Scratched discs in your collection?
Just a quick question for you all.
Are all your discs in your collection scratch free? Since i started collecting PS2 games or any other second hand game for that matter, they seem to be covered in light scratches. When looking at "pre owned" games i mainly go for the one with the best case but also find it disapointing to find the disk covered in light scratches.
Your Thoughts?
Comments
Know exactly what you mean, Scott, because I'm not fussy about having pre-owned either. Anyway, a coupla tips. If you bought the game from a shop that has one of those little machines that skim the disk and buff it up then take it back and tell them it doesn't work properly because of the scratches. Chances are they'll offer to repair the disk for free or, if they're in a really good mood, replace your copy with a better condition one.
Secondly, get yourself one of those lint-free cleaning cloths and, especially if it's a current gen game, give it a good going over with the cloth. Blurays in particular are very robust compared to DVDs and sometimes what looks like a scratch or mark on the disk can actually be wiped off with a bit of pressure.
I just can't believe the way some people treat game disks. Every new game of mine is in the same condition that i bought it. Even if it's been played to death the surface scratches are very minimal. Some of the used disks I've seen . . .well, it would be easier to keep them clean than in some of the states i've seen :x
do yourselves a favour and get a SkipDr Premier disc cleaner and you will never have to worry about scratched discs again....
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Digital-Innovat ... 403&sr=8-5
it's a very good investment in the long run, i've saved at least 40+ discs since i brought it.
I avoid scratched discs. I don't usually buy used games from retail stores, but when I do, I always check the discs first.
With the size of my collection, I'm positive I might have a couple of UMD's with light scratches. I buy most of my games used as it is, but I'll always check before I buy. Plus being a PSP collector, I get an advantage over you guys since my discs come protected by a hard plastic shell.
But then I have to worry about the condition of the UMD cases themselves...On second thought, I think we're even now.
the thing with umd discs is that if the case is cracked it's a gonna and you can't repair it and god knows how you would repair a scratched umd as it's embedded inside the umd case.
I avoid scratched discs. I don't usually buy used games from retail stores, but when I do, I always check the discs first.
unfortunately it's very hard not to avoid scratched discs especially if you are buying games from the older generation of games, on ebay it's hard to tell if the disc is scratched for example, i brought a copy of mario kart double dash from a ebay seller the disc wasn't scratched it was cracked right in the middle, i had a go at the seller and got a refund and brought the disc from somewhere else, it wasted me a lot of time though, one key things is to never buy of ebay sellers who have kids because you know the discs that they sell are going to be 100% guaranteed to be scratched!
I avoid scratched discs. I don't usually buy used games from retail stores, but when I do, I always check the discs first.
unfortunately it's very hard not to avoid scratched discs especially if you are buying games from the older generation of games, on ebay it's hard to tell if the disc is scratched for example, i brought a copy of mario kart double dash from a ebay seller the disc wasn't scratched it was cracked right in the middle, i had a go at the seller and got a refund and brought the disc from somewhere else, it wasted me a lot of time though, one key things is to never buy of ebay sellers who have kids because you know the discs that they sell are going to be 100% guaranteed to be scratched!
I have two kids under 5. They know not to touch my discs & don't.
as for buying scratched discs. I will if its not too bad but I have my limits.
I have a very few PS1 CDs which are quite severly scratched (bought second hand..) but as long as they're complete and work perfectly, I can live with that..
I'm not really a collector, just a passionate gamer so it's kind of secondary for me.
But for those I bought just like new with no scratches at all (fortunately the huge majority), obviously I want to keep them in that immaculate state.
I have two kids under 5. They know not to touch my discs & don't.
as for buying scratched discs. I will if its not too bad but I have my limits.
well the seller i brought from obviously didn't take care of the discs and even had the nerve to sell it on and try and rip me off, if you sold on ebay would you sell broken discs to customers? even then in future i always ask the seller for a high res picture of the disc condition before i hand over the cash now.
I have two kids under 5. They know not to touch my discs & don't.
as for buying scratched discs. I will if its not too bad but I have my limits.
well the seller i brought from obviously didn't take care of the discs and even had the nerve to sell it on and try and rip me off, if you sold on ebay would you sell broken discs to customers? even then in future i always ask the seller for a high res picture of the disc condition before i hand over the cash now.
I do sell discs on eBay with scratches & cracked centers.
But I list & describe my items accordingly.
most of my discs are in scratchfree/minor scratches condition, but some are pretty bad
i am not getting them polished, unless i'm selling them
i'll just wait for a better copy
Personally, I feel as if I am pretty picky about the condition of my games, but I will tolerate minor scratches on the discs of my games, as long as they are minor.
The way I collect is like this:
1) Figure out everything I want to get. In my case, usually it is full sets of a specific library, but it could by anything, e.g. a franchise of games, or any random group of games. The important thing is to have a goal.
