http://www.instructables.com/id/how-to-polish-out-scratches-on-laser-discs/#step1
DO NOT USE MOTHERS MAG POLISH WHEEL POLISH FOR LASERDISCS PLEASE WHATEVER YOU DO, DO NOT USE THIS STUFF.
if and when you need to remove scratches PLEASE USE the 3 part NOVUS plastic polish.
always use rags NOT any buffing wheels or machines, not worth the risk.

it is great, everybody has been using this on LDs FOREVER, or at least since i can remember when i was buying LDs new back in 1989

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the rein-o official signature:

I assume you tried it and it did not go according to plan?
If so let us know what fate the laserdisc met!!

no, i actually never used it, i've only ever used the NOVUS 3 part.
i don't want to risk it, and don't really want to buy discs that this has been used on.

that mag stuff is for metal on cars, its not like the novus is that expensive anyway.
just get the right tool for the job

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the rein-o official signature:

Glad you didn't risk it!

Yes Novus is great stuff for laserdiscs - I've used it extensively myself.
If you are very patient and take your time you can transform a really badly scratched LD into an a really nice copy.
Does take several hours to do it properly though to get rid of all those visible scratches.

I use the fairy liquid if I get any grimy looking ones again. General clean soft clean cloth its never harmed the discs over the years, not even ones with mild rot.

I have tried Novus and while it does remove scratches it will leave swirl marks like Meguiar's Plast-RX

I used a black foam polishing pad (softest) and a drill, I think only red foam is softer but that is for application. Still looking for a solution to get rid of the fine swirls without coating.

Maybe a microfibre pad might work better or Meguiar's SwirlX 2.0

well you're doing it wrong. if on an LD use part 3 then part 2 and may have to do part 2 again and then part 1 to clean up some left over polish.
i would never use a buffing wheel, that may be why you are still getting the swirls.
i only use a soft cloth and my hand.
i'll only get swirls when i try it on a CD so i try not to get scratched CDs anymore.

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the rein-o official signature:

All good points by rein-o.

Only thing I would add is remember to use different clothes for different grades of Novus polishes.
Never re-use the same contaminated cloth so you don't scratch what you've just polished!

Loud and clear, I've had mothers release crap like tar and road debris off wheels, I imagine you could burn right through the plastic on a disc without trouble.

I've never removed scratches from an LD, but imagine hand polishing would be the only way to go, not worth risking the integrity of the disc. Imagine buying an LD to find it lopsided from multiple rounds of extreme grounding in certain areas. Spinning up a lopsided/unbalanced half pound disc to high-RPM's doesn't sound cool.

yes, thank you laserdisc fan, that is true.
i've had issues when i had a really bad scratch that would still play and would buff with 3 then to 2 but it was still there.
so i went back to 3 and then there were small swirls, so that meant i had to do 2 again and even once more with 2
to get it really nice and swirl free.

just lots of hand work


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the rein-o official signature:

For a badly scratched LD where you want to remove all the deep scratches and leave a clean polished finish expect to spend several hours doing this by hand.
It is not a 5 minute job to do it properly.

I guess that is why some people go for the fast but high risk process of using polishing wheels or discs at their peril!

I generally don't try to remove scratches unless they're affecting the picture or audio.

Luckily, I haven't come across any scratches that bad :knocks wood:

I've tried Meguiar's Swirl Remover and that doesn't remove fine swirls either.

I've also done polishing by hand in the past and it still leaves swirls even with the softest cloth and using novus.

Try looking at your polished LD under a fluorescent light at night time and you will see it, They don't show up under natural sunlight.

Novus doesn't get rid of fine swirls. Bottom line is look after your discs because any scratches are impossible to completely remove. I never polish discs unless they absolutely need polished and then only with the finest grade polish. The main reason for using these polishes is if you receive a disc from someone else who did not treat it well and you want to tidy it up as best you can. They can be used to produce very acceptable results but don't expect it to look as new - it wont ever again if it has been scratched.

My laserdisc's polish https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0hWOkJgqfmc

Yikes, that's a lot of buffing machine there.

I guess I'll have to post a video on how to polish a disc by hand so people know how its done as well.

On another note, I just remembered the guy on FB who fixed his scratched LDs with some sand paper

Where are you people getting all these messed up discs?

In 25 years of buying these I've used nothing but...oh my god, Windex! because I've never had a fingerprint issue that couldn't be fixed that way. I'm pretty sure I've never had a single playback issue resulting from surface filth ever.

I've never had any playback issues either. Light surface scratching and fingerprints doesn't bother me, but some seem to have the need for it to be spotless. Only had one lock up during playback. When I inspected the disc, it had a 1mm wide gouge as if something sharp touched the surface while it were spinning. If I fast forwarded I could jump past that point. I mostly just use some windex type cleaner as well if the surface is a bit filthy with fingerprings. For poly sleeve residue, I wipe lightly with a microfiber cloth (but not really needed).

In all honesty the only discs I've ever had that were totally messed up were ex rental discs or DiscoVision discs.
Just due to storage really, all other discs are fine and never needed anything.

This also brings back a memory of when i sold a Macross the movie disc in the white sleeve, the buyer said it had pizza dirt on the disc
While the cover did have brown spots typical from some poorly stored Japanese discs it NEVER had any pizza dirt as the buyer told me
















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I made polished only with problem laserdiscs. Most of my lasersdisc I bought were used. After polish laserdisc looks like new from store.