A digital video disc (DVD) uses laser technology to read digitalized data that has been encoded on it. As DVD stores information remotely on a plate it can easily get scratched, which can cause loss of data. Scratches are disc’s awful foe. Regardless of whether a scratched plate can be fixed relies upon where the scratch is found.

  1. Baking Soda Toothpaste

You need to follow certain steps to fix the scratches. Toothpaste is useful to remove scratches from DVDs but make sure not to use gel-based toothpaste. It is a great cleaner but still, badly scratched discs are not fixable with baking soda toothpaste.

  • You need to clean discs with mellow soap and hot water. This will expel any oils and finger marks.
  • Dry the disc with a lint-free piece of cloth as lint might get stuck within the scratches and may end up doing more harm than good.
  • Put some toothpaste on the circle in a non-radial motion. Circular motion can cause little scratches that can alter the laser tracking system in the DVD reader.
  • Rub the toothpaste on the disc in a straight movement from the inside to the external edges.
  • Remove the toothpaste and clean the disc with mild-heated water and let it dry.
  1. Peanut Butter

The scratched disc will be repaired depends on where the scratch is placed. It needs a surface cleaner. The polishing process is almost the same in method but it helps in fill-in in the scratches with wax but in this case, peanut oil will fulfill the requirement.

  • You should apply toothpaste on the reflective side of the disc.
  • Add peanut butter over the toothpaste then remove all the peanut butter and toothpaste using a lint-free damp cloth.
  • You need to may have to do multiple cycles of this process to increase the efficacy.
  • Put the DVD in a tight container with some soda and wait for some minutes.
  • Take your disc out of the box and wipe the disc with tissue or cloth which is just a little damp.
  1. Solvents

We need to decide first that disc is reparable or not. If the scratches are deep then it will be nearly impossible to recover the data. The pattern of the scratches affects whether a disc is reparable or permanently damaged.

  • You should use a soft cloth and some clean water first as it is the mildest technique available.
  • You can also use alcohol as well to clean the DVD as it is a volatile solvent, but it is important to remember that other chemicals might damage the DVD.
  • You can clean it using an extremely soft jewelry cloth. This cloth is basically used to clean eyeglasses.
  • You should be aware of the safety instructions and warning on any sort of chemical compounds like rubbing alcohol can cause irritation onto skin, eye or respiration.
  • You can use vinegar or acetic acid as well, but it should be mixed slightly mixed with water to dilute it. Lemon juice will work as a substitute for vinegar as it contains citric acid.
  1. Rubbing Polish

If solvents are not able to fix the scratched disc problem, then you need to adopt some more extreme measures. It is needed to wipe it out in a straight line from the radius of the center to the outside, rather than doing it in circles.

  • You need to apply rubbing polish in a small amount then wipe it off with a soft cloth.
  • Rubbing polish can be found from an automotive store but it is important to read the components while choosing the right one.
  • Apply this rubbing polish until it covers the whole reflective surface of the disc.
  • Keep the disc for a couple of minutes and wipe it off with a delicate fabric.
  • Rubbing compound formula contains a characteristic that it is designed to scratch the surface which was being polished and filling up the deeper stretches.
  1. Mechanical Scratch Remover

This is to polish the disc. They are quite expensive to buy. It is a high-end device that can clean and fix hundreds of discs a month. You can find this machine at rental stores that sell discs with a nominal fee.

  • You need to buy a mechanical scratch remover first. Apply this onto the disc and polishes the disc.
  • Insert the disc in DVD to keep a uniform layer.
  • Wipe it off with jewelry cleaning cloth since it is soft and will not cause additional scratches.
  1. Petroleum Jelly

You need to wipe the disc from the center of the edges with your non-dominant hand using jewelry cloth. You can prefer a car wax on a disc-like 100% carnauba wax, which is obtained from the surface of a leaf. Its primary purpose is to fill in any remaining deep scratches, and even better, protect the disc from being scratched in the near future. It keeps the dust away as well.

