scratched game fixes?

jab1235

jab1235

CAGiversary!
i didn't really know where to put this so this section just seemed the most fitting, but if its the wrong place, sorry.

ok well anyway i got fallout 3 the other day and it is scratched up pretty bad. it has a lot of little scratches and a few pretty deep looking ones, however the game plays but only for about an hour where it gives me a "disk unreadable" error. so basicly i want to avoid buying another copy or buying a disk cleaner since the game would probably be cheaper.

so what should i do to fix it, or at least make it play better. i heard that toothpaste can help but im a bit hesitant. anything helps at this point so thanks alot :D!
 
I've buffed out a disc's scratches (one fairly deep one that prevented any audio from playing) just rubbing the disc with a t-shirt and breathing on it to create some moisture. Took about a halfhour of working away at it, but eventually I got the scratch out.
 
[quote name='crunchb3rry']I've buffed out a disc's scratches (one fairly deep one that prevented any audio from playing) just rubbing the disc with a t-shirt and breathing on it to create some moisture. Took about a halfhour of working away at it, but eventually I got the scratch out.[/QUOTE]
i will try that, thanks :)
 
[quote name='n8rockerasu']furniture polish, car wax, toothpaste...and a soft cloth. If none of those things do it, you're probably SOL.[/QUOTE]
looks like im gona go with toothpaste, rubing it down did nothing and there alot more deep scrathes then i thought.
 
[quote name='jab1235']looks like im gona go with toothpaste, rubing it down did nothing and there alot more deep scrathes then i thought.[/QUOTE]

Just make sure after rubbing it down with the toothpaste, you clean it off with a water dampened cloth. The point of any of these methods is to "fill in" the scratch and then buff it out. There are guides on the net on exactly how to do it too. Google is your friend.
 
[quote name='n8rockerasu']Just make sure after rubbing it down with the toothpaste, you clean it off with a water dampened cloth. The point of any of these methods is to "fill in" the scratch and then buff it out. There are guides on the net on exactly how to do it too. Google is your friend.[/QUOTE]
yea i found some guides yesterday but i wanted to hear that toothpaste would help befor i tried it.
 
The basic idea is that cheap toothpaste (the plain ol' white kind, not the fancy mint-gel-with-whitening-stripe kinda stuff) is lightly abrasive, which will buff out and fill in scratches. I personally haven't tried it, but it's been reccomended to me before.

I typically use the Gamestop disc repair liquid and cotton rounds/Q-tips. Just follow the instructions on the bottle and be sure to buff with a clean round before playing (to get the residue off.) It might take more than one try, but if it's not better after 3, it ain't gonna be.

If you have a Gamecrazy nearby, take it to them- a lot have professional resurfacing machines, and it only costs a couple bucks to get a disc done.
 
[quote name='jab1235']yea i found some guides yesterday but i wanted to hear that toothpaste would help befor i tried it.[/QUOTE]

Try my suggestion of Brasso if none of that works. It removes layers of the disc instead of filling the scratches in. I had a game that would freeze at the same load screen every time and wouldn't install to the hard drive, tried everything(including toothpaste) and the only thing that worked was Brasso.
 
I have no idea on DIY to fix discs, however.

Most video stores have CD/DVD repair. I took my games to movie gallery and they fixed a game for 2 bucks each. I got them back and they were like brand new. Just make sure you don't do this too much on the same disc, as the repair tends to remove a little layer of plastic on the disc.
 
Use something abrasive like the toothpaste mentioned. Get it a little wet and rub it over the scratch for a while. DO NOT use a circular buffing motion, go straight up and down, the lasers can deal with vertical scratches better than horizontal ones. After that, rinse it off and apply some car wax, shouldn't matter if its liquid or paste. Rub it on and let it sit til it dries and then gently wife it off. This has worked for me quite a few times in the past.
 
Glad you're getting some more responses on this. Furniture polish is always my go to. It's quick, not messy, and it does a decent job. Most of what it takes care of are just surface scratches though. Anything deeper and you'd probably have to go with something a little more hardcore, like the toothpaste or car wax.
 
I've used both toothpaste and Brasso--both work. As mentioned, rub in a straight line, from the center of the disk out to the edge. Work your way around the disc using medium to hard pressure. Wipe down afterwards with a damp cloth or paper towel. You should notice that the scratches get much better. You probably don't need to get them completely out before the disc will play, but you may have to repeat the procedure a few times if the first time doesn't lessen the scratches enough. Good luck!
 
oh well i never thought of it but should i try and install it on my hard drive first? i sitll havn't tried toothpaste yet. im a little hesitant to bring it to gamestop to fix because last time i brought a scratched game to them they couldn't fix it, so when i said no to them trying to sell me the same game they ended up selling me a disk cleaner which also didn't work. now that i look at it, i beleive the disk is beyond repair but it doesn't hurt to try.

i read you need plane white toothpaste, i don't have any of that i just have the like prohealth stuff, so should that work too?

thanks again guys, i'd be lost without your helpz :(
 
That should be fine, the type doesn't matter all that much really, in fact i think that stuff is a little extra abrasive, should work better if the scratch is that bad.
 
ok well i don't have enought space to evan try to install it to the harddrive so im gona go try and toothpaste it now.
i'm an idiot :) i started rubbing the toothpaste on and noticed that its grainy which scratched the disk up evan more. the disk is still readable but maybe thats because i only toothpasted a sectiong of the disk. BUT it actuly got past the loading screen this time :D!
 
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[quote name='JolietJake']That should be fine, the type doesn't matter all that much really, in fact i think that stuff is a little extra abrasive, should work better if the scratch is that bad.[/QUOTE]

Yeah, I think the main thing is it should be a paste and not a gel. It's gotta have that bite to it to do anything to the scratch.
 
Oh it's going to scratch the hell out of the disc, it's abrasive after all. That is what the wax is for afterward, to shine it up again.
 
well so far im playing longer then i have at this spot, if i get the error again i'll toothpaste the rest of the disk, thank you so much!
 
Peanut butter is good to fix scratches.. just rub some on the bottom of the disc wipe all over and then wipe it all off and it'll fill in the cracks
 
[quote name='Aberforth']I've tried tooth paste and that didn't work too great. Then I tried pledge and it works FUNTASTICALLY![/QUOTE]

Yeah, this is why furniture polish is my go to. It seems to do more with less. I've got a can of it under my desk right now as a matter of fact.
 
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