Clean CDs
Posted by: JeremyB on 05 February 2011
Went to Rasputin in Mountain View today and scored a whole pile of used CDs in the $1 to $3 range that were missing form my collection. After a bit of research on the web I decided to wash the discs with 1:1 IPA/distilled water mixture and all the jewel cases (after removing paper inserts
) in warm water and hand soap. I dried the CDs with Chamois leather and polished with a microfibre CD cloth I recently found on a biz trip to Tokyo. The result is very nice clean sounding playback and nice shiny squeaky clean cases. Well worth the effort.
Posted on: 06 February 2011 by Massimo Bertola
Hi,
thanks for the tip. Is IPA Iso Propil Alcohol? Or what?
Thanks,
Max
Posted on: 06 February 2011 by Analogue Rules OK
It is.
Chris N
Posted on: 06 February 2011 by JeremyB
Actually I was a bit concerned about using IPA, it seems ok and if anyone has a better CD cleaning solution let us know. Also in the light of day the cases are not so shiny as I thought so I ordered hundreds of new ones from Amazon they are pennies for each one.
Posted on: 06 February 2011 by EJS
Based on a tip from an old hand in the industry, I've used ordinary dish soap - just put a bit on the disc, distribute it evenly with the fingers, and rinse. Drying best done with a soft cloth that does not leave behind any fabric. Never had an issue with a disc in the 20 years I've done this.
EJ
Posted on: 07 February 2011 by sheffieldgraham
CD cleaning has been discussed on the Forum before. Since the search function is not currently operating here's what I use. Initial clean with a spray of spectacle lens cleaning fluid (i.e from Boots chemist) using a Selvyt polishing cloth to polish. Final clean with a spray of ROR (Residual Oil Remover) and polish with another Selvyt cloth. The ROR is more expensive that ordinary lens fluid hence cheaper to use it as a final clean. It's the Yorkshire man in me!
Google for ROR (approx. £7 per 60 ml.) and Selvyt for stockists.
Posted on: 07 February 2011 by Mike-B
I use the same spray to remove the first level of oil & grime from both sides of the CD as I use on the Naim box's
- Astonish Glass & Tile Cleaner - £1.50 (ish) a 750ml spray bottle
This is a great first pass cleaner & also great for cleaning the CD cases
For a final clean on the CD data side only, a proprietory camera lens cleaner
I use Eclipse Lens & CCD fluid in a 59ml bottle, this I use on all my camera stuff as well.
Other camera cleaners, but not suitable for CCD can be found at less than £3 a 250ml spay can also be used, but my guess is they might leave a residue
Posted on: 08 February 2011 by JeremyB
thanks sheffield, good tip although I needed to google residual oil remover in full to get there
Posted on: 11 February 2011 by Gertjan
How about demagnetization after drying? Or should we do that immediately before playing?
Posted on: 11 February 2011 by EJS
Aluminum isn't magnetic and the polycarbonate doesn't contain any metal, so I can't see how a CD could be magnetised in the first place?
EJ
Posted on: 11 February 2011 by Aleg
Originally Posted by EJS:
Aluminum isn't magnetic and the polycarbonate doesn't contain any metal, so I can't see how a CD could be magnetised in the first place?
EJ
Plastics can become static!
-
aleg
Posted on: 11 February 2011 by ewemon
Originally Posted by EJS:
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Aluminum isn't magnetic and the polycarbonate doesn't contain any metal, so I can't see how a CD could be magnetised in the first place?
EJ
Plastic can be an efficient generator of static.
Posted on: 11 February 2011 by ewemon
Originally Posted by ewemon:
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Originally Posted by EJS:
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Aluminum isn't magnetic and the polycarbonate doesn't contain any metal, so I can't see how a CD could be magnetised in the first place?
EJ
Plastic can be an efficient generator of static.
The product I use is Novus 1 which I have found to be brilliant at it.
Posted on: 12 February 2011 by sheffieldgraham
If your worried about static build up you could use a Zerostat antistatic pistol.
Posted on: 12 February 2011 by BigH47
Originally Posted by sheffieldgraham:
If your worried about static build up you could use a Zerostat antistatic pistol.
Mine, didn't seem to work on LPs I'd not have much faith on it working on CDs?
Can't say I've ever seen any evidence of static on ant CDs saying that, mind you my CDS2 doesn't have a felt mat!
Posted on: 12 February 2011 by sheffieldgraham
Quote: Mine, didn't seem to work on LPs I'd not have much faith on it working on CDs?
Big47:
Is it because the conditions you're using it under are not optimum.
Check this link, note the grounding condition. Don't mean "to teach you're grandmother to suck eggs." It's a sincere comment.
https://forums.naimaudio.com/di...ent/2833539977853870Posted on: 12 February 2011 by JWM
Mr Muscle glass cleaner (or Windex in the US) and one of those very cushioned soft kitchen rolls. No probs.
Posted on: 12 February 2011 by Dungassin
Some of you seem to be making it unnecessarily complicated/expensive.
Just warm, soapy water (rub gently with a soft cloth/kitchen towel if needed), rinse well, blot dry with a soft cloth/kitchen towel. That's what I do for my specs as well! Just don't use anything abrasive. Personally I don't bother unless very heavily contaminated, or "skipping" etc.
Posted on: 12 February 2011 by BigH47
I've got one of those orbital CD cleaners from the £1 shop, it came with some isopropyl fluid. I use it on some S/H or library CDs, it can remove some fine scratches too.
Otherwise if needed I'll do the same as Dungassin soap water rinse and blot dry with a towel, maybe a light polish with avery fine microfibre cloth.
