[HPiper]

I have a couple of cd's that I really like but they have gotten scratched to the point, some of the tracks will skip, some are unplayable it is so bad. Tried washing them but that didn't really help, was wondering if anyone has any experience with some method of repairing cd's like this to the point they can be playable again. Even if I can just get 1 good pass to rip it to my pc, that would be good enough. Or do I just need to suck it up and buy a new cd.

 

[jaddie]

Some CD polishers can remove or buff out scratches if they aren't too deep.  But if there are enough of them, or they're deep enough, you've got digital trash on your hands.  
 
Find better used ones for a couple bucks on Amazon.  I've found great stuff there for under $5 shipped.

 

[dvw]

Some people reported that toothpaste will work. You might want to try the automotive polishing compound, It has more sanding action.

 

[joshwalnut]

In my experience toothpaste has never worked. What HAS worked in the past though is petroleum jelly... it shines it real nice. You has to buff it with some smooth paper towel or a smooth dish cloth. Like one guy has said though, this is only if it has minor scratches. It might be too far gone to bring back to life
 
You can also try out those cd scratch repair kits if you're desperate, you can usually find them at cd/movie stores. If not there walmart might have your back.

 

[Strangelove424]

I've used toothpaste as a cleaner before, but i don't think it did anything more than clean the CD really well. I've also tried buffing with Armor All, which I don't think did anything more than give it a nice sheen. What has helped me though... what has rescued doggedly abused CDs... raised them back to life like Lazarus... taken them from utterly unplayable to registering zero skips in software and playing back perfectly like sweet sweet honey... is enabling error correction. The one in iTunes works well enough for me, but there are other error-correction alternatives like Exact Audio Copy, AccurateRip, and CDParanoia. In my experiences, activating error correction is the only thing that can rescue a really badly scratched CD.