Hair Spray for Scratched CDs & DVDs

TaranT · Post by **TaranT** » Sun Jul 10, 2005 2:28 am

Has anyone tried this? Does it work?

Hair spray works on all CDs. It gets out the deep, deep scratches. The best CD repair companies use it. Why spend $200 on a CD repair kit when you can use the same stuff at home?

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The hair conditioner worked by Colin C.
I was going crazy here! I have a CD that has lots of important photos. I stored them on the CD, not my hard drive for safety. Somehow the CD got scratched, and it wouldn't read the photos. I came across this site in a frenzy, desperately looking for some quick solution to my problem. I tried (sceptically) the hair conditioner option. I put the CD back in, and now I have my photos! I used Aveda rosemary mint conditioner. I can't believe this worked, but I'm over the moon. This site is great!!

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jbone · Post by **jbone** » Sun Jul 10, 2005 9:52 am

I can potentially understand how it would work.

Generally speaking, there are two types of damage that a CD can suffer: data surface damage, and read surface damage. If the data surface (the label) is damaged, data is gone. However, if the read surface is damaged, a CD-ROM drive's laser can be diffracted or simply miss the data surface.

Basically, the hairspray would fill in the cracks on the plastic layer, allowing the drive's laser to properly pass through the read surface.

I haven't tried it, though I may test it.

TaranT · Post by **TaranT** » Sun Jul 10, 2005 12:49 pm

Whatever it is, it needs to be very transparent and also be self-leveling - otherwise, you get waves or clumps that scatter light. Seems to me that a good hairspray would fit the bill. Also a good floor polish, especially something for hardwood floors.

I wonder about the longevity, though; i.e. how long it lasts before it oxidizes and turns yellow.

Kalium · Post by **Kalium** » Sun Jul 10, 2005 3:24 pm

Well, if you're smart, you shouldn't need longer than it takes to copy the CD to your HD or to another CD so you can preserve the data.

For me, about three minutes.

BasharOfTheAges · Post by **BasharOfTheAges** » Mon Jul 11, 2005 11:14 pm

Pledge (wood floor cleaner) seems to work better in my experiences.

Omega_Nemesis28 · Post by **Omega_Nemesis28** » Fri Aug 12, 2005 9:21 pm

Thanks to this thread, I had my RE4 scratched up earlier and I used hairspray like you had said and HOLY SHIT!!! IT SOOOO WORKS!!!!!!! All the scratches that were on the CD are GONE, Hoodinie appeared and wiped it all away! I swear, it looks new! Thank you so much!

I used Pantene PRO-V Volumizing Hairspray, try it out!

Castor Troy · Post by **Castor Troy** » Sat Aug 20, 2005 1:14 pm

Whoah, this could help me access some of the scratched amv cds I've gotten throughout the years...

Remember, cd envelopes are your friend.