So what's the deal with resurfacing?

[ianoid]

What are the types of technologies used?

How many microns do resurfacing machines remove, and how many times could you resurface a disc before it is down to the divits?

Can you tell a properly resurfaced disc from a new disc? I'm not talking about that sham, the Disc Doctor.

ian

[Cmosfm]

Since it's on topic, after answering his question, anyone know of a place I can get some PSone games resurfaced online? A place that resurfaces but leaves no marks, I got about 100 that I need to get done. :(

[RJ]

No sham- it always works for me. In fact, my Disc Dr fixed my Fatal Frame disc that had been further damaged by an Allsop repair kit (which has yet to prove ITS worth).

[Flack]

It's so common that I just typed "resurfacing" into the search engine and turned up 10 other topics on it.

[Player-2]

Our stores resurface dozens of discs per day each. How many times one can be resurfaced depends totally on how deep the deepest scratches are. A disc can usually be done about a dozen times, but one very deep scratch requires that the entire surface area of the non-label side be sanded down to that depth...thus leaving less surface to be removed later. The best process is first sanding down the disc so that all scratches are removed (determined by the deepest scratches) with a rotary sanding machine....then buffing to a smooth bright shine. We use special machines designed exclusively for this purpose. Though you can tell a resurfaced disc from a new one, when done properly it is very difficult...and must often be shimmered under a light (or looked at with younger eyes than mine) to detect the circular micro-lines left behind. The buffing/shine is not a required step. It is cosmetic, but our customers really appreciate the new look on the CD's we sell. Motto: one should never sell a scratched game or one loses job.

[FantasiaWHT]

While I know nothing about professional level resurfacing I do want to stick up for the Game/Disc Doctors.

They are of course NOWHERE near as good as a professional resurfacing, but for the price, they do a decent job. I've had about a 60-70% success rate with them. The discs don't LOOK the best with those diagonal lines, but most of the time they do start working again :)

[Buyatari]

We have these machines at our stores as well. You can tell a cd that has been resurfaced even if done very well. The edge of the cd has a more rounded look where one that has not been resurfaced has a sharper edge.

Adam

[wberdan]

We have these machines at our stores as well. You can tell a cd that has been resurfaced even if done very well. The edge of the cd has a more rounded look where one that has not been resurfaced has a sharper edge.

Adam

does the bottom of the cd look like it has been attacked with a fine grit though? or is it smooth ?



willie

[Captain Wrong]

While I know nothing about professional level resurfacing I do want to stick up for the Game/Disc Doctors.

They are of course NOWHERE near as good as a professional resurfacing, but for the price, they do a decent job. I've had about a 60-70% success rate with them. The discs don't LOOK the best with those diagonal lines, but most of the time they do start working again :)

I'll second that, and I was very skeptical about the Disc Doctor. My girlfriend got one since she has slightly different ideas on CD storage than I do, and I've used it on a bunch of her CDs and almost all of them play again.

Of course, I should preface that by saying I've only ever used it on music CDs.

[Lemmy Kilmister]

Since it's on topic, after answering his question, anyone know of a place I can get some PSone games resurfaced online?


Estarland and House Of Cards And Games both do it. Maybe you should give either one of them a try.

[Videogamerdaryll]

While I know nothing about professional level resurfacing I do want to stick up for the Game/Disc Doctors.

They are of course NOWHERE near as good as a professional resurfacing, but for the price, they do a decent job. I've had about a 60-70% success rate with them. The discs don't LOOK the best with those diagonal lines, but most of the time they do start working again :)


Since it's on topic, after answering his question, anyone know of a place I can get some PSone games resurfaced online?


Estarland and House Of Cards And Games both do it. Maybe you should give either one of them a try.

Thanks and Thanks..


I've been waiting to buy a Disc Doctor for a pile of scratched Cd games I've acquired over the yrs.

Do you guy use the Motorized version or the manual version..

Which one would you recommend.?

[sirgeoph]

Since it's on topic, after answering his question, anyone know of a place I can get some PSone games resurfaced online? A place that resurfaces but leaves no marks, I got about 100 that I need to get done. :(

thegametrader.com.. e-mail repairs@thegametrader.com and we'll probably be able to work out a bulk discount... we do a lot of the local movie rental stores' stuff like that

[ianoid]

Technology wise, is it just a sander? Is it a specialized sander? Is there a laser resurfacing device?

I've seen guys improvise with a hand sander- claiming that they have good results. Seems a bit crude to me.

