CD Reflective Labels Peeling

[Keiko]

I'm at a loss here guys because I tend to take very good care of all my discs.
I keep them stored in their original jewel cases & inside a cabinet away from dust and sunlight. I never leave them inside the car or truck. These are original redbook CD's and not CD-R's. They don't get much play time because I have most ripped to my iPod.

I pulled out a couple discs tonight to spin on the player and noticed areas on the discs where the reflective labels are flaking. :(

Only thing I can figure is the damp, salt air climate here may be the culprit.
I have several hundred CD's that I've bought through the years, and I'll be going through them all now to check their condition.

Looks like I'll be replacing some of them. Does anyone have any other tips or know of a product that can help prevent this?

Thanks,

Mike

[F1nut]

I'm not sure what the cause would be Mike other than the damp, salt air climate you mention as I've never had that problem. Storing all your CD's in Jap bags may help.

[Keiko]

Was hoping you'd chime in Jesse. Thanks! I spun the 2 discs in question and they played fine. :confused:

I looked through a few dozen others and they appear OK, with the exception of one where most of the label completely separated from the plastic disc. I'm not even going to take a chance with this because I'm sure it's completely ruined.

Do you know of any type of product that can be applied directly to seal the discs? Everything I've googled has to do with copy protection or storage/handling precautions that I'm already aware of. For now I'm going to put some silica packs inside the storage cab with the discs.

[F1nut]

Mike, I'm not aware of any product that could be used to seal the label side, but that doesn't mean something isn't out there.....though I kinda doubt it.

I remember years ago reading an article concerning accelerated age testing on CD's. It may have been conducted by Mofi, but I'm not 100% on that. Anyway, they were soaking the CD's in a salt water tank and I believe exposing them to high heat. If I recall correctly they estimated the life span to be at least 100 years. However, I don't recall any mention as to the test CD's having labels or any problems associated with labels.


Hey, you can always ask the new troll, Cpyder for his opinion. Although, he'll probably tell you that it's all in your head.

[Keiko]

Yes sir, I'm just finding kits that deal with scratch repair. Nothing so far as a preservative.

Best I can do at this point is go through them, wipe em' down and use some silica gel packs. I stumbled across something earlier about 'age testing' while searching and briefly skimmed through it. I think your 100 year estimate is correct. It also said something about CD-R's having a life expectancy at around 25 years IIRC. I've bought cheap recording media in the past that just doesn't hold up well at all. So this may have something to do with materials also. ???


Hey, you can always ask the new troll, Cpyder for his opinion. Although, he'll probably tell you that it's all in your head.

Waaaaaaaa! :D I put him on ignore after reading just a couple of his posts. Seems a new troll is born here every week bro. I don't waste energy on them anymore. None of the credible polk veterans here has never led me wrong. I'll trust my ears and y'all. ;)

Thanks Jess! :)

[F1nut]

I think the silica gel packs are a good idea, sure as hell can't hurt.

They say the main problem with cheap CDR's is the dye as it degrades from light exposure. The better ones use a different dye that lasts much longer.

[Keiko]

I like the Verbatim CD-R's and use them for the most part. They've been very reliable.
I want to try some of the MOFI gold CD-R's. I think these are made by Taiyo Yuden.
A bit more pricier, but I have some half speed vinyl masters I'd like to transfer to a high quality disc for reference.

[Knucklehead]

Ive had the same problem from Maxell CD-R discs in the past, I switched to the Sony discs, haven't had that issue yet. I live about 10 minutes from the coast so you may be on to something there.

[Airplay355]

+1 t the Verbatim discs. Everything else I've used has had the reflective coating peel off very quickly.

[AudioGenics]

found this information - opinion...
pasted here as just a possibility,

Your problems are most likely related to substandard (in terms of temperature resistance) bonding of the reflective layer of these CD-R's ... the "label side" is the reflective layer and is being steam-applied to the polycarbonate disc during manufacturing.

If the polycarbonate disc isn't kept clean (and I mean REALLY clean) during production prior to reflector application, bonding issues with the reflective layer will most likely occur ... the more media operating temperatures deviate from 'normal' room temperature, the faster this will happen.

[zarrdoss]

I read an article in a magazine, cant remember which one, where exactly what you are saying is happening all over. nothing can really be done besides replacing them as it is a manufacturing defect. All the stuff mentioned above could help. I got some really cheap cdr's and the "foil" would come off real easy so I just used some clear auto-spray paint and it seems to be holding 8 years later.

[Keiko]

I read an article in a magazine, cant remember which one, where exactly what you are saying is happening all over. nothing can really be done besides replacing them as it is a manufacturing defect. All the stuff mentioned above could help. I got some really cheap cdr's and the "foil" would come off real easy so I just used some clear auto-spray paint and it seems to be holding 8 years later.

I thought about that zarr with the clear coat spray. But I'm kinda afraid to try this. The problem is not with CD-R's I'm having. These are original, pre-recorded, factory redbook CD's.

[Danny Tse]

Only thing I can figure is the damp, salt air climate here may be the culprit.
I have several hundred CD's that I've bought through the years, and I'll be going through them all now to check their condition.

Keiko,

While the hot, damp condition may be a factor, my thinking is that there's a manufacturing defect happening here. There's nothing you can really do other than get another CD of the same title manufactured in a different batch or from another country.

In hot and damp weather, watch out for mold forming on the CD surface and in the booklet as well.

[Keiko]

Keiko,

While the hot, damp condition may be a factor, my thinking is that there's a manufacturing defect happening here. There's nothing you can really do other than get another CD of the same title manufactured in a different batch or from another country.

In hot and damp weather, watch out for mold forming on the CD surface and in the booklet as well.

Will do Danny. Thanks! I'm on top of it. I was thinking that maybe because they are inside an enclosed cabinet the air around them couldn't breathe. I'm going to leave it slightly open from here on and use silica packs.

While the discs seem to play alright, I did replace one of them already. Rush-Moving Pictures. I found a used, Mobile Fidelity gold CD copy described as 'Like New' on the zon for 28.00 bucks. Ships 1st Class, so I should have it by the middle of next week. Take a look at what some of the Mofi OOP titles sell for new and used. Sweeeeet! :cool: