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Is There a fix for CD Pin-holes (CD Rot)

I have several early CD's (1984 to 86) with pinholes and some pitting on the label side. Mostly German pressings, many made by PDO. They all have played fine until I bought some early discs with the silver mould area. Pinholes in the center ring cause disks to spin loudly in the transport and sometimes cause read errors.

I've read about the deterioration of CD's; haven't seen any with discolouration (CD rot). Is there anyway to preserve the many CD's in my collection so that discs will continue to play?
And please don't suggest that I give up and burn the discs to a server. I like the physical medium and many of my discs are collectables.

 

lowrider57
lowrider57's avatar
lowrider57 OP
3,018 posts
 
I'm going to try the CD shields offered by LAST ...

https://thelastfactory.com/product/special-cd-dvd-cleaner-treatment-free-digi-last-cd-shields/
 
elizabeth
6,726 posts
 
I own CDs I bought in the mid 1980's. Use them. Never a problem with the label side going bad. I would NEVER apply any product to add on top of the label side. First off, you might never be able to remove it. And IMO how do you KNOW the glue on the added thing is not going to damage the surface all by itself after a few years???PLUS the fact some added layers cause problems in some CD players, and actually ruin the CD player...The only CDs with problems of the data layer covering peeling or corroding.. had them from day one. And those are rare
Plus I own plenty of CDs with the center area also covered with the reflective material.. (Seems a lot of early Classical CDs had that feature) Never a problem with any playback.
lowrider57's avatar
lowrider57 OP
3,018 posts
 
@elizabeth , all good comments.
The info on the website states that the shields are a film that adheres to the CD label, no adhesives. It’s as thin as plastic wrap for food.
I tried Herbies CD mat and it got stuck inside my CDP, so I’m very cautious about what slides into the tray/transport. In any event, I’d like to try the LAST CD cleaner instead of my homemade concoction.

Also to your point, I’m leery of possibly ruining the label on a valuable early release CD.
Good to hear that you’ve never had any peeling of the label, that is reassuring.

And I have many CDs with the silver mould center, the first generation had them. BYW, on the first release collectors market they fetch a higher price. The only ones that won’t track have pitting (like corrosion) on the center area that is raised on the surface. Maybe it affects laser reflections? Or maybe they interfere with the clamping of the disc in the transport. I realise now the tracking errors have nothing to do with the pinholes.

And as stated in the Hoffman thread, only certain pressing plants like PDO had the pinhole problem.
I have quite a few early PDO CDs, and I’ve also noticed all my discs with pinholes come from Germany.

I respect your views and experience in this hobby, so thanks.

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