  • You should place the whole surface but do it gently to avoid any further damage.
  • Rubbing vaseline onto the surface of the DVD will fill up the all the scratches.
  • Filling up the scratches will help in minimizing the disc’s reflectivity.
  • Clean the disc with a delicate cloth or use alcohol to remove all the Vaseline.
  • You need to make sure that no residue of vaseline left onto the surface of the DVD. Otherwise, it may spoil the DVD player when you try to run the DVD.
  1. Professional DVD Scratch Polish

You can apply professional DVD scratch polish like SkipDr to polish the reflective surface of the disc.

  • You need to apply the professional DVD scratch polish over the scratched area of the disc if homegrown methods fail to yield viable results.
  • You should read all the instructions on the package directions carefully before using this method.
  • The external layer of the disc will be evacuated.
  • You need to wipe off the disc with a delicate piece of cloth.
  1. Cleaners

There are several cleaners provided which will not reduce the scratches but will help you to clean the disc’s reflective side.

  • Window cleaner cleans the disc but does not diminish the scratches.
  • Baby wipes will help you to clean your DVDs to a great extent.
  • A banana can also surprisingly clean the discs but cannot help in any kind of reduction of the scratches.
  • Eye Glass Cleaner follows the same rule of cleaning the disc but not removing scratches.
  • Baking soda-toothpaste mixture helps to clean the reflective side of the DVD.
  1. Scotch Tape

It seems a little odd but scotch tape helps in decreases the length of scratch marks on the DVD.

  • You need to put a small piece of scotch tape on the top side of the disc.
  • It is hard to notice the difference sometime but scotch tape lining up with scratches will reduce the skipping.
  • It will help you to repair a broken DVD by applying scotch tape to the label side of the disc to keep the pieces together.
  1. Skip Scratch Fixer

It is a machine you can find online which will help you to clean your discs and reduce the scratch marks. It is a SkipDr disc repair and disc cleaning method. It is basically a kit.

  • It uses a disc scratch remover machine to get rid of all the scratches on a DVD.
  • This is one of the most efficient and effective ways to clean your DVDs without too much manual labor.
  • It is mostly used as a video game scratch fixer.
  1. Banana

It is odd to clean your disc with banana but it actually works. You need to have toothpaste, clean piece of cloth, banana, and cleaner.

  • You need to peel and cut the banana first while ensuring that you remove the excessively mushy parts.
  • You should use the peeled banana to clean up the shiny side of the disc by rubbing over it gently but thoroughly.
  • You should gently rub the banana into the disc scratch from inwards to outwards.
  • After rubbing the disc with a banana, you need to clean the disc with warm water.
  • Remove any kind of banana residue and wipe the disc off.
  1. Chewing Gum

We can use the chewing gum to overcome the scratches of DVDs. If you don’t want to make any scratches while removing the chewing gum you can freeze it first and remove it slowly later.

  • We need to stick the chewing gum over the scratched part of the discs so that it covers them completely.
  • Leave the chewing gum onto the disc for a while.
  • You will soon realize this process will improve the quality of the discs as if the DVD was unreadable before this one will it work.
  • If the disc is covered with chewing gum and sensitive material, it is better to ask for help from professionals to avoid any kind of damage.
  • You may have to use a volatile solvent like alcohol to remove the chewing gum if it sticks too firmly.
  1. Brasso (Metal Polish)

It is a kind of liquid metal polish that will reduce the scratch marks of the discs. It helps in the removal of some sort of plastic coating and making any kind of scratches look like nothing. Rubbing compounds along with some metal polish like Brasso will lead to a good result.

  • This will help give the additional benefit of making the discs shiny.
  • Metal polishing will help your disc to fill up the scratches onto the discs.
  • It is an abrasive compound so one must be very careful while using it.
  • You should make sure that you keep it in a well-ventilated area and avoid involving in the fumes.
  • When the DVD is dried after polishing, you should let it wipe the DVD, removing the polish completely.
  1. Light-Bulb Method

This is not applicable all the time but it is worth a try. Polycarbonate has a very low melting point which makes the disc very malleable with a little bit of heat. You can use a table lamp as well. The light source should be straight to the disc.

