Resurfacing a Sega CD Disc

[Jehusephat]

Has anyone had any luck getting a Sega CD game resurfaced? I have a lot of old games that I treated very, very badly as a child, and they all (with the exception of Lunar, Lunar 2 and Dark Wizard, thankfully) have a fair number of scratches--mostly shallow ones--due to having been left face-down on the floor. Some of them still work, to the best of my knowledge, and I'm wondering if there's a risk of making my games completely unplayable by having them resurfaced. I understand that the basic idea of resurfacing is to make the disc readable again, but is there anything about the Sega CD specifically that might prevent it from reading resurfaced discs? Thanks for your help.

[thekeepr]

As long as you have a clean "eye" on your system,and the disc has been cleaned properly,give them a spin and see what happens.I had a Lunar disc that I was playing some years ago,had bought one of those Spin Doctor resurfacing machines prior to needing one,used it a couple of times on said game disc to get it to play without freezing up,it finally played all the way thru without incident.You can also use a liquid plastic scatch remover,say the likes made by Mequires or similiar,and clean/polish the disc to see if that helps.I'm a firm believer in keeping the disc and laser eyes clean,and a little effort will go a long way to keep you gaming along.You can also pay to have the disc polished commercially,which should also result in a "fixed" disc. Rob

[DKTheArcadeRat]

You can resurface them with no problem as long as you have them done professionally. I've resurfaced scratched up Sega CD and Saturn games to near mint appearances and they worked entirely. There are no worries to be had about it.

[Flippy8490]

I am pretty sure if you have an FYE store near you, they can do it there. I think its like $3 bucks for something like that to get a disc resurfaced. I have heard they do a good job, so you could give that a shot.

[SplashChick]

As long as you have a clean "eye" on your system,and the disc has been cleaned properly,give them a spin and see what happens.I had a Lunar disc that I was playing some years ago,had bought one of those Spin Doctor resurfacing machines prior to needing one,used it a couple of times on said game disc to get it to play without freezing up,it finally played all the way thru without incident.You can also use a liquid plastic scatch remover,say the likes made by Mequires or similiar,and clean/polish the disc to see if that helps.I'm a firm believer in keeping the disc and laser eyes clean,and a little effort will go a long way to keep you gaming along.You can also pay to have the disc polished commercially,which should also result in a "fixed" disc. Rob

Just take note that those home buffing kits don't fix any discs with more than minor scratches, and that you'll end up doing more harm than good if you don't use it EXACTLY right. Personally I recommend just going to somewhere like Hollywood Video and paying them to buff the discs. It's $2 a game or $5 for a punch card for 5 games, and it will fix pretty much anything that isn't cracked or dented.

[Arkhan]

I use Novus. You can get it at hobby shops. It kicks alot of ass.

[nhm]

AND...once you have it repaired, make a back up disk! Put the original in the case and leave it there. Play the back up.

[Sniderman]

I posted this elsewhere when a similar question popped up:

If you have a scratched disc/CD, I recommend Brasso. Now then, this is a METAL POLISHING liquid. It's an abrasive - a very mild, fine abrasive. And if you use this method, you're gonna scratch the hell out of your CD/DVD, but the disc WILL WORK when you're done. This is a technique I picked up from a DVD restoration board:

1. Take a lint-free cloth and pour a small dab of Brasso on the cloth.
2. Using a finger, wipe the Brasso in a straight line from the inner hole to the outer edge, working your way around until the CD is coated. Continue around again so you've done it twice. (There is no need to add any more Brasso. One good dollop at the start will be enough.)
3. Let it dry to a fine haze.
4. With a clean corner of the cloth, start wiping the Brasso off from the inside out, just as you applied it. Make sure to remove it all.
5. Once the Brasso is removed, spray some Windex or other cleaner on the CD and gently shine it up.
6. If there is a deep scratch or mar, use a bit of elbow grease on it to "buff" it out with the Brasso. But always work from the inside out. Do not work in little circles or anything like that.

I have used this technique to bring many many games, DVDs, music CDs, etc. back from the dead. I have only had this trick not work twice (but both were horribly damaged to begin with). Now then, as stated, you're deliberately scratching a CD to hell (even though the scratches are very, very fine - the CD will appear hazy when done as if it's been resurfaced) but this will work 95% of the time. But I would NOT recommend this for a game disc that's valuable or irreplacable. For that, have it resurfaced or professionally buffed out.

I use this technique for used games I have no intention of reselling or keeping in "pristine" value. It does work though.

[kgenthe]

Has anyone had any luck getting a Sega CD game resurfaced? I have a lot of old games that I treated very, very badly as a child, and they all (with the exception of Lunar, Lunar 2 and Dark Wizard, thankfully) have a fair number of scratches--mostly shallow ones--due to having been left face-down on the floor. Some of them still work, to the best of my knowledge, and I'm wondering if there's a risk of making my games completely unplayable by having them resurfaced. I understand that the basic idea of resurfacing is to make the disc readable again, but is there anything about the Sega CD specifically that might prevent it from reading resurfaced discs? Thanks for your help.

There is little to no risk of ruining your disc. If you do it enough times, the data layer will be too close for the laser to focus on the tiny pits in the disc (and thus not be able to read the data). I don't know how many times you have to have a disc resurfaced before this happens. I have had many DVDs and CDs (and a few GDs) resurfaced over the years with absolutely no negative affects.

[aclbandit]

SegaCD resurfacing shouldn't be a problem, since it's just a "regular CD".

I think I heard something weird about killing Dreamcast discs (since they're "GD-ROMS") by resurfacing, though, but that could just have been anecdotal hearsay and nonsense.

[pocketgamer]

Has anyone had any luck getting a Sega CD game resurfaced? I have a lot of old games that I treated very, very badly as a child, and they all (with the exception of Lunar, Lunar 2 and Dark Wizard, thankfully) have a fair number of scratches--mostly shallow ones--due to having been left face-down on the floor. Some of them still work, to the best of my knowledge, and I'm wondering if there's a risk of making my games completely unplayable by having them resurfaced. I understand that the basic idea of resurfacing is to make the disc readable again, but is there anything about the Sega CD specifically that might prevent it from reading resurfaced discs? Thanks for your help.

You can also try a new store called play N trade, these are fairly new stores that seem to be sprouting up all across the states. They charge something like $3 bucks to resurface a disk. I kinda miss gamecrazy they use to resurface up to 3 games free just for being a member of theirs.

[DKTheArcadeRat]

http://www.digitpress.com/forum/show...earcaderat%27s

Just throwing that one out there.