[beefok]

This is a testament to how well Reed-Solomon encoding/decoding [1] can detect and correct errors! I remember even heavily scratched cd's would work if you cleaned them with toothpaste of all things (?) [2]

This is unlike blowing an NES cartridge, which actually had a detrimental effect due to blowing spit on the pin contacts and oxidizing them.. [3] I do remember Babbages/KB Toys/etc did actually sell NES/SNES/Gameboy cartridge cleaning kits though [4].

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cross-interleaved_Reed%E2%80%9...

[2] https://www.google.com/search?q=clean+cd+rom+toothpaste

[3] https://www.denofgeek.com/games/nes-cartridge-blowing-air-ur...

[4] https://www.thevintagegamers.com/2012/11/vintage-gaming-clea...

[Lammy]

> I remember even heavily scratched cd's would work if you cleaned them with toothpaste of all things (?)

I've had even better results with this three-step stuff that's actually meant for plastics, with most scratches not needing more than step 2: https://novuspolish.com/

That works great for bottom-side scratches, but sadly it's not usually possible to repair any damage done to the label-side of a Compact Disc due to proximity between the label and the reflective data layer underneath. It's really common for well-intentioned people to remove discs from a drive and (in absence of the case) set them upside-down to "protect" them not realizing it's the worst possible thing they could do. All-over-print labels add an extra margin of protection over discs that leave the label's negative space as bare disc silver: https://cdn.hswstatic.com/gif/cd-crosssection.gif

[Sharlin]

You can indeed polish all sorts of things (aluminum, silverware, car headlights…) with toothpaste. It's an abrasive.

[germinalphrase]

For what it’s worth - Sensodyne uses a finer grit abrasive than many other brands. Might be a better choice if trying to repair cd scratches.