  • You need a 60-watt filament bulb which is easily available.
  • Put the DVD into your index finger and place the reflective side at a distance of about 4 inches from the bulb.
  • Keep the disc-like this for the next 20-30 seconds while rotating it slowly.
  • It will make the disc hot.
  • Play the disc when it is still hot and save all the data. A little bit of heat via bulb will help in the correction of some minor scratches.
  1. Masking Tape

It is necessary when we have lost the film somehow.

  • We need to hold the disc in bright light.
  • We can mark down any kind of holes on the reflective side of the DVD.
  • Mark the holes with some permanent marker. You just need to cover the holes using strips of masking tape.
  • This method can provide about 70% recovery.
  1. Windex

It is a window cleaner to fix scratched DVDs. Window cleaners are made to be delicate so they can clean glass without scratching its surface.

  • Many times, it came into action that actually DVDs were just dirty.
  • Using windows cleaner to clean your discs before taking any other action is the best way to deal with it.
  • You need to spray the DVDs with Windex and use a clean, soft, delicate cloth to wipe the DVDs in a round motion.
  1. Vim Liquid

It is a mild abrasive liquid. It works similar to sandpaper.

  • Similarly, as a toothpaste-baking soda mixture, it will help to polish the disc.
  • As Vim cleaner is much quicker than toothpaste-baking soda works.
  1. Magic Eraser

It is mostly used in household cleaning but surprisingly it is useful with regards to restoring the proper finish to discs.

  • The Mr. Clean Magic Eraser is produced using melamine froth.
  • This froth acts as an abrasive, similar to sandpaper and may smooth out the external layer of the disc.
  • It is more like pumice stone against the harsh skin of your heel. If you rub it you will get a portion of the deceased skin off.
  1. Furniture Polish

We need to wash the disc with mild hot water mixed with dish soap. It will help to shine up an old disc.

  • Wipe off the disc with a non-abrasive piece of cloth.
  • Apply the furniture polish all over the disc and keep doing it around the rim until the whole disc is not covered in it.
  • Usually, use that piece of cloth to clean the disc in a circular motion.
  • Now you can put it in your DVD and resume using it like nothing ever happened.
  1. Eye Glass Cleaner

It is used to clean any kind of scratches on DVD and dispose of any kind of light.

  • We need to apply a small amount of eyeglass cleaner onto a delicate piece of cloth rather than directly applying it to the DVD.
  • Wipe the stretched area of the disc with a delicate piece of cloth.
  • We need to rub in a straight line at the center of the disc and move toward the outside edge.
  1. Rubbing Alcohol

We mostly use isopropyl alcohol which is an unscented liquid dish soap quite dissimilar from a normal dishwasher. We need to wipe it out first to remove all kinds of fingerprints.

  • We need to dip a piece of cloth in the water and wipe the disc following the straight lines pattern form the inside of the disc to the outwards.
  • It is better to add wipe the disc with a mixture of soap and water. Then wipe out with the clean water and make sure to clean all sorts of soapy residues.
  • We need to use isopropyl alcohol. Dip the corner of the piece of rag into the isopropyl alcohol.
  • We need to rub the disc with the isopropyl alcohol dipped rag quickly as it dry since alcohol will evaporate quickly.
  1. DVD Repair Machine

SkipDr DVD CD Repair Machine kit disk cleaner is available in the market.

  • It is a manual device that can take care of minute scratches to CDs and DVDs very effectively.
  • It will provide a protective layer as well to the disc for any future threats to the disc.
  • It can repair up to 25 discs at a time hence it has a very high turnover rate.
  • It will not work if the scratch is severe and deep so in such cases you should use some pre-processing steps like applying vaseline.
  1. CD Polisher

It is a quite effective process to recover data from unreadable DVDs and there is a pretty good chance that you will retrieve your data.

