Cleaning CD's

How to clean cd's?

They shouldn't need cleaning to begin with!

Handle them nicely. Simple.

I know this is not really answering the original question and that CD's in most cases are just as fragile as vinyl. But I have successfully recovered CD's that won't play due to minor surface scratching by polishing gently with toothpaste and a cotton wool bud. It can sometimes take a while but better than having to bin your investment. Just thought I would share some knowledge.

Get yourself a bottle of Astonish Tile & Glass Cleaner, or any other brand of the same ........
Its recommended by Naim for cleaning equipment boxes (see FAQ), it also cleans more or less all bits on TT's, perspex covers, metal & glass turntables, TV & PC screens & keyboard dirt, laptop LCD screens (with care), camera's, bino's, glasses (spectacles) & cool-dude Ray Bans, CD's, DVD's, finger grease on remote controls, wine drips on the furniture, oh nearly forgot ... & tiles & glass ....... A "must have" in yr Naim toolbox

I often buy used and out of print CD's and the first thing I do is rub both sides with my thumb and a bit of soap and then rinse them under a tap of warm water. I dry them throughly using either a soft lint free cloth or 'quality' tissues. For slightly scratched CD's, I try to polish out the scratch using a tube of watch crystal cleaner which I buy from a watch repair accessories shop.

Joe

I clean all my CDs', new or used before first play.
Personally I use a Boots spray on lens cleaning solution, which is wiped off with a Selvyt polishing cloth.
I give a final buff with a clean dry Selvyt cloth.
I occasionally wash the cloths using warm water and soap flakes, before a good rinse with clean water.

quote:

Originally posted by Mike-B:
Get yourself a bottle of Astonish Tile & Glass Cleaner, or any other brand of the same ........
Its recommended by Naim for cleaning equipment boxes (see FAQ), it also cleans more or less all bits on TT's, perspex covers, metal & glass turntables, TV & PC screens & keyboard dirt, laptop LCD screens (with care), camera's, bino's, glasses (spectacles) & cool-dude Ray Bans, CD's, DVD's, finger grease on remote controls, wine drips on the furniture, oh nearly forgot ... & tiles & glass ....... A "must have" in yr Naim toolbox

A second for this. Great stuff.

Many thanks for all of the responses gang.
Much appreciated.

quote:

Originally posted by Dipak:
Dear gang

How do members clean their cd's? Is there a cost effective way or would I need to buy special fluids, cloths etc?

Thanks

Hi

I came from Quebec City (Canada) and my dealer suggest to me since more 10 years the " BON AMI" cleaner for glasses. No abrasif in the product and an excellent way to clean CD's. I take a "Scott Towel" and i put the product on this paper before appy on CD's. Always proceeed from center to the inner of your CDs. I have always success. For static on CD, i suggest BEDINI CLARIFIER. it' makes really a good job and change the CD's sound

Regards

I use a special type of cleaning cloth I bought in a record shop on a business trip to Tokyo. It looks and feels like some sort of silk lens cleaning cloth. According to the instructions, I wipe from the inside to the outside (ie at right angles to the "grooves" if a CD were an LP).

Audience Auric Illuminator is what I use.
It's a two step process but I usually use a few drops of liquid and clean both sides skipping painting the rim of a CD with black marker.

It can also take out minor scratches, too and the effect lasts longer than Bedini Clarifier.

Take great care not to scratch the label side. This is only a few microns thick and contains all the data. The underside clear (polycarbonate??)layer is relatively thick and can take much abuse from abrasives and finer polishing compounds.

quote:

Originally posted by JeremyB:
I use a special type of cleaning cloth I bought in a record shop on a business trip to Tokyo. It looks and feels like some sort of silk lens cleaning cloth. According to the instructions, I wipe from the inside to the outside (ie at right angles to the "grooves" if a CD were an LP).

On a trip to Tokyo some years ago, I came across a large make-up brush by cosmetics firm SK II in Aki Habara, the main consumer electronics district. I was amazed that simply brushing the surface of the CD with this brush actually makes the sound a lot cleaner and detailed. I tried it myself before and after and the results pretty impressive. But it cost over US$100 and I wasn't going to buy what was essentially a cosmetcs brush for my discs. My wife might think I bought the brush for my mistress, which indeed my hifi is to me ! I'm pretty sure I spend more time with my hifi than with my wife, but that's digressing ...

Joe

quote:

Originally posted by joesilva:

On a trip to Tokyo some years ago, I came across a large make-up brush by cosmetics firm SK II in Aki Habara, the main consumer electronics district. I was amazed that simply brushing the surface of the CD with this brush actually makes the sound a lot cleaner and detailed. I tried it myself before and after and the results pretty impressive. But it cost over US$100 and I wasn't going to buy what was essentially a cosmetcs brush for my discs. My wife might think I bought the brush for my mistress, which indeed my hifi is to me ! I'm pretty sure I spend more time with my hifi than with my wife, but that's digressing ...

Joe

LOL! I guess the brush was anti-static!

Very amusing post Joe

Ah, but you hifi is at home and this is a great way of enjoying spare time.

Kind regards,

Peter

I didn't think CDs needed cleaning. I remember watching Maggie Philbin on Tomorrow's World, and she smeared jam on the CD before putting it into (I think) an original Philips CD player.
Of course, they could have edited in the sound (what, the BBC?), but it played perfectly.
Since then, I've never been worried about CDs littering the breakfast table.
But seriously, I've never had to clean a CD. Maybe it's old habits from handling LPs by the edges.
A Bedini Clarifier makes a hell of a difference though....
Cheers
John

Did you ever hear an original Phillips ear shredder? Jam on the CD was probably an tweek to improve "the perfect sound, forever"

CD manufacture involves a release agent during manufacture, so a clean MAY be beneficial.

Does anyone here have any ideas on REDISC?
They look like somewhat upmarket and very much more expensive versions of some of the machines available on Amazon etc - but for folk with loads of cd's - some of which inevitably get marked and some badly scratched, ( I have my fair share of those unfortunately) they could just prove to be very useful. Would appreciate any views from anyone with experience? They do appear to have a UK base as well - but €350 (£330.00) seems a tad expensive. If they do what they say then that takes some of the expense away I guess.

Start with wet and dry 400 (use wet) slowly work up to wet and dry 2000. If you want the ultimate move onto diamond paste on a lapping plate. You won't be disappointed.

Note: Only use on Sarah Brghtman CD's

Its often a good idea to clean even new CD’s they might look shiny, but they are often covered with a greasy film from the manufacturing process.

The best way to clean CD’s is to buy a bottle of ROR (residual oil remover). It’s a professional cleaner used for camera lenses, its relatively expensive but its one of the best you can buy. Official site is: http://www.ror.net/

I use it on my glasses and its far better than a glass cleaner you can get from the opticians as it doesn’t leave any residue. It says compared to other cleaners as it actually increase light input, and based on my experience I would agree with this.

Just spray a bit on a microfibre and work from the centre of the CD out towards the edge.

It would don’t want to spend any money, just rinse your CD’s under a hot tap and a mild liquid soap, then rinse with top water. This helps to remove grease as well, though not as effective as ROR.

I once cleaned a heavily marked CD with a hand held cleaner. It involved fluid and lots of handle turning.

Basically it T-cutted the surface of the CD. The CD looked awful afterwards the surface in the right light had loads of surface scratches. It played without a glitch though.