Removing scratches from the iPod Nano

And rescuing scratched CD's, or Mac lucite accessories...

If you have obtained one of these marvelous devices, you quickly notice one drawback to the beautiful package - the plastic scratches easily. After a few weeks, it's looking a bit scruffy.

Want to get it back to it's original pristine appearance? The mirror finish it had the day you bought it? It can be done. Yes, Brasso or other polishing compounds can get the scratches out, but the result will be a bit dull. What I will show you here is how to get back that gleaming, mirror smooth finish that your IPod had when you first bought it. You can use the same technique to return the clear plastic Mac parts such as the mouse or case to their original gleaming luster.

From my hobby of restoring antique model steam engines, I have had extensive experience in polishing various delicate materials. So when I bought my new nano, and it's surface quickly became scratched, I put that polishing experience to some good use.

Limitations: this procedure will remove minor scratches, and put that mirror smooth finish back on the ipod's face. It will not remove major scratches (nothing will), and you don't want to do this too often, as you are abrading the surface.

First off - you will need the proper equipment. You need a 6 inch grinder, a polishing wheel to go on the grinder, and jeweler's rouge. Nothing else will do. Do not use a Dremel with it's polishing wheel, it will leave buffing marks on the iPod. If you don't have a grinder, see if you know someone who does - the polishing wheels don't cost very much. For that matter, grinders don't cost very much these days - $30-50 at Sears. And in the practice section at the bottom of this page, I'm going to show you how to save irretrievably scratched CD's, so this setup can quickly pay for itself in saved music and grateful friends. (or extra beers, if you want to charge a 6 pack to rescue a CD)

Here's my polishing setup:

Where can you find jeweler's rouge? Sears carries it in the tool section, or you can find small containers of it in the Dremel accessory section.

Safety first - safety goggles when you do this - things can fly out of the polishing wheel, as it is moving at a fairly fast speed. You can lose an eye if you aren't careful.

Clean the polishing wheel. Be sure the polishing wheel is clean, no residue from previous polishing. To do this, turn on the grinder and hold a sharp edged piece of plastic up to the spinning edge of the wheel, at a 90 degree angle. Any sharp edged piece of plastic will do - hold the sharp edge into the spinning buffing wheel, and it will dig out any old residue. And hold it firmly, the wheel will try to jerk it out of your hand.

Once the polishing wheel is clean, give it a coating of rouge - hold the stick up to the spinning wheel for around 1 second, or until the wheel's edge is red. You don't want too much, it will smear all over the plastic.

Now, you're ready to start, although I highly recommend you review the Practice section at the bottom of this page, before you try polishing something expensive. First step - be sure the face of the ipod is clean. Use window cleaner, and be sure nothing is stuck to the face of the ipod.

First danger: Observe the photo below carefully... note that the top of the ipod is being kept away from the edge of the buffing wheel. (this assumes the wheel rotates from top to bottom). Here is one of the dangers - if the top edge of the ipod comes into contact with the spinning wheel that is turning at around 1000rpm, the edge will dig into the spinning wheel, the ipod will be jerked out of your hand in about a half a second, definitly will be gouged and gashed, and quite possibly will be broken beyond repair. Keep the top edge away from the spinning wheel!

Now, keeping in mind the above mentioned caveat, make a quick left to right pass across the wheel with the ipod held as shown - giving light pressure against the spinning wheel. Do not hold the ipod in one location, and do not let it contact the buffing wheel for more than one second. Hold the ipod away from the wheel for about five seconds to let the plastic surface cool down, then make another quick pass. Look at the ipod's surface each time to see if the scratches are still there. It will probably take five to ten passes to get the scratches out.

Second danger: the act of polishing produces heat. If enough heat builds up, the plastic will met, and you will have a gooey gob of melted plastic right in the middle of your window, and all the polishing in the world won't remove that. Not good. Make short, quick passes, and do not linger. Personal experience: I made exactly this mistake on the clear lucite of a Mac Cube - left an ugly, red and black mark that won't come off. Be careful, and practice before you take on the ipod. (see practice section below)

Okay, using the procedure shown above, you can get about half of the ipod window polished off. How do you get the other half, without running the risk of having the ipod jerked out of your hand?

Easy - turn it around. That will let you get the other half in relative safety.

Now, what about the area around the control ring?

Leave it alone - you will get waxy rouge on the wheel, and it's hard to get off.

Note the red edge - that's the rouge. Eventually, you can work it off, but it's a pain to do. Better still not to polish near the control wheel.

And, we're done. Scratches gone, window looks clean again.

What to do if you don't have the equipment, or the idea just makes you nervous:

Find a jeweler or a watchmaker. A friend who makes jewelry taught me how to polish plastic, by buffing out the face on a wristwatch. If you know someone who makes jewelry, they can probably show you how to do this, and probably have a very good polishing wheel to do it with.

Practice First!

If you're as worried about your ipod as I was about mine, practice on a piece of clear, scratched plastic first. And what could be a better piece of scratched clear plastic to practice on, than a CD that has been scratched beyond playing.

Yes, that's right. This same procedure can be used to rescue scratched CD's. I have saved quite a few scratched CD's using my polishing wheel. You can also rescue DVD's that have been scratched, although the success rate isn't as high, because tolerances are much closer on DVD's. You can also remove scratches from plastic spectacle lenses. In all cases, the same warnings above apply - keep contact with the polishing wheel very brief, or you will melt the plastic. Keep the top edge of whatever you are polishing away from the polishing wheel, or it may be jerked out of your hand and damaged.

Same procedure holds true - clean the CD or DVD with window cleaner first. Clean the polishing wheel of any existing residue. Make short, quick passes with a bit of pressure (but not a lot), and keep the top edge of the CD away from the wheel. Also, keep the center hole of the CD from touching the spinning wheel - that's the same as letting the top of the CD touch the wheel. (See the photo below) Work only on the bottom half of the CD, and look at it each time to see if the scratches are gone. You might want to pick a CD you don't like and hold it on the wheel for progressively longer periods of time until it does get melted, so you know what can happen. I disposed of a Barry Manilow CD like that. (how a Barry Manilow CD came into my possession in the first place is another matter entirely)

Here's what happens when you don't keep the top edge or the center hole of the CD away from the spinning wheel:

Pow! It happens very quickly, and sharp edged pieces of plastic go flying everywhere. Safety goggles, and pay attention.

This plastic polishing procedure can also be used to buff out the clear plastic on your Mac mouse, keyboard, or speakers, or the case on a Mac Cube, if you don't hold the plastic to the wheel for too long.

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