Cleaning CDs - advice please!

[Mal]

I've recently received a couple of DCC discs through the post (eBay is a wonderful thing). Although they are not scratched they are quite dusty. This won't simply go if I blow on the disc so my question is what is the best way to clean them?

Of course, one answer is "DON'T" unless they skip or don't play at all. But, is there a satisfactory way to clean a CD without creating damage, however slight, to the reading surface?

I have considered compressed air as used for cleaning camera lenses - anyone tried this?

With discs I have had from the local library I have resorted to soap and water in the kitchen sink but these were filthy discs and not my own property so I figured what the hell!

Any ideas?

[Joseph]

Hey-good old fashioned mild dish soap and warm water rinse is all you'll probably ever need. Just pat dry with Bounty paper towels.
Won't get rid of scuffs or scratches but will make your discs sqeeky clean.

[Krink]

Optrix is a pretty amazing product, but not easy to find. A friend of mine just got the disk doctor machine...and he loves it. He took his worst unplayable Cd, ran it through, and it works like brand new. $50.00 @ Media Play.


Ray

[peterC]

Liquid soap and cold or warm water and a GENTLE finger is also my preferred method.

I regularly wash my CDs this way. No adverse effects so far.

[SonicZone]

Originally posted by Malc S
. . . I have considered compressed air as used for cleaning camera lenses - anyone tried this?
That's exactly how I remove any stray dust from my CDs before playing them -- actually, I blow air on the disc using a clean de-soldering bulb from Radio Shack. Works very well for that purpose -- been doing it that way for about 18 years.

[KLM]

I haven't had to clean many of my cds but when the rare need arises, I use either my Nitty Gritty CD cleaner, a soft cotton shirt and mild watery soap or for sticky gritty stuff, I pull out a small cotton cloth and isoprophryl alcohol. Never had a problem.

[Dave]

I swear by the same method as KLM. Nothing works as well as Isopropyol alcohol 99% for getting anything off of a cd. Other than that just a wipe with a super soft cloth.

[N25060s]

Well, I've always wondered about using alcohol, but never tried it. I do use alcohol on the jewel boxes and lots of other things - it IS a great cleaner and leaves everything "medically fresh" too! :p

I subscribe to the dish soap and warm (barely warm) water method, but, I use a cotton ball as my scrubber. It's very soft and I can't imagine it hurting the surface, especially with the soap acting as a lubricant. A word of warning: cotton balls are small to begin with and they get a lot smaller when wet, so, be careful not to let your fingernails overlap the cotton ball while washing as they can cause some nice scuff marks on the disc. Not to worry though, this isn't a big problem as long as you don't rush it, and.....keep your eye on the ball.

However, I've only washed •used• CDs bought at the store - you know, to get all that "other peoples" funk off of them. :confused:

[ArneW]

Alcohol is no good choice. Even if it does not do any harm to the CD itself, the printing on the label can be accidentally washed off if it is alcohol soluble. You never know what ink they are using. I tried it once on my first Mercury Living Presence CD (Dvorak/Janos Starker) and the CD label turned into something reminiscent of toothpaste rubbed all over the surface.

Arne

[YaQuin]

Mild soap, luke warm water (slightly warmer than room temp), pat dry with soft terry cloth COTTON towel. DO NOT DRY WITH ANYTHING CONTAINING WOOD FIBERS i.e. Paper Towels, Kleenex, TP... Wood has a higher density than plastic and as a result will introduce scratches to your CD media.

[poe_man]

If I do need to clean a disc I will use an eyeglass lens cleaner and soft cloth. I believe that
lenscrafters is a national optometry chain, but I use their cleaning fluid with their brand
of lens tissues(like a very soft cloth). The reason that I like the fluid is that since it's
used to clean eyeglasses that it doesn't leave any sort of film. I use this to clean tv/video
monitors, and they are spotless without any residue or film. I used to use soap and
water, but I'll never go back. Good luck, regardless your method!

[Sckott]

I use just plain windex on paper towels. The only thing you have to do is wet the paper towel, just don't soak it, and wipe jently from center to edge. The softness of a damp paper towel makes it almost impossible to scratch the surface of a disc, even delicate CDRs.

One could also buy a camera lens cleaning kit. The cloths they put in are very good for cleaning Cds, and the camera blower (brush with a squeeze bulb on it) is great for cleaning the lens of a CD player. Never buy the CD-oriented brush-on-lens cleaners. They beat the hell out of the pickup! Cheap and highly effective...

[Carl Hoffmann]

I have had a few DCC/MFSL's show up recently in dusty dirty condition, but otherwise perfect once I did the following. Use the compressed air can first to clear any of the big dust particals, then use a lens cloth and your breath for smudges. Not a big fan of chemicals. This takes some work but I have had great results with this method. Good luck!

[Clark Johnsen]

The thing with "cleaning" CDs is this: If you're not careful, they still sound *dirty*. In other words, just like CDS!

The Big Deal is not to clean them, but to, well... uncorrupt them. This simple step makes them sound far less edgy, tremendously increases low-level resolution and really tightens the bass -- if you can believe it. Not even a DCC disc is immune to these easy improvements...

