Disc repair

[slinkyturd]

I've been buying bulk games lately. This seems like the only way to get things at a decent price on ebay. I bought a lot of PS2 games, and it seems like everyone is scratched to hell. The retro gaming store that I know does resurfacing, wants $4 a disc. I have on occasion been able to get a good deal in there (Neutopia 2 for $40) otherwise I would have told them to f&$% their mothers. I can't drop a hundred bucks on resurfacing just the discs in this lot. Anyone have any feedback on home resurfacing brands, models, or DIY tips? And I don't mean the cheap jerk-off-practice crank ones. I'm talking heavy duty scratches

[wolfman]

I've been buying bulk games lately. This seems like the only way to get things at a decent price on ebay. I bought a lot of PS2 games, and it seems like everyone is scratched to hell. The retro gaming store that I know does resurfacing, wants $4 a disc. I have on occasion been able to get a good deal in there (Neutopia 2 for $40) otherwise I would have told them to f&$% their mothers. I can't drop a hundred bucks on resurfacing just the discs in this lot. Anyone have any feedback on home resurfacing brands, models, or DIY tips? And I don't mean the cheap jerk-off-practice crank ones. I'm talking heavy duty scratches

Get a JFJ Easy Pro. Costs around 150 bucks (used cheaper), its a one-time-investment in a resurfacing machine. Won´t probably save you any money, but you can do it yourself and get it in the quality YOU desire. You pretty fast figure out yourself (say 15-20 discs) how much each disc needs in polishing/grinding. You can test with self burned CDRs to figure it out until you feel safe enough.

Couldn´t do without it...since you can resurface your DVD and Audio CDs as well with it (no Bluray though). I am very happy with it and would recommend it to anyone anytime.

Here´s a link to one I resurfaced myself (fatal cracks don´t vanish though):

https://www.flickr.com/photos/65709578@N06/sets/72157644895105674/

[slinkyturd]

It's a viable option and it looks like it does the job phenomenally. I'd think buying defective games would make this sucker worth its weight in gold.

[_joshuaTurbo]

I still marvel at wolfman's Ys 3 repair pics!! 

[wolfman]

It's a viable option and it looks like it does the job phenomenally. I'd think buying defective games would make this sucker worth its weight in gold.

Definitely, but make sure that the discs you buy are not scratched on top, cause that will render them unreadable forever.

[slinkyturd]

Oh I know. I used to work at blockbuster and have to hand crank the returns that didn't work. lol

[Lost Monkey]

I've done a few by hand using wet sandpaper, a dremel and polish.  They look like shit but they do work.

I used to bring them to blockbuster  because they had those $5,000 machines and if the person working knew what they were doing the discs would come out like new.  When they closed all the stores here in Canada I went to every one in town and asked about buying the machine.  They all said that they were on lease and had to be returned.

[Desh]

I'm lucky that just about every small game store locally only charges $1 to resurface.  I have saved a few badly scratched discs by hand though too.

If you want to try some by hand here's what I used and how:

- Good quality automotive scratch removing polish (I used turtle wax)
- Good quality automotive finish carnauba wax (I highly recommend Meguire's Gold Glass).
- A bunch of q-tips.
-Micro fiber towel

Dab a q-tip in the scratch removing polish and work into the disc surface in small circular motions from the center of the disc to the edges.  Some really bad areas you will have to spend some time going over them again and again.  Once the scratches you are trying to repair have at least faded or disappeared dab a q-tip in the carnauba wax and again in small circular motions coat the whole surface with the wax and allow it to dry for about 10 minutes.  Once the wax has hardened buff the surface with the micro fiber towel.

I certainly am not  claiming that this is the best or most effective way to save these discs but it worked for me and this was all stuff I had around the house already.

[slinkyturd]

Some good tips^

Reading about the dremel reminded me of a buddy who used one on himself to correct a chip in his tooth. lol

[xelement5x]

Reading about the dremel reminded me of a buddy who used one on himself to correct a chip in his tooth. lol

Jesus christ, that sounds like the most harrowing thing I can possible imagine. 

I've also heard good stuff about the JFJ Easy Pro, ProfProf has one and wrote up a post on it somewhere else in the forums.  You can also try using something like Novus 123 to buff them out.  I used that on GameGear Screens.

[technozombie]

I had no idea this JFJ thing existed lol, I'm seriously considering buying one.

[slinkyturd]

Me too. :/

[syphic]

My buddy picked one up. Says it works great. Maybe we should see if we could get a deal on a group buy.

[slinkyturd]

Not sure how well that would work. shipping discs to a centralized location probably costs about as much as getting it done by the local store with the capability

[Lost Monkey]

Not sure how well that would work. shipping discs to a centralized location probably costs about as much as getting it done by the local store with the capability

Pretty sure he meant a group buy on the JFJ machine.