"Sticky" used CD...Can this harm my player?

[Stateless]

I bought a used CD through Amazon, and it looks like it was a promo that someone pulled the label off of. I noticed sticker remains on the back of the disc, and when I took out the booklet my hand practically stuck to the fron cover. :rolleyes: Anyway, the disc playing surface looked ok, so I popped it in. It played fine all the way through. When I took the disc out is when I noticed the problem. There was sticky remains on the label side all around the hole of the CD. :realmad: I was pissed. (It is a Rhino CD. Did they ever put promo labels on top of the holes?) Bottom line is, could this do any damage to my player? I have a Sony 5 CD changer with a burner. Like I said, the offending disc played fine, but can any of this crap get into my player? I'm thinking heat with the laser....and stuff getting into my player...It's just the label side but...Am I being paranoid? :help: I figure the experts here would know.

Thanks!

[Gary]

I'm not an expert but I'd never put a stick CD in my player. The potential for disaster (gumming up the machine, ruining the lense) far ourweighs the pleasure of listening!

[BradOlson]

try and clean it with windex or soap and water first

[Dave]

I would use isopropynol alcohol (99%) which is a mild solvent that evaporates fast and will remove sticker residue. It may take a few wipes a few times with the moistened Kleenex, but it will work.

[Stateless]

I'm not an expert but I'd never put a stick CD in my player. The potential for disaster (gumming up the machine, ruining the lense) far ourweighs the pleasure of listening!

Exactly my concern. I wouldn't have put it in my player had I noticed it. :sigh: So this stuff could get into the player even though it's not on the playing surface of the disc? Should I use a lens cleaner as a precaution?

[Paul Chang]

It is not good if the player's clamping mechanism becomes sticky. It will start "eating" CD's. So keep it clean.

One of my Pioneer LD/CD combo players is doing that. I never played any disk with a promo sticker. But I notice some brand new disks (especially LD's) are sticky inside the hole or around the outside edge. I am not sure whether the glue got on the clamp or the old clamp has changed into a suction device. :confused: When I hit eject, the clamp lifted up but the CD would go with it, then the empty drawer opened with nothing on it. :eek: I had to open the chassis to retrieve the CD several times. :realmad: Now I only use it to play LD.

[Paul Chang]

I'm not an expert but I'd never put a stick CD in my player. The potential for disaster (gumming up the machine, ruining the lense) far ourweighs the pleasure of listening!
In this particular case, the lens are relatively safer. It is on the other side from the label. But I am with you on never playing a dirty CD.

[Paul Chang]

I would use isopropynol alcohol (99%) which is a mild solvent that evaporates fast and will remove sticker residue. It may take a few wipes a few times with the moistened Kleenex, but it will work.
Yeah, more than likely you will have to rub the sticky residue off.

Good looking new avatar, Dave! Did you design it? Dream on! :love:

[Dave]

Yeah, more than likely you will have to rub the sticky residue off.

Good looking new avatar, Dave! Did you design it? Dream on! :love:
Not I Paul, it was Doowopman who did for me. Hey, if I have to dream, dream big I say. ;)

[Stateless]

Thanks for the info. Well my player seems fine, so I'm not going to worry about it. :)

[pitro]

Hey, if I have to dream, dream big I say. ;)


:agree:

[Stateless]

I saw this on repairfaq.org. From what they say, a dirty CD will not cause damage to the player.

4.7) Can a dirty CD or dirty lens damage my player?


So the droid in the CD store warned you that dirty CDs could do irepairable
harm to your CD player, your stereo, your disposition, etc. "Buy our $19.95
Super-Laseriffic CD cleaning kit".

The claim made at one major chain was that dirt or dust on the laser eye would
cause heat build-up that would burn out the mechanism. This is different
from a dirty disc. The cleaner he was pushing was a little brush attached to
a CD that brushed off the lens as it played.

This is total rubbish. The power of a CD laser is less than 1 mW and is not
concentrated at the lens. And, as noted elsewhere, those cleaning CDs with
the little brush are next to useless on anything but the smallest amount of
dry dust.

There are a lot of suckers out there. Save your money.

The worst that can happen is the CD will not play properly. There may be
audible noise, it may fail to track properly, abort at random times, or not
even be recognized. The electronics will not melt down.

It is just about impossible for a dirty CD to do any damage to the player.
A dirty lens will only result in disc recognition or play problems similar
to those caused by a dirty CD. The laser will not catch fire.The only way damage could occur is if you loaded a cracked CD and the crack
caught on the lens.

You do not need any fancy CD cleaners in any case - soap or mild detergent
and water and a soft cloth are all that are required. If the CD looks clean,
it probably will be fine. If there are serious smudges or fingerprints,
then cleaning could make a significant difference in performance.

For further information, see the sections "CD cleaning" and "General inspection, cleaning, and lubrication".

[Paul Chang]

Well, it doesn't hurt to keep the CD's clean.:shrug:

[rob68]

Just got home with, among other things, a $3 used Cassandra Wilson CD which is basically scratch-free, but has sticker-type residue on about half of the music side. Is it safe to use Goo Gone on the audio side of a CD? I might've even used it before with no harm, but can't recall for sure.