  • It is an extreme measure to recover your important information from the DVDs. 
  • It is not very expensive and can be easily procured from a neighborhood store.
  • It is a machine made up of a couple of motors and a jig. As the motor slowly rotates and upturned DVD will spin on the polishing pad.
  • Pad is some plastic polishing compound.
  • It takes around 5 to 10 minutes to work and thus is a quick and effective solution
  1. Brasso

Brasso is used to read data from those DVDs which seem to stutter and freeze mostly the end of the DVDs. It can help your DVDs to recover the playback problems.

  • It is advised to use Brasso polish to remove surface scratches in the discs.
  • 2 drops of Brasso polish are sufficient. You should clean the affected area with the Brasso by using a soft cloth.
  • Scratches are most likely to vanish if you use the rubbing pattern in the direction of the scratches.
  • Finish up by letting the affected surface dry on the surface and then rub it with a fresh piece of a soft cloth.
  • Brasso can be a little corrosive so you might want to consider diluting it before applying it on the DVD.
  1. Eraser

It is none other than the simple pencil eraser, but it has a good application for this purpose.

  • First, you need to look for every other scratch on the DVDs since you need to rub over them manually.
  • You should rub the eraser onto the surface of the affected part of the DVDs and use a simple soft piece of cloth to clean it up.
  • It will help you in the case of unplayable movies.
  • Using an eraser will allow you to get rid of the deeply embedded dirt which lies within the scratches.
  1. Handling

It is an ideal method to take care of your scratched disc. The scratches damage can be replaced by micro-fiber fabric.

  • The base layer of the DVDs is made of polycarbonate layers. The top layer of the DVD is a layer of vinyl.
  • You should wash your hands before handling the DVD as oil from the hands can mess with all the data that can cause playback problems.
  • Start it from the middle of the disc and then move outwards in a direct line.
  • Tray-loading drives may be more helpful to see a damaged disc than slot-loading drives.
  • Use fresh water to clean up the disc from near the upper layer of the disc and scratches.
  1. Heating

This is also a way to repair your scratched DVD.

  • It is a very delicate process so try slightly heating the DVD disc.
  • Polycarbonate has a very low melting point so if you heat it a lot, it will melt.
  • You should not use fire but a desk lamp and hold the disc at the center of the bulb.
  • Flexing or flattening of the disc is prohibited to keep the data intact.
  • Be extremely careful while applying heat as excessive heating can permanently disfigure the DVD.
  1. Oil Based products

It is a manual process when no additional methods have worked.

  • It will help you to allow copying your disc in your computer so you can discard the older disc and make new copies.
  • It will help to recover the damaged outer reflective coating.
  • This method may not allow you to save the disk but it sure to help you save your data.
  • It can be used as a last resort method to save your precious data.
  1. Sandpaper

To apply plastic polish, we need to scratch the surface as a conditioning process for it.

  • You need to use ultra-fine sandpaper to go down through finer sizes.
  • You should work in a straight line but out from the center towards the edges in other words, radically.
  • You should use wet sandpaper with distilled water.
  • Wash off the DVD with distilled water and clean it out with a soft cloth for plastic polish.
  • Sandpaper helps in cleaning the dirt particles which are embedded deeply in the scratches and are hard to reach.
  1. Pledge

It is a polish used to spray on to the scratched DVD to make it readable.

  • First, you should spray the pledge polish spray on to the affected area so that it coats the whole scratched part.
  • Wipe out the polish with a soft piece of cloth and gently. Mostly prefer a soft microspore cloth since it is useful in such applications.
  • The wax from the spray will fill up the scratches and make the DVD readable again.
  • This method is relatively useful in repairing DVDs that are heavily scratched.

TIPS

  • You should always keep your DVDs in some dark space. As disc encountered to the outside environment like sunlight, moisture and heat are more likely to get starched.
  • Follow the pattern to apply your polish as circular motions leave discs with polishing marks.
  • Mellow-heated water will not harm the DVD, but too much cold or hot water will harm the DVD.
  • Wax is most commonly used to clean the scratched disc as it fills in the stretches with wax-like peanut oil in case of peanut butter.
  • It matters where the scratch is on the disc, as if it is on the bottom, the plastic part of the disc will be repaired by resurfacing and polishing it.

