The Cover Project
General Category => FAQs, Guides, Templates and Vector Logos => Topic started by: 4tyGames on July 24, 2007, 04:03:25 PM
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(was:Your Guide to Cleaning and Maintaining Discs)
How to make your game discs last
Life expectancy for a pressed CD is little more than 100 years. A pressed DVD life expectancy is longer, about 200 years. If you take care of your discs, you will get a lifetime of joy out of them!
Sadly, improper storage and use of your discs will shorten the life of your discs and may lead to disc rot ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Disc_rot ).
These actions will help prevent against disc rot.
(http://www.post-gazette.com/images2/20040506apcdrot_230.jpg)
• Always hold the discs by the edges or in the center hole. Never hold the discs like a Frisbee and never touch the data side of the disc. Your fingerprints are acidic and over time continued touching of the playable side can damage the disc.
• Never bend your disc (especially DVD games like PS2, Xbox, Xbox360, Wii, and GameCube)! Be careful when you remove the disc from its holder. Bending the disc will loosen the glue from the disc and will increase the chance of disc rot.
• For CDs (Sega CD, PS1, Dreamcast, Saturn, and 3DO games), the label side is the most important part of the disc. The core information of the disc is right under the label. If you damage the label side, you have a high chance of damaging the disc permanently.
• Store your games in their respective cases. Do not stack discs against each other.
• Store your games vertically in a cool, dark, dry place, like a cabinet, that would not be affected by sudden temperature changes or humidity.
• Do not write or put labels on your game discs.
Sometimes there is nothing you can do if it was a badly pressed game. A bad press of a game may not be discovered for a few years after the games release or until the disc starts to rot.
How to remove permanent marker (sharpie) markings from Disc Games
Blockbuster stupidly marks an inventory code on every disc rental game. There is an easy, effective way to remove these permanent marker markings when you buy an ex-rental game.
(http://image.bayimg.com/faedoaabh.jpg)
Take a black dry erase marker and carefully, lightly trace over the affected area. Then take a microfiber cloth (not a paper towel) and gently wipe away the markings from the area. The permanent markings should disappear. Please do this as gently as possible. I have used this technique several times on GameCube games with great success, but if you mark too hard or wipe away too hard, you could damage the disc art.
(http://image.bayimg.com/faedpaabh.jpg)
(Images are from digitpress.com)
How to remove stickers and sticker residue from a disc
You want to be as careful as possible not to hurt the disc when removing stickers or sticker residue from a disc. You do not want to use Goo Gone because it could damage the disc artwork (numerous reports of Goo Gone ruining CD-I discs), or worse, make the disc unreadable if it is soaked into the label of the disc. Your best bet is WD-40. Yes, WD-40. Just spray it and gently wipe the sticker away.
How to remove scratches from an unplayable disc
The best choice in removing scratches is to get the disc professionally buffed at a retail store. In America, your best bet is either Hastings or Game Crazy.
Hastings ( http://www.gohastings.com ) – 1 Disc - $1.99
GameCrazy (http://www.gamecrazy.com ) – 1 Disc - $2.99
If you are cheap or you have too many scratched discs there are a couple more options.
The first and cheapest option is toothpate. Make sure you have some baking soda toothpaste, the grittier the better as gel toothpaste does not work. Make sure the toothpaste has the ingredient “Diatomaceous earth” for best results.
Take a small, small dab of the toothpaste and coat a small area of the disc. Then, remove the toothpaste from the center of the disc to the edge of the disc over and over with a soft cloth. You are basically polishing the disc. Do not polish the disc in a circular motion like a LP record as it could create more scratches. This is a very time consuming technique and the more time you spend the better results you will get. This will probably not remove all the scratches, but it will probably make your disc playable again.
Another option is the $40 Skip Dr. AUTOMAX. It works well and it is not like the original hand cranked Skip Dr. that left a noticeable pattern on the disc. This option is only viable if you have a large amount of scratched discs.
That’s it for this guide. If you have any suggestions or techniques, just let me know!