For this procedure one may use a variety of products sold for that purpose -- Optrix, TM-15, Disc Doctor, Digital Juice, Vivid...

But also one must make sure to *destaticize* the disc after rubbing it. This is where the bulk tape demagnetizer began its new career, but (for the record...) I use Nordost ECO.

Believe me, you can elevate a Redbook CD to SACD performance level. What they never tell you in school!

clark

BTW: I have written on this topic for years and years. Although the best article is unavailable on line, the gist was expressed in this location:

http://positive-feedback.com/0802/johnsen.8n2.html

Scroll down, if you will, to Part V: Deep ECO-logic at CES.

[Metralla]

The most important thing to pay attention to, in my opinion, is what cloth you use on the polycarbonate as it is SO soft. Lens cleaning tissues designed for spectacles are too hard and leave tiny scratches. The cloths that come with Auric Illuminator are OK though.

I use EndDust on the label side to kill static and give them a blast with a Radio Shack Bulk Video Tape Eraser (as per Clark).

Regards,
Metralla

[poe_man]

I was wondering whether or not a commercial anti static spray, say the kind you can buy
in stores to remove static cling from clothing, would work as well? I've never thought about
this subject until I read some of the replys to the posted question, but am curious about
some of this new found information. Any comments appreciated.

[Clark Johnsen]

"Commercial" stuff might be OK -- Just remember, it ONLY GOES ON THE LABEL SIDE!

clark

[Bruce Johnson]

I decided to add my thoughts to the many worth replys to this thread.

My cleaner of choice, available at many plastics supply outlets, is a product by the name of Kleenmaster Brillianize. It is described as a "anti-static cleaner and fine finish detailer for plastics and shiny surfaces". A non-abrasive liquid it is dispensed from a pump-spray bottle. Distributors can be located by phoning 1-800-445-9344.

My applicator of choice has been well-laundered "treated" dust cloths available at maintenance supply stores. Repeated washings remove the chemical dust attractants leaving a uniformily-textured soft cloth.

I apply two or three sprays to the cloth, and placing the CD in the cloth, loosely and gently work the cloth over the entire surfaces with my fingers.

I've routinely maintained all my CDs in this manner since 1985. It safely removes most residue you may encounter on the previously-owned CDs you may obtain, including fingerprints. It evaporates quickly and leaves a uniformly brilliant and notably smooth surface.

Here's another remarkable use of this product you may appreciate. Applied sparingly to the same cloth I find it safely cleans fingerprint smudged booklets and inlays! This is especially true for the MFSL booklets, inlays and J-cards with their black satin finish. Technique is everything, but with minimal material on the cloth and a gentle application of the cloth to the paper on a flat surface the results are gratifying. I've been able to safely remove significant oily finerprints without detectable degradation of the paper or ink The high-quality DCC booklets are even easier to rescue of contaminants in this manner.

Want more? Paying attention to previous cautions about alcohol, the isopropyl variety will successfully remove permanent marker from those CDs which may have been unfortunately "autographed" at some time in their life. Red, blue and green marker tend to dissolve readily. The notable exception being black marker which either does not dissolve or does so very slowly and only with repeated applications. Try it yourself, on a CD case for example, to see for yourself.

One last tip concerns adhesive residue, which I repeatedly see referenced as being on CD cases and the like. For those not aware, spray lubricants (in my experience I'm referencing WD-40) will safely dissolve and remove most common sticky adhesives. You know the type left by security tags, price stickers and those labels tackily affixed to previously-owned CD cases proclaiming "Out of pint!", "Gold CD!", "Audiophile!" or "Bend over!". If you're able to remove most of the sticker leaving the adhesive residue, WD-40 applied to the adhesive and gently rubbed with a finger or cloth will do the trick. Follow with the cleaner of your choice. Brillianize, of course, works great on all surfaces of the case. This also applies to those sealed CDs you wish to have remain sealed. Carefully remove the sticker or security tag and remove the adhesive as above. With care you remove the adhesive and leave the seal intact.

Results with any process will, of course, vary by user. I hope some of this may help someone else in the forum.

This forum and all who contribute are the greatest. Thanks to all!

[floyd]

I saw a used shop buffing out cds with a jewelers type buffing wheel. Pretty scarry to me, it would seem that what they are doing is making one scratch into thousands of small ones.

What about buffing cd's with some of these machines on the market to fix scratches so far I havent needed to do it but sometimes I passed on something that may have had minor scratches or scuffs, but hey if you can fix them any opinions?

[BradOlson]

The buffing wheels actually do work the way they advertise, some better than others.

[Sckott]

Yeah. Weird, but it does work.

I used a similar method when I bought Dire Straits "Brothers In Arms" Cd. I think it was 1986 or so. I put a nasty gash over "Money For Nothing". I noticed it stopped skipping totally after rubbing the heck out of that scratch. A sharp, visible radial scratch can send the pickup on a messy mistracking. You can fix it, but normally, it involves careful buffing. The disc will look lackluster, but it will track better, finally.