How do you get rid of scratches on a DVD?

Apply a small dab of white toothpaste or metal polish to a clean, lint-free (ie fluff-free) cloth and rub very gently along the scratch from the disc’s centre outwards. Cover the full length of the scratch, then repeat twice for good measure.

Can you clean scratches off discs?

Use a small dab of the gritty type of toothpaste. The gritty toothpaste can act as a mild abrasive and will remove scratches from the disc. Once you have rubbed the scratch for 60 seconds, put the disc under the faucet and wash off all of the toothpaste. Use a clean soft lint free cloth to dry it once washed.

How can I repair a damaged DVD?

5 Ways to Repair a CD or DVD
  1. Clean the disc using a soft lint-free cloth and a dab of warm water and mild detergent.
  2. Fill scratches with toothpaste.
  3. Soften scratches with heat from a 60W lightbulb.
  4. Fill the scratch with a wax-based product.
  5. Cover holes in the data layer with pen and tape.

Can a scratched DVD still work?

Because the reflective metal layer and data layer are so close to the surface of the label side of the disc, they can be damaged very easily. As with scratches on the laser-reading side, optical disc drives are usually able to read through minor damage easily, even if the damage is caused from the label side.

How do you fix a scratched DVD with Windex?

How do you fix a scratched DVD at home?

Yes, toothpaste can be used to remove scratches. Clean the disc with warm water, soap, and a cloth and then dry it, making sure that no lint is left behind. Squeeze toothpaste onto the disc and rub it on the disc in a straight motion from the center out to the edges. Finally, wash off the toothpaste and dry the disc.

Does toothpaste really fix scratches?

Originally Answered: Will toothpaste really remove scratches? Yes, toothpaste can be used to remove scratches. Due to some chemical properties of toothpaste, it is often used as a scratch removal. Just grab a soft cloth and a smear of toothpaste, and you can erase scratches without much work involved.

How do you fix a scratched DVD with Vaseline?

Simply take a cotton ball and dip it in some alcohol to clean the area near the scratch. Then apply Vaseline or Petroleum Jelly to the disc. The Vaseline will fill in the scratch, hopefully making it readable again.

How do you fix a scratched DVD with baking soda?

How do you fix a badly scratched disc?

Can you clean a DVD with soap and water?

Wipe across the disc rather than in a circular motion, which can cause microscratches and damage the data stored on the disc. If that doesn’t do the job, dampen the cloth with a gentle soap-and-water solution and rewipe. Never use household cleaners, abrasives or solvents on CDs or DVDs.

How do you fix a scratched DVD with peanut butter?

How do you fix a scratched DVD with a banana?

First, apply toothpaste to the scratched area and massage it gently into the surface using a rag. Then, remove the paste and take a piece of peeled banana and rub it in circular motions into the DVD. Next, take the peel and do the same thing. After, clean the disc using a cloth and spray window cleaner onto it.

Does peanut butter help scratched discs?

If you’re trying to watch a DVD with lots of light scratches you can usually skip the skips by taking the DVD out of the player with peanut butter. The oils in the peanut butter are smooth and sticky and will temporarily smooth out the disc’s surface.

Does peanut butter help scratched CDs?

Peanut butter might not be the first thing you think of to clean or fix scratched CDs and DVDs. But the oils in peanut butter help to gently polish the disc while the peanut butter itself fills in any scratches.

How do you get rid of deep scratches on a CD?

Toothpaste can be used to repair scratches on a CD. Clean the disc with warm water, soap, and a cloth and then dry it, making sure that no lint is left behind. Squeeze toothpaste onto the disc and rub it on the disc in a straight motion from the center out to the edges.

How do you clean a scratched ps4 disc?

How do you clean a scratched CD with toothpaste?

Use Toothpaste As A CD Scratch Remover

You can use toothpaste to buff out minor scratches in the CD. Choose a mildly abrasive toothpaste, and apply it to the scratched area with a small amount of water, and then gently rub the mixture with a clean cloth over the scratched surface.