Cleaning disks

[jab8356]

What do you guys use to clean smudges off disks? I had a Verbatim BD-RE that all of a sudden was being written to very slowly. Turned out the disk was smudged and I didn't know it. What's the best way to clean disks without damaging them?

[fast eddie]

fast drying glass cleaner and soft lint free cloth

Move from center of disk to the outside of disk in straight line motion and press easy. NO CIRCULAR MOTION.

Look at the disk in bright light from the window sun and see if ALL smudges have gone. Go from BD-RE to BD-R, cheaper and better

[Rockasindumbas]

I was going to start a new thread on cleaning media with a long drawn out explanation on the steps I had taken in trying to restore my Blazing Saddles DVD for backup ...

but came across a new disc on the $5US aisle at Wally World (along with Young Frankenstein!) so I've pretty much put the restore project on hold.

I tried to be delicate in the restoration and got nowhere. There were no scratches or gouges (I always take great care) but it always seemed to 'hang' at Hedley's first visit to the Gov in playback and generally the same when trying to backup.

So ... my question still remains on the 'hardcore' cleaning of media which refuses to cooperate. Any other simple household-product suggestions that may be a touch more heavy-duty?

Since I've got a disc to practice on, I'm considering busting out the tooth paste but fear it may well be too abrasive.

[mike20021969]

Originally Posted by jab8356

What do you guys use to clean smudges off disks?...What's the best way to clean disks without damaging them?

My earliest discs from 1987 (audio cd's) and every other disc since then including DVD's, CD/DVD blanks and PS1/PS2 discs have always been handled by only touching the outer edge and a finger in the centre hole.

So, I don't need to clean mine at all as they are like new

[zg1286]

Plexus
http://www.plexusplasticcleaner.com/frames.html

[Sabertooth]

Originally Posted by Rockasindumbas

So ... my question still remains on the 'hardcore' cleaning of media which refuses to cooperate. Any other simple household-product suggestions that may be a touch more heavy-duty?

Since I've got a disc to practice on, I'm considering busting out the tooth paste but fear it may well be too abrasive.

I doubt you can get more 'hardcore' than the Digital Innovations DRx CD/DVD Repair Skipdoctor which uses a wet sanding wheel to remove a thin layer of the plastic surface. Interestingly, the surface is not that clear looking when it's done but it does seem to work especially with scratched disks. I haven't tried it on a Blu-ray yet.

[Prosperity]

I have used the Maplin equivalent with a certain amount of success for removing scratches, (Two wheels, sand it first then polish with a mild abrasive and a different set of wheels).

Scratches are not always the problem you perceive then to be, worth running something like Nero drive speed on the disk as you often find errors on the disk that prevent it from being backed up.

For information as has been stated many times on the forum, the disk may play on a stand alone player but backing it up is a different matter, this I can vouch for from experience.