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RE: Informal poll: For those who mark the edges of their CDs, do you use water-based or non-WB markers?

Posted by Winston Smith (A) on February 16, 2010 at 14:51:51

In Reply to: Informal poll: For those who mark the edges of their CDs, do you use water-based or non-WB markers? posted by Quint on February 16, 2010 at 12:08:17:

Hi Quint!

I have some experience with both types of pen.

My ex was an artist and art instructor, so in the very, very early 90's she got me into Uchida opaque paint markers. They smoked the performance of the water-based pens (which were still very, very good, BTW), but contained dizzying (literally!) amounts of nasties, none the least of which was xylene. Ventilation was absolutely required! But I've had these greened (and edge-sanded) discs for nearly 20 years or so now, and none, zero, zilch has ever gone bad in any way, shape or form. Of course, I live in the mountains of the high desert of Southern California where humidity is basically non-existent. No problems there for paint-based pens.

HOWEVER, Uncle Stu Ono (of Audio Directions in Honolulu, Hawaii) and I used to talk tweak weekly in the early 90's too, and he really chided me for sanding the edges and then green painting my CDs for the very same reason the other inmates cautioned folks below: the disc would eventually rot out from BOTH tweaks! (Shades of Sam Tellig and the "Armor-All" debacle.) He said this was a real problem for Hawaiian audiophiles, and strongly urged me not to sand the edges, as that might REALLY allow moisture to infiltrate, regardless of pen used. (It should be noted however, that I always kinda felt that the Uchida paint was so thick that it would actually seal the disc, with no problem of infiltration by humidity. In fact, NONE of the heavily sanded and Uchida painted CDs I treated decades ago have failed yet, knock on wood.)

Frankly, Quint, Uncle Stu scared the audio crap right outta me with all that stuff about disc rot, so I put away my files and sandpaper, and my green Uchida pens were mothballed and eventually dried up. When I went replace them a few years later, I found then they were finally banned by California for health reasons (that xylene! Really nasty stuff.) So, I switched back to water-based pens (and stopped sanding the inner and outer edges of my discs for personal reasons; see below.).

My CDs still sound great with the water-based pen treatment, way better than stock, but not quite as good as that green opaque paint marker from Uchida with the sanding of the edges beforehand. Insofar as my current wife and I may move to a tropical environment eventually (she is from Singapore and likes it nice and warm and a little humid), sanding is simply out of the question from now on. But in the past, it definitely helped the sound to sand the edges slightly before applying the paint, regardless of type of pen used. Definitely not advised, however, if you live in anything remotely resembling a hot, humid environment.

IMHO, black opaque paint pens would seem to be the best thing available today, especially on DVDs, HD-DVDs and Blu-Rays. (That is, of course, if you can get the pens.) Nevertheless, instead of paint-based pens, though, (as I mentioned previously herein) I've been using some water-based ones with much success. But I have to admit the Uchida green paint pens really worked wonders on CDs. Just make sure the paint pens you use don't contain anything that will actually dissolve any part of the disc. I believe at least one of the posters in the thread below mentioned some of these harmful substances by name and in detail (but I might be wrong there.) My discs, however, never melted, corroded or had any problems with either pen, ever. Even with very heavy sanding on the inner and outer edges.

I suspect it is all tied to humidity and heat, as many of the posters commented below. I believe they (and others who concur) are correct. So, if you live in a humid, hot area, or leave your discs in your car frequently, do NOT sand or use possibly corrosive paints on your discs. Go with a water-based pen, and make sure to leave the disc intact (no sanding or shaving.) But if you live in a arid environ (like me), don't plan to move to Hawaii or Indonesia any time, and keep your discs cool and out of the sun, those opaque paint markers are really, really good. (That is, if you are in a state where you can still buy them!)

Hope this helped a little. (And BTW, I like your posts, Quint. Keep on posting)!

WS

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