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Thu 5 Dec, 2002 06:06 pm
Hey guys, I'm thinking of buying my sister's family a DVD repair machine. Has anyone heard any reviews of this type of thing?
http://www.topixonline.com/cgi-bin/sgsc0101.exe?SRCCODE=WECJ0501&FNM=04&GEN0=TM253&AID=4062274&PID=673632
littlek, I have a couple similar devices of other manufacture. As long as one of the devices is reserved for cleaning only, and the other to scratch repair/disc polishing, there should be no problem. A number of scratch repair fluids are on the market, as well as disc cleaning fluids. I like those made by Alsop. and DiscWasher.
I would suggest experimentation with non-critical discs, and a bit of practice, before using the things for real. When the pads on the unit used for cleaning become visibly soiled, demote that unit to polishing and discard the previous polisher. A disc which has been polished should then be cleaned before use or storage.
Actually, the things work ok most of the time, as long as their pads are MOISTENED with cleaning or polishing fluid, not SATURATED with it, but I've found that hand-polishing works better for really dirty or heavily damaged discs.
The problem is the 3 year old. She likes to play with her disks...
Thanks Timber!
believe it or not when my computer crashed a couple of weeks ago the guy polished my reintstall disks with toothpaste. i'd try it on a junk one first to be sure even tho i watched him do it.
yikes!
Well, this is an xmas gift idea, I dunno if a tube of toothpaste would hold the same kind of holiday spirit. But, I don't doubt it'sa great polish.
Toothpaste works well for polishing. So does extra-fine automotive finish buffing compound. Windex does an ok job of cleaning. So does photographic lens cleaner, and even eyeglass cleaner. All of the foregoing, however, may leave undesireable residues. I use quality purpose-specific commercial products for the task.
timber
I have the same manufacturer's Skip Doctor of which this is a new evolution of that product. It worked great but was time consuming to use. This is about the same price but as I have purchased replacement wheels for the Skip Doctor, I'm not interested now. The trouble with toothpaste is it won't handle deeper scratches like Skip Doctor. Do not use Windex -- it will eventually eat into the acrylic and cloud and/or graze it. Photo lens cleaner, acrylic polishes, eyeglass cleaners should all be okay. The Skip Doctor comes with a finishing spray that removes any residues. I also have an older kit which contains a polishing "mud" which, if I'm being that particular, removes the fine polishing marks the Skip Doctor leaves (which really doesn't disturb the laser from reading the pits beneath the surface). Oily fingerprints can be just as bad as scratches as it acts like a deflecting lense, diverting the laser beam.
BTW, this comes from years of experience with acrylics inparticular, fiber optics being one of my specialties. I did research and development on all plastic materials, particularly optically clear products.
Also, the Allsop and Diskwasher fluid is just alcohol! It does not attack acrylic or even styrene but will remove oily residue.
thanks for your professional advice, Lightwizard. I think I gave up on the idea of the disk cleaner for this xmas, but I'll continue to be looking into it at some point, I think.