2) Start buying. Usually I buy bigger lots, which works well because I usually want a large amount of games. It is especially fun in my opinion being able to go through large quantities of games and examining them all, etc.
3) Mark newly acquired games off the checklist and make condition upgrades on duplicates if applicable.
4) Repeat the process many times over and slowly but surely, the discs with scratches on them become fewer and fewer.
I try to not buy individual games unless it is something I've especially had my eye on. Eventually, you will have most of what you want. In this case I will buy individual games that have eluded me or as a condition upgrade on a damaged copy, but I try to refrain from buying individual, when possible.
Mainly have scratch free disk, although I was going through the collection and saw that I need to replace at least 20 games.
May as well replace them as the prices of PS2 games have dropped recently.
Cheaper to buy a replacement as opposed to paying £2 for a disc clean.
Some disc cleaners really suck lol
They make the disc worse by making it looked scuffed.
Some just seemed to 'wipe' the disc, the machine makes all this noise and does the same job I could do with a cloth and polish LOL
Trial and Error, I would never ask Blockbuster UK stores to polish my discs, they are all useless lol
I've had a disc repair system before, but it sucked. First of all, it only managed to make my discs worse(and I was following the instructions to the letter), and secondly, it made annoying, circular marks that I felt were worse than the scratches. ;/
Originally posted by: Guyra
I don't mind minor scratches, but I prefer having discs in as good condition as possible. I don't usually keep bad ones(or get them, in the first place).
I've had a disc repair system before, but it sucked. First of all, it only managed to make my discs worse(and I was following the instructions to the letter), and secondly, it made annoying, circular marks that I felt were worse than the scratches. ;/
hahahahahaha
That happened to me with Sword of Etheria,
I brought the disc in the shop and say 'Hey, there's scratches on it, you need to clean it bruv',
Guy was arging about 'Well if it doesn't work then bring it back',
I said, I don't have time for that, just go and do your job and plonk it in the machine.
So the dude put it in the machine,
the disc came out with the those messed up circular marks which are worse than scratches!!!!!!!
I really feel I got punished for no reason LOL
Originally posted by: Holdontightmedia
I bought 2 Dreamcast games the other day from Electric Town. Both were quite scratched and were freezing upon loading so I took them back to the shop where they simply polished them up using a soft cloth and a product called 'Brasso', both games work a treat now. Might be a simple tip worth considering :-)
Cool!
You sure they used Brasso and not Toothpaste LOL
Nah, seriously, I heard there's some You Tube videos where you can repair scratched disks with toothpaste,
Some woman at work, her son used the guide and he repaired some of his 360 games.
Originally posted by: Holdontightmedia
I was actually shocked when she got the Brasso out, I questioned whether the Brasso would remove data from the disc (apparently it slightly abrades the disc surface), but she said no, because the data is in the lower layer of the disc.
Ah I see, CooL!
there's been arguments on other message boards about where the data is stored on discs.
Does anybody know?
Most disc polishing liquids and machines work by eroding a minute amount of plastic from the surface.
Originally posted by: Zing
Where is the data layer? It's just barely under the label side of the disc. This is why scratches on the label side can be devastating, while scratches on the data side are usually not a problem. A scratch on the label side can scratch the later of metal holding the data, while a scratch on the data side hits nothing but the plastic.
Most disc polishing liquids and machines work by eroding a minute amount of plastic from the surface.
Thanks Zing!
Saved me having to read through this;
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Compact_Disc
LOL
How difficult is it to always handle the disc by the sides with your thumb in the middle hole?
The amount of times I have tried to buy a game or DVD from CEX and then refused to buy it because of scratches... So many f*ck*ng idiots just don't know how to look after their discs.
For CD's, and I assume PS1/PS2 games, the data is just under the label, so scratches do not usually affect them much (unless the label is scratched, in which case your game is ruined). For DVD's, the data is in the middle, and for Blu-rays it is on the surface.
We've had 3 different machines in the last few years. The previous machine at the end was terrible. When the polishing pads and liquid had just all been renewed the machine did a good job. But after repairing a 20 'ish discs the liquid got polluted and would remove the scratches while making other scratches on the disc. At the end discs came out and would no longer work. A year or 2 ago we invested in a professional disc repair machine and this one really does the job. 99% of the discs come out for 99% scratch free. The price will be a bit steep if you're just collecting.
Earlier in this topic they mention Skip Dr. Forget about this one. We regurally receive discs threated with Skip dr. The discs look awful and we'll give them another threatment with our machine.
If you want to buy an affordable machine to repair your most scratched discs you should take a look at the SIMO disc repair machine. Not suited to repair a lot of discs at once but an excellent machine for home use. It won't give a perfect finish but your disc will look a lot better afterwards.
On Ebay/Amazon you often find the cheap gadgets to repair discs. Forget about these. They don't work at all.