ICTknight

I do apologize if this is in the wrong place as this is my first post so mods feel free to move it. Anyways i recently purchased a DVD and when i got it it looked like there had been some thin plastic sheeet on the label side and that it had been peeled off. The disk plays fine but I dont want to take my chances and ruin a player. Sorry about no images seeing as I need 29 more posts. Anyways any idea on how to remove this stuf safely? This is also the only copy of this that I can find so returning it and asking for a new one is not an option

orangerunner

If there is any sticky residue, especially around the hub, they will tend to stick inside the player. When this happens you have to take the player apart and manually remove the disc, hopefully not scratching it in the process.

If the DVD has a silver lacquer surface, you can safely use rubbing alcohol to remove the residue. If the label side has a full-face offset print, too much rubbing alcohol can start to remove the label.

You can also try watering-down the rubbing alcohol 50/50.

ICTknight

Thanks. I will try the rubbing alcohol on the label side. Im not to concerned about the label wearing a little bit because I am usually well organized and will know what it is.

BobO'Link

De-Solv-It or Goo-Gone are both effective at removing glue/sticky residue from the label side of DVDs without doing damage to the silk-screen. You do *not* want to use either on inserts or other printed items. I prefer De-Solv-It but it's sometimes difficult to locate. With either, put a bit on a tissue or soft cloth and apply with small circular motions until the residue is gone. You *may* see small amounts of ink residue depending on what was used in printing but I've never had either product damage the lable, certainly not removing any of it. After you get the sticky off use another clean tissue or soft cloth with 70% rubbing alcohol (straight out of the bottle, no dilution needed) to remove the slight oily residue left from these two products.

I've used this method since DVDs first came out to remove sticky junk left by rental stickers/rings placed on disc surfaces and have never had it ruin a disc or label. I use plain rubbing alcolhol with a clean cloth (usually microfibre) to clean the *play* side of CDs, DVDs, and BRs with no ill effect.

If cleaning a CD be most careful of the label side as there's only a very thin silkscreened label and thin layer of epoxy sealing the disc pits/reflective coating. Damage to the label side is almost always fatal with a CD (and why you should *never* lay a CD down on the label side). DVDs and BRs benefit from having the pits/reflective coating sandwiched between two layers of plastic which makes the label sides of those quite damage proof when it comes to affecting playback.