Disc Dr

2004-06-22 01:35:58

Has anyone had any experience with the disc dr. ? The little overpriced green spinning wheel with a spray to polish out the scratches on CDs. How well does it work? How much of the spray do you go through (ie does it become a sig cost)?

Disc Dr

Reply #1 – 2004-06-22 02:06:48

I think it works very well. The spray is just water.  I've recovered quite a few of my very scratched discs. I wasn't able to get a secure rip before, but after resurfacing most of them were fine.

Disc Dr

Reply #2 – 2004-06-22 02:29:05

You have to change the grinding wheel about every 10 cd's.

And with a badly scratched cd you have to rotate the disc many,many times.

You can make your own sanding tool with emery paper you can get at automotive refinishing stores. 1500, 2000, and 2500 grit in sequence will take care of any recoverable surface scratches you will ever find.

There are a couple of good threads on this.

Disc Dr

Reply #3 – 2004-06-22 03:01:39

This is probably the thread kennedyb4 is referring to. Lots of good firsthand information and a couple useful links.

Disc Dr

Reply #4 – 2004-06-22 04:22:47

I use a bench grinder, 6" buffing wheel and a polishing compound formulated for plastic.
And some other things for any needed finishing. ;B
.. If people have a bench grinder already.

I say, buy the device.

I thought they were named Skip Doctor though?
Disc Doctor being something else.

tec

Disc Dr

Reply #5 – 2004-06-22 04:32:16

I wasn't pleased with the Disc Doctor. You have to crank the wheel FOREVER to get rid of disc-skipping scratches. It's a real pain in the neck. They do make a motorized version (for like $75 USD) that is intended for used CD shops and the like.

Disc Dr

Reply #6 – 2004-06-22 06:33:25

i got a $20 version of either skip or game doctor. the wheel started to fall apart on my first CD i tried, and it got glue all over the disc. i returned it promptly (i was working at a mall at the time and it was just a walk away  )

Disc Dr

Reply #7 – 2004-06-22 07:42:40

Brasso or Silvo is all you need to clean discs.

Disc Dr

Reply #8 – 2004-06-22 08:47:37

Skip doctor works for smaller scratches quite well, imho:
http://www.digital-inn.de/showthread.php?threadid=10699

Disc Dr

Reply #9 – 2004-06-22 09:04:31

SkipDoctor irrepairably ruined a $20 bootleg that I could not extract the last track off. The whole disk became unreadable after the "doctoring".
Admittedly, it was a black CD-R and not a pressed CD.

Disc Dr

Reply #10 – 2004-06-22 09:10:07

I'd steer you away from it.  For every CD the thing managed to fix it managed to do one disc in by leaving white smudges that simply would not come off.  IF you were still going to get one I'd at least try one of those do-it-yourself options before I drop $ on a disc doctor.

Disc Dr

Reply #11 – 2004-06-22 09:12:41

Another vote for Silvo.  And I've tried virtually everything mentioned in this and the related thread here on HA

Disc Dr

Reply #12 – 2004-06-22 20:54:23

I'd highly recommend the Skip Dr.  I'm actually currently using one right now.  I just ripped about 700 cd's and had about 20 or so that I couldn't get a secure rip out of. 

The Skip Dr. will not work on label side scratches- nothing will.

For the people that are complaining that they ruined discs or got white 'stuff' all over the discs, I'd hazard to say that they weren't using enough water on the discs, or a surfacing wheel that was well past it's useful life. 

I tend to get about 15-20 discs out of a wheel.  I've found that if you let it dry between discs, it works better and lasts longer.  Also, when it's dry, lightly rub your finger over it and you can work out some of the plastic 'dust' that starts to clog up the wheel. 

All in all, I'd say for $30 and $10 replacement wheels, it is a good investment if it can save you from having to replace cd's.