Ever since I discovered DiscoVision, I've been curious about the various dead sides they possess and how to view them. I've found forum threads, here and elsewhere, and a handful of old web pages that talk about removing the lacquer layer on these dead sides, but generally the only directions on doing the job are along the lines of "use rubbing alcohol and a soft cloth." I decided to try it out armed only with that info and document the process, for those of you who are like me and who are not only curious about how it's done, but want to see it done. I'm a sucker for photos, and since I've never seen any of this being done... well, see a need? Fill it!

Supplies were simple: soft, 100% cotton rags (pieces cut from an old t-shirt), and 91% rubbing alcohol. DiscoVision movie used: Jaws 2.

Here's what the fifth side of Jaws 2 looks like -- just a normal disc.



And here's what the other side looks like. Kind of like frosted glass. (Until I had a few DiscoVision titles of my own, I never knew what these sides looked like compared to normal ones.)



After dampening one of the rags with alcohol and gently rubbing the lacquered surface, careful to avoid the disc label and the outside edge (playing it safe and assuming the disc adhesive is alcohol-soluble), it starts to look like this.



The frosted effect is vanishing, leaving a mirror finish in its place. Important note: Don't leave any alcohol on the disc too long. Alcohol can cause the disc's plastic to cloud up. Unlike the lacquer, such clouding can't be removed. Thanks, blam1! (I haven't had such an issue myself, but I never left any alcohol on the disc for more than maybe 30 seconds at a time.)

I keep progressing around the disc until most of the lacquer is dissolved and wiped off. The disc now looks like this: shiny, but with white streaks all over.



The white streaks are merely leftover lacquer -- a clean rag and a bit more alcohol will eventually get them all wiped off. I found that gently rubbing one of these rags, *barely* dampened with alcohol, on any light streaks will remove them completely and leave no residue. Thicker deposits require more alcohol to dissolve, naturally.

The finished result: minus a ring of lacquer remaining around the very center and very edge, where the laser won't read anyway, it looks just like a normal DiscoVision disc.



Now... REVEAL YOUR SECRETS!



Oh neat, Abba!



GIMME GIMME GIMME

Not satisfied with just one, I decided to do it again, this time as a time-lapse/video with my copy of "Frenzy." (I have another video posted regarding this disc, but I'll save that for another thread.) Video here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VXK3cY2181U

Hope this was at least mildly informative!

Great post and excellent pictures, thanks for sharing!

I've thought of trying this myself but have always been put off by the lack of instructions. I only have one DiscoVision disc; Jaws (1975) [12-001], curious to know what's on the dead side but obviously worried about damaging the disc.

Neat! Part of me wants to collect Discovision titles just for this purpose so I can find what was hidden under that dead side!!

ABBA!!! "Take a Chance on Me"

I have never ownded a Discovision title. Kind of cool to see it still working after 35 years.

So if you do not remove the layer the side will not play at all !

I love the post and the pictures. Thank you !

@ forty-six-and-2

you've got waaaaaaay too much free time to kill when you start buffing disc surfaces.

I've used 70% and 99% alcohol. Both work. I've uncovered more GM discs than I care to ever count. Alcohol will fade the ink on the label, and if it gets in the edge of the disc, it will react with the aluminum coating and cause it to degrade. Also be careful to not leave the alcohol on the disc surface too long. It can cause the plastic to cloud, which will never come off.

forty-six-and-2; you've got a horrible Frenzy Side 5. Those big holes in the aluminum are not rot - they are just crappy manufacturing. The locking up you see on both that side and "Elton John" side 2 (Deadside) is because there are big holes in the reflective surface and the laser can't keep the track in focus. That is the worst case of aluminum contamination I've ever seen. I think I have a spare Frenzy/5 kicking around if you want to upgrade your side.

My web site has lists of every dead side that I've located and that I have record of. I currently have them listed only by the title they were found on. Check it out if you are interested.

Thanks for the comments, guys!

hippiedalek: Give it a shot! As long as you keep the alcohol off the label and away from the edges, and don't leave it on too long, it's basically idiotproof. I know, because I tried it.

confederate: My player won't even try to read the disc with the lacquer layer on. It throws an F1 error and either ejects the disc right away or the whole player gets confused and freezes up.


Ah, forgot to address that, thanks! I never saw that happen myself, but I never kept any alcohol on for more than maybe 30 seconds at a time. I'll add this to the original post!

My mistake! I knew it was some kind of decay but just referred to it as "rot" out of habit. Is it really that bad? I actually have a copy of "Slaughterhouse-Five" that's even worse -- the first disc is nearly completely transparent. If I could get my hands on a better Frenzy disc, though, that'd be fantastic! The one I have plays just long enough to demonstrate my CLD-59's "PSC ON" feature, but I'd love to watch the whole thing.

I've actually been reading your site off and on for a while! It's part of what got me so interested in DiscoVision titles, in fact!

Agreed, Blam's site is an amazing resource.

I have to concur !

I must admit that I had in fact heard of Discovision before and its numerous issues, of course, however I misunderstood the term "dead side".
I had previously thought that it was side 1,2 or whatever of let's say Jaws that went kaput however it was not until yesterday that I realized
that the dead side contained some other material. I spent a long time last night at work browsing through bram1's website. It is indeed an
amazing resource. Thank you ! I do not own a single Discovision title. I wish I would. I am curious how my CLD-925 would handle them.

I have one Discovision Ma and Pa Kettle that had a dead side. I used Novus polish to remove it, and mine was Fellini's Casanova.

That's a great "how to"; thanks!

Wow that's like finding a Laserdisc extra Easter egg bonus.