Scratched, Dirt, Grease or any other foreign objects can render your disks completely useless. If you know how to clean them you can bring new life into them. It is almost impossible not to scratch a CD over time, these disks get shuffled around in your car or in your desk drawers. In time, scratches and scuffs will develop. Most often the data on the disk is recoverable if the damage is not to extensive. First, let's learn about two types of scratches.

A scuff mark is pretty much the worst kind of scratch to have and the hardest to recover from. This type of marking will interrupt the laser tracking while reading the disk. The scuff mark will scatter the laser beam and thus the laser will loose it's place on the disk and just read as an error. This kind of scratch will most certainly require repair.

Single or multiple line scratches. These types of scratches can sometimes cause skips. They can be long or short nicks in the disk. If the scratch is running from the middle to the outer layer of the disk then you might still get some life out of it. However, if the scratch is running in a circle around the disk then you might be in a bit of trouble. Again, depending on the severity of the scratch the disk may or may not be repairable.

Dirt and debris must always be cleaned off before polishing a disk. If foreign objects are not cleaned off the disk otherwise these tiny object will become the polishing material and thus further scratch your disk. Take the disk and run it under warm water. You can gently rub the debris off with a lint free cloth - the best cloth for cleaning disks is eye glass clothes. When rubbing a disk, it is important to always rub from the center out. Never rub in a circular motion, this will create little circular scratches witch will interfere with the laser beam reading. This type of cloth won't further scratch your disk. If there is still debris or grease on the disk, you can use a little dish soap to loosen the dirt. Again, wipe with the eye glass cloth.

This would be a good time to test your disk and see if it is readable. If the disk is still unreadable and you're sure that you're using a well calibrated disk reader (computer CD ROMS are much higher calibrated then lets say a car audio system - primarily because a computer spins the disk at a higher rate, therefore the need for more accurate readings)

Pick yourself up a bottle of Brasso or Baking Soda toothpaste. The Brasso guck works really well as an all around polishing gel. You will be wearing down the outer layer of your disk, so keep in mind that this is a last resort option. Squirt on some Brasso and wipe from the center out many times over again. Keep this up for a few minutes and then rinse clean. If most of the scratches are gone then test the disk again. If it still won't read then repeat the process until you can read it.

Once you're able to read the data, immediately make a backup copy of the disk. You might not be so lucky next time. Consider this disk now compromised and either trash it or keep it as a coaster for your morning coffee.