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Auricauricle
02-20-2009, 09:00 AM
Reading the New York Times, yesterday, I ran accross this li'l nugget. Seems that DVD and CD fans don't have to fret if they can't locate the perfect cleanser. You know how awful things get after awhile....The occasional skip pops in; the infrequent fingerprint mysteriously appears (not mine!); the slight loss of that familiar zing that made that concerto oh so sweet....Well, have no fear fans, because the solution (!) to all these ills is close at hand! What is it? It's your mouthwash! That's right; according to the ever esteemed NYT, a li'l dab of mouthwash (Listerine is given as an example) will sparkle up those pesky discs as good as new. If you wanna get fancier, you can try Vodka! Just pop over to your liquor cupboard and dab a few drops on. What's the secret you ask? It's alcohol! Best stuff for smudges, fingerprints and the loss of zing!

Anybody find any wacked out tips? Be a sport, be brave and post one today!

In the meantime, just think for a moment of how nice it would be to listen to your Mozart, minty fresh! How about a cinnamon Smetana? Or a....(etc., ad infinitum, ad nauseum)

audio amateur
02-20-2009, 09:13 AM
For those of you who've forgotten, space your speakers 12 feet apart. This isn't a tweak, it's a rule.

Auricauricle
02-20-2009, 10:35 AM
Shirley, you jest!

Hyfi
02-25-2009, 12:19 PM
Reading the New York Times, yesterday, I ran accross this li'l nugget. Seems that DVD and CD fans don't have to fret if they can't locate the perfect cleanser. You know how awful things get after awhile....The occasional skip pops in; the infrequent fingerprint mysteriously appears (not mine!); the slight loss of that familiar zing that made that concerto oh so sweet....Well, have no fear fans, because the solution (!) to all these ills is close at hand! What is it? It's your mouthwash! That's right; according to the ever esteemed NYT, a li'l dab of mouthwash (Listerine is given as an example) will sparkle up those pesky discs as good as new. If you wanna get fancier, you can try Vodka! Just pop over to your liquor cupboard and dab a few drops on. What's the secret you ask? It's alcohol! Best stuff for smudges, fingerprints and the loss of zing!

Anybody find any wacked out tips? Be a sport, be brave and post one today!

In the meantime, just think for a moment of how nice it would be to listen to your Mozart, minty fresh! How about a cinnamon Smetana? Or a....(etc., ad infinitum, ad nauseum)

What do you think is in the little spray bottle included in a CD Cleaning Kit? Water and alcohol at a 10 to 1 ratio, same as LCD screen cleaning kits.

Auricauricle
02-25-2009, 12:45 PM
What: No pixie dust??

Kevio
02-25-2009, 04:42 PM
I use window cleaner or liquid hand soap. Have I been doing it wrong?

emaidel
03-02-2009, 10:22 AM
At least ten years ago, people were all but ga-ga over the "huge" improvement one could obtain by spraying CD's with Armor-All. I foolishly tried it, and those discs that I sprayed skipped all over the place, and I truly worried that I might have gunked up the laser in my player as well. Fortunately, a good cleaning (with the Alsop CD cleaner my friend, Alsop's National Sales Manger gave me for free), and the troubles stopped.

In the meantime, I still have that cleaner, and the bottle of liquid isn't yet empty. I don't use it often to clean CD's, but found it very useful for cleaning the frequently filthy DVD's rented from Blockbuster or Netflix, especially older discs.

Auricauricle
03-02-2009, 10:49 AM
I have used Simichrome, a mild metal polish a little grittier than Brasso, with good results. Just a dab'll do it, as they say. I finish with a fresh cloth or chamois of lens cleanser (I buy the glasses cleaner at the local drug store) to get things up to a nice sparkle and remove any of the Simichrome that wasn't removed in the original buffing...I have also tried anti fungal drops and acetone with no ill effect.*

*Geeze, I gotta getta life!

vlad008
03-02-2009, 01:45 PM
doesn't work

nightflier
03-02-2009, 02:08 PM
I didn't know contacts were subject to fungal infections either. Kinda gross.

Auricauricle
03-02-2009, 03:49 PM
Ya never know, man! Can you spell Geotrichum?

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/centralamericaandthecaribbean/belize/1312221/Scientist-finds-fungus-that-eats-through-compact-discs.html

Oh, and I'm talking about applying this stuff to the CD, friend! Oh, yeah; I gottit bad....

JoeE SP9
03-02-2009, 08:50 PM
doesn't work
Is that toothpaste? I have used toothpaste to clean and polish lightly scratched CD's. Tooth polish works even better. When I was teaching one of my students came to me with a CD that had writing (indelible ink) on the play side. I used Micro Mesh, a product from the aviation industry that's used to re-finish airplane windshields. The Micro Mesh removed all traces of the indelible ink and restored the CD to like new condition.
Auricauricle has suggested Simichrome polish. I an inclined to go along with him. Simichrome is easily available. Micromesh is not.

RoyY51
03-04-2009, 06:59 PM
Toothpaste is pretty versatile. Back when I was painting for a living, every once in a while, some nimwit (never me, of course) would forget to bring spackle to the party. We would "borrow" a little of the family toothpaste to fill nail holes. If it dries hard, and you paint over it, no one ever knows.

Auricauricle
03-05-2009, 02:26 PM
I was kinda wunnerin' why the house smelled so minty fresh all the time....

They use the stuff for polishing up belt buckles in boot camp....So, for the CD's do you recommend the minty or cinnamon?

Hyfi
03-10-2009, 09:02 AM
I was kinda wunnerin' why the house smelled so minty fresh all the time....

They use the stuff for polishing up belt buckles in boot camp....So, for the CD's do you recommend the minty or cinnamon?


Interesting enough, in my past life as a Toolmaker, the old timers swore by using toothpaste to polish Plexiglas after machining it.

Auricauricle
03-10-2009, 09:55 AM
Don't doubt it. At the local military school and at bootcamp, toothpaste is used for getting beltbuckles and other shiny accoutrements up to a high gloss....

emailists
03-21-2009, 11:27 PM
Interesting about the mouthwash, but I wonder what the long term effects may be from using it on discs, other than really fresh smelling CD's.

FLZapped
03-22-2009, 04:05 AM
For those of you who've forgotten, space your speakers 12 feet apart. This isn't a tweak, it's a rule.


What a ***** for a 10 foot room . . . .

-Bruce

E-Stat
03-22-2009, 02:09 PM
What a ***** for a 10 foot room . . . .
Search posts by "Melvin Walker" in order to fully appreciate young AA's humor. :)

rw

yogo
03-26-2009, 08:29 PM
What's the secret you ask? It's alcohol! Best stuff for smudges, fingerprints and the loss of zing!


I believe you've discovered the best best tweak known to man.
alcohol!

From the discovery of this substance mankind has been satisfied with mediocre sound.
Suddenly, 70's rock sounds great on a Soundesign system.

Plus, it makes me stronger, more handsome and I can sing up a storm at the local Kareoke bars...