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Hurray information!
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I also want to add something.
If you are also a Car Detail Enthusist, or just love you car you usually have a bunch of cleaning supplies at your disposal. Here is something you can do to help get rid of scratches! (Remember, always use a MicroFibre cloth!)
1) Meguir's Instant Detail. This stuff works amazingly! Basically, from a car perspective, it brings out the shine in the wax and paint of your car. And for some reason, it removes some scratches from the game disc! I love it because it really helps clean those blasted Dreamcast Disc (I think they are the pickiest disks ever made... damn GD-Rom's!). I'm also sure any Instant Detail will work likes Mothers or Turtle Wax.
2) Meguir's ScratchX Yes! This stuff works amazing too! It is used for getting out some scratches in the paint/clear coat of a car. Just remember, this stuff dries really quickly, so do small area's at a time and besure to work it in. It is more dangerous because you have to work it in, but the results are amazing!
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While I always enjoy finding people with They Might Be Giants CDs, the condition of that Apollo 18 disc makes me a sad panda ;)
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I'm so glad that somebody finally showed me how to get rid of those marker labels that they put on the rental games at the video stores. They sell some games used there, and it really bugs me that there is writing on the game discs.
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Hey 4ty could you maybe show a picture of those black dry erase markers? I really would like to try your idea because at the biggest second hand store in austria they mark every disc with permanent marker if the game comes with garanty or not.... *sigh*
The problem is that I can't find the marker you talk about here in austria.... Do you maybe know what it's called in german? :)
Regards Seb
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I'll write the answer in German. 4tyGames can answer the question for the english speakers :)
Tik, ein black dry erase marker ist quasi ein Filsstift (ein Edding wenn es die Marke in Österreich gibt), der wasserlöslich ist und einfach weggewischt werden kann mit einem Tuch. Vielleicht hattet ihr in der Schule auch in manchen Räumen diese Plastiktafeln, wo man nicht mit Kreide sondern mit Filsstift drauf schreibt. Eine abwaschbare Tafel sozusagen die man mit einem trockenen Tuch (daher der Name) wieder abwischen kann.
Laut dem guide hier sollst du also mit so einem wasserlöslichen, schwarzen Filsstift über die Markierungen auf der Disc schreiben, und kannst dann ganz vorsichtig die Schrift mit einem Tuch abwischen und die Schrift darunter verschwindet dann auch.
Ich hoffe das hilft Dir weiter.
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I guess if you are in the US, just get a black EXPO dry erase marker, like these: http://www.expomarkers.com/
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I'll write the answer in German. 4tyGames can answer the question for the english speakers :)
Tik, ein black dry erase marker ist quasi ein Filsstift (ein Edding wenn es die Marke in Österreich gibt), der wasserlöslich ist und einfach weggewischt werden kann mit einem Tuch. Vielleicht hattet ihr in der Schule auch in manchen Räumen diese Plastiktafeln, wo man nicht mit Kreide sondern mit Filsstift drauf schreibt. Eine abwaschbare Tafel sozusagen die man mit einem trockenen Tuch (daher der Name) wieder abwischen kann.
Laut dem guide hier sollst du also mit so einem wasserlöslichen, schwarzen Filsstift über die Markierungen auf der Disc schreiben, und kannst dann ganz vorsichtig die Schrift mit einem Tuch abwischen und die Schrift darunter verschwindet dann auch.
Ich hoffe das hilft Dir weiter.
Danke für die Erklärung kaiser! Eddings gibts eh in Österreich auch....
MfG Seb
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A JFJ Disc Repair machine is the best I've ever seen a game be buffed. If you need a good collection of discs buffed, it's well worth the price for one.
Plus you can charge people to use it ;)
http://www.jfjdiscrepair.com/
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I'm stickying this because I don't see a reason not to. Also changing the title so it will be easier to find.
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Any information on what to do about Blockbuster's "Disc Shields"? They're rather unsightly and quite annoying to look at.
I've removed them before successfully with a hair dryer. If anyone wants I can elaborate.