I had a disc that had a nasty radial scratch on it that caused 3 songs to fail EAC ripping.
I had got the CD for half of what it normally cost (high dollar CD), so I wasn't totally surprised when it arrived.
I got a JFJ Easy Pro which promises to be able to fix scratched discs. For polishing CD's that just have light scratches and fogging from years of use, the JFJ Easy Pro easily cleans that up with a couple passes of the polishing wheel and polish compound.
But for deep scratches, that requires a lot more work.
Here is what the CD started out as
For these scratches, you need to use the 600 grit. It took me about 47 times using the 20 second burst (15 min 40 sec total) to get this scratch out.
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You don't want to do long bursts with the sandpaper because the disc and backplate will get hot and can cause damage to the plastic. Using water will help absorb the heat and also create a good sanding "slurry". I also used a spray bottle and small paint brush to spread water around on the sandpaper before each burst. Don't put too much water, because it will be slung off the moment you turn on the motor.
One thing to watch out for is keeping the sandpaper clean. If plastic builds up on the sandpaper, it will cause uneven sanding on the disc.
There are several ways to clean the sandpaper. What I settled on was using blue painters tape (low tack) to remove debris after the sanding burst and the water had evaporated.
One thing to be careful of though when using water is to soak it up with paper towels periodically so that it doesn't get under the spindle and damage the motor or electronics. The platform I am using the JFJ Easy Pro on has a slight forward incline which causes the water to gather at the front of enclosure.
After the scratch is gone using the 600 grit. Use the 1200 grit about 3-4 times to smooth out the surface. Then use the polishing pads several times.
Another helpful tip, wash the CD between steps using a sink and soap. Water wont hurt the CD or artwork. The CD should now be very shiny. Mine still had a few imperfections in it, but I went ahead and tried EAC anyways and I was able to get a 100% log as a result.
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