I just can't bring myself to disc doctor. I'll be waiting for the 25 cent or dollar resurfacer at the record store or whatever. Or I'll use a service or store. I've seen some resurfacing jobs that look like a new disk.

ian

[sirgeoph]

Technology wise, is it just a sander? Is it a specialized sander? Is there a laser resurfacing device?

I've seen guys improvise with a hand sander- claiming that they have good results. Seems a bit crude to me.

I just can't bring myself to disc doctor. I'll be waiting for the 25 cent or dollar resurfacer at the record store or whatever. Or I'll use a service or store. I've seen some resurfacing jobs that look like a new disk.

ian

We use the machines purchased from cdrepairman.com... They're expensive, but get the job done. We use a 4 stage process. It wet-sands the disc a few times and then polishes it up. They look brand new. Of course, this is because the tech knows what he's doing. If you or I tried it with these, we'd probably eff up a few discs.

[NeoSNightmarE]

have you guys seen those CD protector things that slip on the CD to prevent scratches? if so, do they actually work? i have a few scratched CDs but i have even more that a in mint and i would like to preserve them. they stay on when its in the drive and everything.

[SoulBlazer]

Like some other people here, I can vouch for the Disc Doctor, but I've only used it on music CD's. Yes, it's easy to tell it's been fixed, but hey, if you're keeping the disc for life, who cares? :)

[FantasiaWHT]

have you guys seen those CD protector things that slip on the CD to prevent scratches? if so, do they actually work? i have a few scratched CDs but i have even more that a in mint and i would like to preserve them. they stay on when its in the drive and everything.

Yes!!!! The CD condoms!!!!!!

We sell them at our store for some ridiculous price.... like $20 for a pack of 20. I mean come ON it's just really thin rubber.

I have no idea if they work or not, but I imagine they could mess with the spin rate of your system...

From my experience (back in about 2000, this was THE big push for EB games... had to familiarize ourselves with them quite a bit) the motorized and handcrank work just as well, but doing the hand crank does take about 2-3 minutes per direction (you are supposed to do it both ways, clockwise and counterclockwise) so can give you some serious carpal tunnel if you have to any large number LOL

[FABombjoy]

I've seen guys improvise with a hand sander- claiming that they have good results. Seems a bit crude to me.

I've improvised by using an automotive-type car buffer and some car polish. Makes a pretty decent mess, but I shined up a copy of GTA3 to nearly-new appearance.

[youruglyclone]

have you guys seen those CD protector things that slip on the CD to prevent scratches? if so, do they actually work? i have a few scratched CDs but i have even more that a in mint and i would like to preserve them. they stay on when its in the drive and everything.

Yes!!!! The CD condoms!!!!!!

We sell them at our store for some ridiculous price.... like $20 for a pack of 20. I mean come ON it's just really thin rubber.

I have no idea if they work or not, but I imagine they could mess with the spin rate of your system...

From my experience (back in about 2000, this was THE big push for EB games... had to familiarize ourselves with them quite a bit) the motorized and handcrank work just as well, but doing the hand crank does take about 2-3 minutes per direction (you are supposed to do it both ways, clockwise and counterclockwise) so can give you some serious carpal tunnel if you have to any large number LOL

is that what the product is really called if not I'm filing the trademark asdap

but there is another product it's call d-skins I have a pack at home but I'm so indecisive as to which disk will get the "d-skin" treatment that the pack remains unopen

[NeoSNightmarE]

i think that was the one that im thinking of. the D-skin. i havent seen the commercial in a while. im gonna stop by EBgames later and get some...if im not doing something.

[OldSchoolGamer]

Yes they are called D-skins and I have heard great things, they DO work. I only want like 5 for these discs that are pressed discs, exspensive and I would rather not attempt to resurface them, I'd rather protect in the first place:

1. SwapMagic 3.3 set (2 discs)
2. Breaker Pro disc.
3. HDadvance disc set (2 discs)

I'd gladly pay $1 a peice for the Dskinz to keep those protected so I don't have to handle them like crystal all the time! Trouble is they are not available anywhere in Canada (ridiculas) and shipping is crazy for such small items everywhere I checked (about a dozen places)... :angry:

[CasualCoreGamer]

If the game still plays fine w/scratches, I leave it alone for fear of lessening the game's value (depending on the title, of course). When I do resurface, I take my disc(s) to a my local mom & pop game store where they have a big professional industrial looking resurfacing machine. The end result has minimal swirling, but it looks nowhere near as apparent than when done with a Disc Doctor. Mind you, I've only resurfaced my PS1 discs & haven't done it for any other platform. I've heard/been told that there's issues with resurfacing Dreamcast discs. Also, I'm not sure if this applies to all game discs, but the if there's scratching on the label side of the disc (the data layer) then it's a total loss and no amount of resurfacing will bring it back (on PS1 discs, anyway).

