What is best to clean music cd'swith?

[Marcia]

Thought this would be the appropriate section to ask this,alot of my cd's are jumping and would just wondering what was the best thing to clean them with,don't want to use any old duster as i don't want to scratch them?

Thanks

[jas xjr]

i use t cut. work from the centre to the edge. if heavily scratched repeat process until fine. been doing it for years

[M3CHA-MONK3Y]

Petrol and a match. Works wonders, I've been doing it for over 2 hours and never had a problem.

HTH

[gbbird]

If a lot of your CDs are jumping it is probably the CD player rather than the discs. Dont waste money on cleaning fluids, go buy a new CD player

[OldSkoolRS]

If it's greasy fingerprints (like on ever DVD/BluRay I've ever rented ) I just use a squirt of AG 'FastGlass' and kitchen towel to wipe off and that usually solves any skipping, though I think BluRays might be more prone to skipping than CDs so maybe your player is in need of a clean/replacement....

[JustinP1]

gbbird said:

If a lot of your CDs are jumping it is probably the CD player rather than the discs. Dont waste money on cleaning fluids, go buy a new CD player

+1

Unless your CDs have never seen the cases since you bought them and look like it, that is the most likely option.

There are CD lens cleaners you can get which may help.

[telecat]

And being serious.. A soft cloth can remove dust but you MUST ONLY wipe from the centre outwards in a straight line. CD players can cope with a scratch in that direction but not "on the curve". If you need to remove grease use isoprophyl alcohol and a soft cloth with the same wiping action. If the Players Laser is dusty then a blast from a computer air duster will work. For worse problems a CD lens cleaner which has tiny brushes on a cd to "sweep" the lens does a good job.

[CRACKIE]

telecat said:

And being serious.. A soft cloth can remove dust but you MUST ONLY wipe from the centre outwards in a straight line. CD players can cope with a scratch in that direction but not "on the curve". If you need to remove grease use isoprophyl alcohol and a soft cloth with the same wiping action. If the Players Laser is dusty then a blast from a computer air duster will work. For worse problems a CD lens cleaner which has tiny brushes on a cd to "sweep" the lens does a good job.

+1

Error correction in most players should be able to deal with minor scratches so unless disc surfaces are really rough it sounds like a dusty lens or low output laser. Long duration errors from finger prints etc are hard for players to deal with. IMHO try cleaning finger prints first with just warm water ~ only use Isoprop alcohol or very dilute washing up liquid if warm water alone is not successful. Stronger detergents & degreasers such as neat washing up liquid can damage the discs polycarbonate outer coating.

Very mild adrasives can sometimes fix the deeper scratches; toothpaste works well !! CDs play in to out; if you know which track is skipping you can usually find the offending scratch(s).

Edited by CRACKIE on Tuesday 14th July 11:22

[Marcia]

gbbird said:

If a lot of your CDs are jumping it is probably the CD player rather than the discs. Dont waste money on cleaning fluids, go buy a new CD player

It's my multi-changer in my car,that's where i listen to most of my music,but don't think it's that that's at fault,am sure it's the cd's as it's only certain ones that jump,just need to clean them.

[telecat]

CRACKIE said:

telecat said:

And being serious.. A soft cloth can remove dust but you MUST ONLY wipe from the centre outwards in a straight line. CD players can cope with a scratch in that direction but not "on the curve". If you need to remove grease use isoprophyl alcohol and a soft cloth with the same wiping action. If the Players Laser is dusty then a blast from a computer air duster will work. For worse problems a CD lens cleaner which has tiny brushes on a cd to "sweep" the lens does a good job.

+1

Error correction in most players should be able to deal with minor scratches so unless disc surfaces are really rough it sounds like a dusty lens or low output laser. Long duration errors from finger prints etc are hard for players to deal with. IMHO try cleaning finger prints first with just warm water ~ only use Isoprop alcohol or very dilute washing up liquid if warm water alone is not successful. Stronger detergents & degreasers such as neat washing up liquid can damage the discs polycarbonate outer coating.

Very mild adrasives can sometimes fix the deeper scratches; toothpaste works well !! CDs play in to out; if you know which track is skipping you can usually find the offending sctratch(s).

Edited by CRACKIE on Thursday 9th July 17:19

Water is not a good cleaning medium for cds as it leaves marks.Beliebe me I tried it back in the 80's. Isoprop will evaporate taking most of the dirt with it. Beliebev me I tried it. You want to use Abrasives on a CD!!!!!!. I will point out again that even a Major scratch across a CD can be handled. Those that follow the curve of the disc will not be.

[CRACKIE]

telecat said:

CRACKIE said:

telecat said:

And being serious.. A soft cloth can remove dust but you MUST ONLY wipe from the centre outwards in a straight line. CD players can cope with a scratch in that direction but not "on the curve". If you need to remove grease use isoprophyl alcohol and a soft cloth with the same wiping action. If the Players Laser is dusty then a blast from a computer air duster will work. For worse problems a CD lens cleaner which has tiny brushes on a cd to "sweep" the lens does a good job.

+1

Error correction in most players should be able to deal with minor scratches so unless disc surfaces are really rough it sounds like a dusty lens or low output laser. Long duration errors from finger prints etc are hard for players to deal with. IMHO try cleaning finger prints first with just warm water ~ only use Isoprop alcohol or very dilute washing up liquid if warm water alone is not successful. Stronger detergents & degreasers such as neat washing up liquid can damage the discs polycarbonate outer coating.

Very mild adrasives can sometimes fix the deeper scratches; toothpaste works well !! CDs play in to out; if you know which track is skipping you can usually find the offending sctratch(s).

Edited by CRACKIE on Thursday 9th July 17:19

Water is not a good cleaning medium for cds as it leaves marks.Beliebe me I tried it back in the 80's. Isoprop will evaporate taking most of the dirt with it. Beliebev me I tried it. You want to use Abrasives on a CD!!!!!!. I will point out again that even a Major scratch across a CD can be handled. Those that follow the curve of the disc will not be.

Telecat ~ I agree that Isoprop will work better than water, early CDs used to carry care notes inside which advocated ethyl alcohol and also recommended against domestic detergent cleaners however water is readily available to all and should only leave marks if you live in a hard water area leave it to dry on the disk. I'm sure most people would know to dry the disc after cleaning ; CDs are made from injection moulded polycarbonate using optical grades similar to sunglass lenses and water works just fine cleaning them.
Abrasives ? I wasn't advocating use of belt sander I said "very mild abrasives". The commercially available scratch repair produts use abrasive cutting compounds or rotating abrasive pads on the motorised auto versions. Toothpaste is a very mild abrasive and can remove deeper scratches. http://www.amazon.co.uk/Digital-Innovations-10185-...

Edited by CRACKIE on Monday 20th July 13:10