DVD Cleaning

[RossRoy]

Ok I have a problem..

I was watching a movie (Iron Man) and enjoying it quite a bit! When all of a sudden, the movie starts skipping. So I take out the DVD from the reader to look at the data side.. sure enough, there's a fingerprint on there!



But it's definitely not fresh, so it might've been there since I bought the film. I tried wiping it gently with a cotton cloth.. It didn't even smear it. It's still well in place.

I then tried glass cleaner.. Still no real smearing, but a little of it came off.

So I thought since fingerprints are basically fat, I tried Goo Gone. It cleaned some off, but there's still some on there.

And then I lost patience, so I rubbed... and rubbed... and rubber... Well, it's all scratched up! Still skips some, but at least it plays (I'll probably buy a new copy to replace the disc)

But, anybody has an idea should it happen again in the future?

[Jimmy]

Not that it will help you for the cleaning thing, but before buying another copy : Have you tried it on your computer to see if it works? If it works on your computer, you could always extract it to your hard disc with DVD Shrink and make a DVD-R copy of it.

[Najemikon]

And then I lost patience, so I rubbed... and rubbed... and rubber... Well, it's all scratched up! Still skips some, but at least it plays (I'll probably buy a new copy to replace the disc)

Buy a new copy? Sod that. Doesn't sound like an average fingerprint to me, so I'd send it back and demand a replacement!

[Sanuye]

Did you try to boil it? (Don't laugh, it works!  )

[RossRoy]

You know, this all turned out pretty!

I found my receipt for it. So I thought heck why not try just getting an exchange! So I went, told the situation to the lady clerk there. She went to get her supervisor. I explained again to the supervisor. Well, he made an exception! And exchanged it! 

Must be one of the benefit of buying almost always at the same store

Oh and.. Boiling was the next thing in line to be tried.. but I had scratched it up already. Don't know if it would've worked.

And Jimmy, I did try it on the PC. Actually, I always watch movie on my PC, so it's always being read from my PC

[Touti]

Seb, if that fingerprint didn't come off with goo gone and the other stuff you tried then it wasn't fat, it was glue or something like that.  I would have tried steam to melt it before using the goo gone.  If that had also not worked then I would have declared this a defect, fingerprint stamped in the plastic itself during manufacturing, boiling would have been the next step.

[Dragonfire]

I've only used some sort of soft cloth on DVDs.  I didn't think it was safe to use some kind of cleaner like Goo Gone on them.  And I never would have thought of boiling one.  You can really do that?  It doesn't warp the disc or anything?

[RossRoy]

You can really do that?  It doesn't warp the disc or anything?

I had to do it all the time on the OXM demo discs back in the original Big-Black-Box edition of the Xbox days.

I've also heard of Turtle Wax being used successfully to resurface a CD/DVD.

Goo Gone would've worked, if not for the fact that the fingerprint wasn't fat or glue.

[Najemikon]

And toothpaste works wonders on scratches. It does! Honest! Plus your collection will be minty fresh...

[Dragonfire]

Huh.
Well I've learned some things today.

[Boomstick98]

Huh.
Well I've learned some things today.

You and me both. I never would have tried half those things in fear of destroying the DVD. Heres to the ingenuity of the true DVD collector.  

[Critter]

Boiling? Toothpaste?

Are these things for real or just jokes?

[Kathy]

Boiling? Toothpaste?

Are these things for real or just jokes?

They actually work!

[Dragonfire]

I didn't think to ask this before...with the toothpaste..do you just rub on it on the disc with a cloth?

[addicted2dvd]

Boiling? Toothpaste?

Are these things for real or just jokes?

I personally never tried the toothpaste one... but boiling definitely saved more then 1 disc for me!