Fix a Scratched Disc

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Close Note

Your scratched Disc can be repaired!

The shiny plastic surface of your Disc can become littered with all types of scratches and marks, which may prevent the Disc from playing properly. Even deep scratches can be professionally repaired provided they are not "Top Damaged" (refer below).

Our equipment is specifically designed to repair your Disc without damaging the data layer. When you receive your Disc back it will look and play like NEW.

Top Damage

Damage to the top three layers of a disc can ruin the product. A scratch can dig into the digital information, which can never be repaired.

How do I spot Top Damage?

To find out whether your disc has top damage, try this simple test. Hold your disc up to a 40-watt light bulb, label-side facing the bulb. If you see tiny pin holes, or lines of light coming through the shiny side of the disc, this disc can not be repaired. It has been damaged through all three top layers.

How are discs made?

A Disc is made up of four layers. The first layer is the thickest and easiest to repair. However, the other three layers combined (reflective foil, lacquer, and graphic) are only as thin as a human hair and offer little or no protection to the data beneath them. You can see the different layers as shown in Figure.

Graphic Layer (fourth layer)

A layer of ink is screened onto the lacquer layer for dynamic graphic and/or 
sales impact. (Recordable CDs don't have this layer.)

Lacquer Layer (third layer)

Lacquer is dripped onto the disc and spun at high speed to create a thin layer 
of sealant for the foil layer. This seals in the foil layer, but offers little or no 
protection for the data beneath.

Reflective Foil Layer (second layer)

A micro thin layer of aluminum (copper, silver or gold on higher quality CDs)      
is applied to the top of the CD covering the data. This layer reflects the laser      
beam back through the plastic disc, allowing the stamped data to be read.

Polycarbonate Plastic Disc (first layer)

Data is stamped on the topside of a plastic disc creating millions of “on”
and “off's” or zeros and ones. On recordable CDs, data can be burned in at
different levels within the plastic disc, for multi-session recording. Please note
that recordable CDs have a much thinner layer due to the manufacturers
name printed on this layer.

What types of media can be fixed?

As long as the disc is not warped, cracked, broken and has no damage to the foil layer (see below – What is Foil Damage?) Disc Go Tech machines repair:

CDs – Music, Data, RW, R formats
DVDs – Blu Ray, HD DVD, Single and Double Sided
Video Game Discs: Playstation 1/2, Xbox/Xbox 360, and Nintendo Gamecube (special adapter accessory required for Game Cube)

How can I tell if my disc needs repair?

If the disc will not read on your machine or has started to skip or freeze when you listen, watch, or play it, then chances are the disc needs to be repaired.

What types of damage can be repaired?

In most instances light, medium and heavy scratches can be repaired (provided there is none of the types of damage to the disc listed below).

What types of damage cannot be repaired?

Foil Damage - occurs when the graphic side of a disc has been scratched. Severe foil damage can easily be seen by holding the label side of the disc up to a strong light source and observing the shiny side of the disc. If light can be seen through the disc then the disc has definite foil damage. Light foil damage can also prevent the disc from playing, but it is much harder to spot with the naked eye. One easy way to see light foil damage is to first inspect the label side for any type of scratch. If a scratch is located on the top side, view the bottom side to see if the same scratch appears on the optical (shiny non graphic) side. If the disc is dark, such as a Playstation™ or PS2™ disc, assume the disc is damaged. Another method of viewing foil damage is to look at the scratches on the optical side of the disc. If you can see a reflection of the scratch in the “mirror” of the disc, the disc can be repaired. If you cannot see a reflection of the scratch, the scratch is likely to be foil damage on the top side.

Cracks - Inspect the disc first for any cracks. Typically, discs will start to split from the inside ring, and work towards the outer edge. Give the disc a very slight bend (be careful not to break the disc) to see the cracks more clearly. Occasionally, cracks will start from the outer edge, or may be located in the centre of the reading area. If any crack is found, the disc cannot be repaired.

Dents – Dents are large indentations on either side of the disc. Dents will sometimes appear to be deep scratches; however they have caused irreversible damage to the disc which cannot be repaired. Dents are caused by blunt force to the disc, such as being stepped on, being bitten by a pet, or placing heavy sharp objects onto the disc. Dents can sometimes be seen protruding through the other side of the disc.

Warping – Warping is when the disc, which should be perfectly flat, has been bent or warped due to heat damage. This type of damage will typically be seen around the entire edge of the disc and can be seen in the reflection of the disc. To inspect for warp damage, look at the reflection in the mirror side of the disc. Reflect a straight edge, such as a fluorescent light tube in the ceiling and tilt the disc back and forth while looking at the reflection of the light in the disc. If the light tube appears to be distorted, the disc may be warped. Warp damage can occur due to leaving the disc in sunlight, or inexpensive repair methods.

If the disc is damaged in any way described above, the disc cannot be repaired

How many times can I repair a disc?

This depends on how deep the scratches are and how many layers need to be buffed down to repair the disc. A disc has a polycarbonate later 1200 microns thick. A light scratch is 5-10 microns deep. With this in mind, any given disc can typically be repaired many times. However, if the disc has foil damage or is cracked, it cannot be repaired.

We will make a reasonable attempt to repair your media into like-new condition if possible, with the following understanding: Not all Media is repairable - we cannot repair cracked Discs, or Discs where the data layer has been damaged as by a very deep scratch, heat or chemical damage.

Disc Repair

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