Compact discs may not be the scratch magnets that LPs were. But when they do get a good nick, the results are catastrophic. Tunes turn into digital nonsense, or an entire disc won't play.

Wipe Out! From Esprit Development can help. The liquid polishes out scratches on a CDs polycarbonate finish. The product can fix laser discs and CD-ROMs as well.

Scratches trip up a CD player by misdirecting its laser and blocking retreival of digital information. Wipe Out!
smoothes the damaged plastic surface and lets the machine do its job.

Under testing, many scratches came off with very little rubbing, although a long-crippled collection of Leonard
Cohen music needed almost an hour's work before it showed improvement.

At $14.99, Wipe Out! pays for itself if it fixes only one CD. Repair a CD-ROM or laser disc, and you're probably way ahead of the game. For information, click on www.cdrepair.com or call (908) 284-0426.

Copyright © 1999 The Dallas Morning News