope this helps,

rod

---

Now playing: WKCR - Columbia University

[AllenLowe]

I have lots of old CDs with many scuffs - never had a problem playing them -

[Aggie87]

Hello Peggy Ann -

Since you have completed the crucial step of posting your first post in a forum OTHER THAN "Offering and Looking For", you are now eligible to sell us anything you like, whether it is scratched, scuffed, stolen, missing boxes, booklets, or what have you.

B-)

[mikeweil]

I have made good experiences with a CD cleaning spray - cleans the surface of fingerprints and the thin hue on the surface every CD has, improves laser tracking and thus the sound.

I always wash my hands before handling them or touch them only on the edges - I hate those players where you have to touch the surface to handle th disc.

[Guest Chaney]

Welcome Peggy-Ann!

On a somewhat related* matter...

David: Am I seeing hippopotami behind you in your avatar? If yes, can you explain?

* A hippo will also become scuffed if inserted into a car CD player.

[AfricaBrass]

Welcome Peggy-Ann!

On a somewhat related* matter...

David: Am I seeing hippopotami behind you in your avatar? If yes, can you explain?

* A hippo will also become scuffed if inserted into a car CD player.

Welcome Peggy-Ann!

On this topic, I have CDs that are scratched and still play, but I agree with Jazzbo and his suggestion, "Best to just be careful and respectful of the silver discs! "

As David commented on discs that won't play on stereos playing on computer. I've had two discs where that was the case and I quickly copied them on the computer when I discovered they worked.

[catesta]

* A hippo will also become scuffed if inserted into a car CD player.

Not to mention, you're going to piss the damn thing off.

I've never put anything larger than a goat in my CD player.

[AfricaBrass]

Thanks for posting that link, David.

I really like The Crabpicker.

I think you can adjust the properties of your avatar in the control panel so that it won't compress. It can be 100 pixels wide, but it just won't be 100 pixels tall.

[couw]

which all reminds me of the epigram:

I try to put the LP in my CD player

It does not fit

[WD45]

I would say that my skipping defects have come as many times from a scratch as they have from some non-scratch manufacturing defect.

I have heard it said that the label side is actually more suceptable to error-inducing damage than the shiny info side. There is very little protecting that thin layer of aluminum [or gold] from damage.

[Aggie87]

* A hippo will also become scuffed if inserted into a car CD player.

Not to mention, you're going to piss the damn thing off.

I've never put anything larger than a goat in my CD player.

...you got a Chupacabra in your dashboard???

[AllenLowe]

best spray for CD and CDR scratches: Optrix - I got it from North Country Audio -

[Man with the Golden Arm]

Dang the things you learn here. Something for hockey fans as well.

el choopo!

Chris probably has one of them Chupacabra aerator / catcher / baggers!

[catesta]

Chris probably has one of them Chupacabra aerator / catcher / baggers!

hehe B-)

[kulu se mama]

the big question about "scratches" and scuffs is whether or not it casts a shadow on the disc.

if you get a double image on the mark it is only on the thin plastic coating on the disc and can be repaired.

if the scratch is in the foil itself, that is a more severe problem.

also you might look at the label side of the disc.

if you can see the mark on that side (which is actually closer to the playing surface), then you have a problem.

some cd stores have machines that can buff out surface marks.

i have a local guy who will do as many as i need for $2 per disc.

when he's finished - they look brand new, but that only works if there is no foil damage.

[Dmitry]

On a tangent -

The US-made xrcd's have the stupidest packaging I've seen [JVC must've sub-contracted the Verve design people]. The cd's are encased in the incredibly tight sand-paper-like envelopes inside the cardboard books. ALL of them, without exception, get scratched.

I keep mine in separate jewel cases.

Just today I bought this Bill Holman xrcd [$3 at a Housing Works thrift store, so I shouldn't really kvetch], and it's all scoffed up.

Hopefully it can be buffed off. I wish I knew a joint in NY that does cd refinishing.

[mikeweil]

I have made good experiences with a CD cleaning spray - cleans the surface of fingerprints and the thin hue on the surface every CD has, improves laser tracking and thus the sound.

May I ask which cleaning spray? and how much do you use of it? how often?

There are two or three different brands by German manufacturers that I doubt are distributed in the US. CD Control is the name of one. I apply it once after buying, and repeat only if someone taps on the surface. In a smoker's home, I've been told, you should repeat it after a few years, but in a non-smoker's home the effect lasts ten years.

I spray on the disc 4-6 times until the surface is covered, then wipe off radially with a non-perfumed Kleenex.

[AllenLowe]

Anybody listening? Optrix is a spray, great stuff, available in the US from North COuntry Audio: 315-287-2852, ask for Marc. Tell him Al sent ya -

[Alexander]

which all reminds me of the epigram:

I try to put the LP in my CD player

It does not fit

That reminds *me* of something my then three-year-old daughter said when she first saw an LP...

"That's a big CD, daddy!"

[neveronfriday]

[...] but in a non-smoker's home the effect lasts ten years..

I smoke.

Without exception, my CDs are fine. All of them are, ever since I started the year they put out Cds the first time. (83?/84? somewhere around there)

If at all, my CDs sound better because of the patina they have acquired (I'm sure some Hi-Fi freaks smoke onto their CDs regularly).

Cheers!