[ianoid]

Does resurfacing a disc properly (to like new condition) reduce a disc's value? Are there any resurfacing techniques that you can't tell it's been resurfaced?

[CasualCoreGamer]

I'm not sure if it does or not. I'm only assuming. It might be an issue to those with a well trained eye.

[Promophile]

Does resurfacing a disc properly (to like new condition) reduce a disc's value? Are there any resurfacing techniques that you can't tell it's been resurfaced?

Honestly? Probally not. I'm sure there is a decent sized group of collectors who would care, but your average Joe Ebayer probally wouldn't care as long as it played alright.

[Frankie23]

I've heard/been told that there's issues with resurfacing Dreamcast discs. Also, I'm not sure if this applies to all game discs, but the if there's scratching on the label side of the disc (the data layer) then it's a total loss and no amount of resurfacing will bring it back (on PS1 discs, anyway).

I've heard that as well. I own a hand-crank Disc Doctor, and while I've had some good success with it (nonplayable discs working again), I remember being told very specifically not to use it on Dreamcast games. They sold separate wheels just for those. Something about the GD-ROM using a slightly softer plastic.

[FantasiaWHT]

I've heard/been told that there's issues with resurfacing Dreamcast discs. Also, I'm not sure if this applies to all game discs, but the if there's scratching on the label side of the disc (the data layer) then it's a total loss and no amount of resurfacing will bring it back (on PS1 discs, anyway).

I've heard that as well. I own a hand-crank Disc Doctor, and while I've had some good success with it (nonplayable discs working again), I remember being told very specifically not to use it on Dreamcast games. They sold separate wheels just for those. Something about the GD-ROM using a slightly softer plastic.

ooooh yeah good call. Now I remember those special DC wheels.

I've sold resurfaced (Game Doctor) discs on ebay and never noticed a real depreciation. Average buyer will probably appreciate that better than getting a disc all scratched to hell.

[ghostangelofcky]

I own a hand crank disc dr also, it has been my expierence that as long as you keep the disc wet and clean the wheel after every use it will not damage DC discs. That was the main reason I bought the Disc Dr in the 1st place, seems every DC game I get my hands on has read error's when first puchased

[dave2236]

I bought mine off of CDrepairman.com for the store.

with practice and experience you can get disks to look just like new.

I hate disk doctors.....

[Videogamerdaryll]

have you guys seen those CD protector things that slip on the CD to prevent scratches? if so, do they actually work? i have a few scratched CDs but i have even more that a in mint and i would like to preserve them. they stay on when its in the drive and everything.

Yes!!!! The CD condoms!!!!!!

We sell them at our store for some ridiculous price.... like $20 for a pack of 20. I mean come ON it's just really thin rubber.

I have no idea if they work or not, but I imagine they could mess with the spin rate of your system...

From my experience (back in about 2000, this was THE big push for EB games... had to familiarize ourselves with them quite a bit) the motorized and handcrank work just as well, but doing the hand crank does take about 2-3 minutes per direction

(you are supposed to do it both ways, clockwise and counterclockwise)
so can give you some serious carpal tunnel if you have to any large number LOL

LOL LOL LOL

[Captain Wrong]

I've heard/been told that there's issues with resurfacing Dreamcast discs. Also, I'm not sure if this applies to all game discs, but the if there's scratching on the label side of the disc (the data layer) then it's a total loss and no amount of resurfacing will bring it back (on PS1 discs, anyway).

I've heard that as well. I own a hand-crank Disc Doctor, and while I've had some good success with it (nonplayable discs working again), I remember being told very specifically not to use it on Dreamcast games. They sold separate wheels just for those. Something about the GD-ROM using a slightly softer plastic.

I called their tech support about this question. Here's the answer I got. The DC discs were a finer grit and what they did was rather than sell dual inventory, they made all the resurfacing wheels the finer grit. So, and newer wheel is safe for your DC and it's why the effects of a GameDR today doesn't look as severe as when they first came out.