[fyrfytrhoges]

i would add that what ive been told by a total audio repair freak that im well acquainted with, hes so good he builds turntables himself, but thats another story, that using a dvd/cd player lens cleaner like the one described with the brush is not only not effective, it actually makes the player MORE prone to laser problems. it scratches the very delicate lens, apparently, im no expert so take what i say with a grain of salt. however i do trust his opinion explicitly. and i do have experience with said "lens cleaner." i had a workhorse of a dvd player, sony model blah blah blah, and it probably got some dust in it for whatever reason(s) and i tried one of these cleaners. needless to say, the problem only became much worse, ie me having to use it (the cleaning disc) repeatedly quite frequently after using it. so his advice was to use compressed air like you buy for computer cleaning, you just need to hold the can several inches away from the cd/dvd tray so as not to "hit" the internals hard. its worked like a charm for every other player ive ever had, however the newer players seem to have less of these problems with each successive generation. just a heads up, im not a know it all, my 2 cents for what its worth, at least its worked for me and others that i have recommended it to...

[TheNomadicSoul]

Just got home with, among other things, a $3 used Cassandra Wilson CD which is basically scratch-free, but has sticker-type residue on about half of the music side. Is it safe to use Goo Gone on the audio side of a CD? I might've even used it before with no harm, but can't recall for sure.

I've used the goo gone a couple times on some garage sale CDs I've picked up. Works great, no damage. I wouldn't dump the entire bottle on though, a little bit of that stuff goes a long way.

[=)_Steve_K_(=]

Your toys are fun to touch. Mine are all sticky.
-Ralph Wiggum

[Paul K]

Lighter fluid is your friend.

It is the only thing that will get off the stickys....

I use it religiously!

[fyrfytrhoges]

are you serious??? lighter fluid on cds......

and there is no damage, id need proof on that one, not that im doubting you. being a firefighter ive always been under the impression that lighter fluid is not something to apply to plastics, or delicates for that matter. but hell, what do i know. im in need of removing stickies from dvd cases and cd cases and what im wondering is what you would then use to clean off the lighter fluid that you used to get the sticky off?????

[terra1]

It is not good if the player's clamping mechanism becomes sticky. It will start "eating" CD's. So keep it clean.

One of my Pioneer LD/CD combo players is doing that. I never played any disk with a promo sticker. But I notice some brand new disks (especially LD's) are sticky inside the hole or around the outside edge. I am not sure whether the glue got on the clamp or the old clamp has changed into a suction device. :confused: When I hit eject, the clamp lifted up but the CD would go with it, then the empty drawer opened with nothing on it. :eek: I had to open the chassis to retrieve the CD several times. :realmad: Now I only use it to play LD.

This is easy to see with portable pop open CD player boom boxes where the lense is in the center of the bottom part of the clamping mechanism.

That clamping mechanism pushes up the CD from the bottom and the lid has the top hat "cymbal" that holds the CD down.

If the CD sticks to the top you can potentially have a loose CD clattering around. So the concern is at least scratching your CD if not the possible danger to the lens. Even though on audio component CD players the clamping mechanism is offset from the bottom clamp, it can still be on the same rail as the bottom clamp and within range of the CD itself (how else would it read or detect a CD?)

I was checking my CD player because it was occasionally making a high-pitched sound during play. I lubricated the spindles of the clamping mechanism with Radio Shack precision lubricator for electronics. I also used a can of Control/Contact Cleaner and lubricant which I now regret (should have just stuck with the lubricator only). Apparently I had some overspray even with the red applicator and when testing the play with cover open, I saw the CD stick to the top and then clatter to the tray. Make sure you cover the lens and parts you don't want sprayed.

My nightmare using the Control/Contact Cleaner spray (some refer to it as Tuner spray: the next day I got No Disc found when trying to play even though it played fine the night of the crime. I checked the manual and it said it could be moisture and turn on and wait about an hour. I started my angst at 10am and left it plugged in until about 8 pm when it finally recognized a disc. And I had to be patient going from tray to tray. I'm sure this was because of the overspray.

Anyway, CD play seems better. :D

[Curiosity]

I've used glycerin based soap on sticky top surfaces with no ill effect.

[drbryant]

It is not good if the player's clamping mechanism becomes sticky. It will start "eating" CD's. So keep it clean.

One of my Pioneer LD/CD combo players is doing that. I never played any disk with a promo sticker. But I notice some brand new disks (especially LD's) are sticky inside the hole or around the outside edge. I am not sure whether the glue got on the clamp or the old clamp has changed into a suction device. :confused: When I hit eject, the clamp lifted up but the CD would go with it, then the empty drawer opened with nothing on it. :eek: I had to open the chassis to retrieve the CD several times. :realmad: Now I only use it to play LD.

I have a Sony LD player and this exact same thing happened to me. I think that the rubber on the old clamp is deteriorating. Like you, I had one CD get eaten, so I only use it for LD's now. It's ashame, since it is a wonderful transport.

[Kent Teffeteller]

Hi,

Goo Gone used lightly on a sticky CD has caused no issues here with several discs which arrived this way. I did use ethyl alcohol afterwards to clean the CD and no problem after quick drying.

[Lord Hawthorne]

Lighter fluid. Ask the used CD stores.

[EdipisReks]

are you serious??? lighter fluid on cds......

and there is no damage, id need proof on that one, not that im doubting you. being a firefighter ive always been under the impression that lighter fluid is not something to apply to plastics, or delicates for that matter. but hell, what do i know. im in need of removing stickies from dvd cases and cd cases and what im wondering is what you would then use to clean off the lighter fluid that you used to get the sticky off?????

i've used lighter fluid on all kinds of plastics with no damage. usually i just use a damp rag to remove the residue after i use the lighter fluid. YMMV, of course, but i've never had a problem using lighter fluid on CDs or DVDs to remove sticker residue.