Tarheel Posted September 13, 2013 Share Posted September 13, 2013 I volunteer at one of the branches of our county library system a few mornings each week. I chose to learn how to repair compact discs, both audio and video discs, as my assignment. The guy that showed me the ropes has returned to school so now I am the only one that does this job. And of course I have a few pictures. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tarheel Posted September 13, 2013 Author Share Posted September 13, 2013 Two lines, a water supply and drain line serves each machine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tarheel Posted September 13, 2013 Author Share Posted September 13, 2013 The basic theory of disc repair is to "sand" the plastic to the bottom of the scratch. This leaves the disc unplayable due to the scratch marks from the sanding. The machine then must polish the disc through several steps, back to a nice, shiny, like new finish. To accomplish this polishing, different abrasives made of finer and finer particles are used. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tarheel Posted September 13, 2013 Author Share Posted September 13, 2013 The machine..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tarheel Posted September 13, 2013 Author Share Posted September 13, 2013 The operator hard at work.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tarheel Posted September 13, 2013 Author Share Posted September 13, 2013 Close up without sanding disc installed...... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tarheel Posted September 13, 2013 Author Share Posted September 13, 2013 With red disc (second most abrasive) installed....... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tarheel Posted September 13, 2013 Author Share Posted September 13, 2013 another pic.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tarheel Posted September 13, 2013 Author Share Posted September 13, 2013 Start with blue pads for severe disc. Tally sheet is to tell me when to change the pads. Different cycles for each pad. The final pass is two part polishing with a foam pad and liquid polish. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tarheel Posted September 13, 2013 Author Share Posted September 13, 2013 (edited) These are generally the most worn and dirtiest disc.......children's digital video disc with food smeared on the disc surface. Some audio books from long winded authors like Tom Clancy (15 discs) take 45 minutes to clean. Blu ray disc can only be polished.....not sanded! So there you have it.......probably more than you wanted to know about disc repair. Edited December 16, 2013 by Tarheel Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dennie Posted September 13, 2013 Share Posted September 13, 2013 Thanks for posting this, I've always wondered how to resurface a disc! Now I know. [] Dennie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RT FAN Posted September 13, 2013 Share Posted September 13, 2013 Actually very interesting. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JL Sargent Posted September 13, 2013 Share Posted September 13, 2013 Do the discs typically work after the process? What percentage of discs are successfully restored would you estimate? Oh and Stephen, just got through watching Zoot Sims playing with the guys doing the "Kansas City 5" on Youtube. Yes, it's still AWESOME! Cleveland Eaton is a monster bass player!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skonopa Posted September 13, 2013 Share Posted September 13, 2013 Gotta admit, that is pretty cool. I could only imagine what some of those discs end up going through at the library. Like that other post, I am curious if they are like new. Also, I would imagine that there is a limit to how much a disc can be restored. After all, just how much of the polycorbonate can be polished off before it gets to thin? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tarheel Posted September 13, 2013 Author Share Posted September 13, 2013 JL.....if the scratch is not visible from the label side the disc can be repaired. Most play fine after repair and polishing. These disc in a public library situation get a lot of wear and tear. I think I have had only one or two in my collection that were scratched enough to need repair. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tarheel Posted September 13, 2013 Author Share Posted September 13, 2013 Right Steven there is a limit....usually four or five sandings depending on what grit you start with. I try to use the least abrasive disc to do the job. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
derrickdj1 Posted September 14, 2013 Share Posted September 14, 2013 Thanks for sharing. Very interesting. So many time we just trash the disc. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Taz Posted September 15, 2013 Share Posted September 15, 2013 Never knew that had a machine like that. Good stuff! Thanks for the excellent documentation here. [Y] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tarheel Posted September 15, 2013 Author Share Posted September 15, 2013 Thank you gentlemen! A couple of things I did not mention earlier. The sanding pads have a life of 50-60 discs and the foam polishing pads about twice that. The wash solution is distilled water with a concentrate cleaning agent added. The water pump for each machine must be primed prior to disc repair. The process for cleaning disc is very much like wet sanding metal. The first pass of the foam pad removes residual moisture and the final spin is for polishing the disc. The instruction manual suggest using a drop of polish placed in the twelve o'clock position. Not sure why the location makes a difference. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JL Sargent Posted September 15, 2013 Share Posted September 15, 2013 Looking around on Ebay confirms that those are not cheap machines. Interesting technology. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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