JFJ Easy Pro Video Game, CD, DVD, Blu-Ray Repair Machine 110V - USA, CAN & MEX Only

At the time of this review, I have been using my JFJ Easy Pro for about 6 months, so I'm going to write a review from the point of view of a novice users who bought this product with no prior experience of using a disc repair system. However, a used record store which I frequent owns a more expensive JFJ machine and allowed me to pick their brains for some valuable operating tips. I should also mention that I have at this time successfully repaired several hundred discs. I have not used ANY of the sandpaper pads, the #1 Blue polishing solution, or anything else supplied with this machine other than the #2 White solution and the foam buffing pads. That's because this combo will repair 99% of discs that are worth repairing. I frequent garage sales, thrift stores, and flea markets, looking primarily for music CDs to expand my collection. I dont't usually waste my time or money on discs that are so bad they would need to be sanded, though I can imagine if you were in IT for example and had a really destroyed data disc you needed to recover, it might warrant use of some other repair strategy, for me the White Solution + foam pads are all I ever need. Choosing discs to repair: The data layer on an optical disc is near the "top" of the disc - that is, the label side, just beneath the label. That's how this machine works - there's a thick layer of polycarb on the non-label side which can be polished to remove scratches on it's surface without affecting the data on the disc. So most discs which don't have damage to the data layer can be fixed. Simply hold the disc up to a strong light. If you can see daylight through any of the shiny areas of the disc then the data is damaged and you will not be able to fix the disc 100% no matter how much polishing or sanding you do. As an aside, optical discs are read from the hub first and out towards the edge, so the first track on your CD, for example, will be located nearest to the center of the disc and so forth. This gives you some idea where to look for that scratch which is causing your disc to skip or your DVD to lock up. This machine is simple to operate. There's no real need to "practice" as some reviewers maintain - unless you plan to use the more radical sanding options. Here's tip #1 from my record store friends: Get a spritzer bottle of water and moisten the foam pad before each use. Don't soak it, just get it damp and then apply the white solution. I apply the solution to the pad in a ring and then spread it out to the edges with my fingers. There is a 1-1/4" patch in center of the pad which doesn't need solution on it - this corresponds to the hub of the disc which doesn't get polished. Next, attach your disc to the spindle on the lid. The clear, non-label side will face down when the lid is closed. Here is another very important piece of information that my friends warned me about. BE VERY CAREFUL SCREWING DOWN THE DISC! Make sure that the plastic screw, which is threaded somewhat imprecisely, doesn't get cross-threaded, so that the disc can wobble ever so slightly when it is being polished. This is the source of the cracked disc hubs that other reviewers have mentioned. So use both hands to press the disc down absolutely flat against the top surface, make sure it hasn't gotten hooked on the screw threads, and then carefully and gently screw on the nut that holds the disc in place. If it doesn't go on easily, back off and try again until it does. Once you've got it on right, tighten it down good and finger tight. Now you're ready to polish the disc. Watch a movie or something. Put on some headphones because this machine is pretty noisy. Keep a rag handy to wipe the compound off of your fingers if you're going to be doing a number of discs. Remove all the discs from their cases at the beginning, so you don't have to handle the cases with polish-covered fingers. Now, using the #2 polish and a foam pad as I do, there's no risk of over-polishing a disc. If you just want to remove finger-prints etc, a single two-minute run will be enough. Otherwise, I have found that giving all my scratched discs three two-minute runs for a total of six minutes of polishing works best. I don't add more compound between runs. Most discs that are not repaired after this time are not salvageable, but if your really really want that disc, you can try another six minute set on it. Note that this machine will get hot, especially if you are doing six minutes for each disc, so keep an eye on it and give it time to cool off every now and then. If the nut has gotten too hot and you can't loosen it to remove the CD, I have found that a spritz of cool water will usually loosen it. After polishing, it is safe to stack the repaired CDs on top of one another, and even to put them aside for later washing. The compound will not "harden" on the discs. To remove the compound, I take a batch at a time into the bathroom spread them out on the counter label side down, then I put a drop of dishwashing liquid (non greasy, like Dawn) on each disc. I run some very warm water and using my fingers I wash and rinse the discs and then stick them inside the folds of a cotton bath towel to dry. Here's another tip from me: Make sure you get all the compound off the disc, especially in the central hub are, which often has a groove around it in which the compound can remain. If you don't get all the compound off, it will smear around your disc when you give it the final touch up. For me, the touch up is nothing fancy. Like I said, I don't use any of the other equipment or sprays you are provided with this kit. I just dry the discs off and look for scratches. There are some advanced scratch removal techniques you can employ at this time which involve spit, your fingertips, and a white cotton T-shirt, but these are not part of my official recommendations. :) Here are a couple more non-official non-recommendations which are sure to void your warranty, so try at your own risk: Meguiar's Ultimate Compound (Car polish) is almost, but not quite as good a JFJ Compound #2, and quite a bit cheaper. It works! After you've polished a number of discs, you will see a lot of gunk inside the machine which is made up of used compound, tiny worn fragments of foam pad, and presumably, tiny bits of poly carbon. This can be scooped off and re-used as buffing compound as long as you're using a spritzer bottle to keep everything moist. Just smear it all back on the pad. (Update: I wouldn't do this if you have used the sandpaper on any discs!) BTW I have repaired several hundred discs at least, and have only used the original two foam pads that came with the system. Neither of them has completely worn out, so I think you can expect to get a couple hundred uses at least (remember I do SIX MINUTES! per disk) out of these pads - IF YOU KEEP THEM MOIST. In summation, this is a great product, works exactly as described, and has been a boon to my CD collection, enabling me to scoop up and refurbish many rare used discs that others simply pass by. Like many such tools (like ink-jet printers for example) they really nail you on the supplies, however. I hope my tips will prove useful and help others to mitigate this at least a little.

I've tried several of these CD Repair Machines through the years -- all the cheaper ones, of course. Hand crank models. Small electric models. All with lingering issues and, mostly, tedious to use and not with completely satisfactory results. This is the best unit I've ever used and it's because of the powerful motor and self-contained design. I will not go into all the esoteric accolades and complaints that everyone else has already posted. I will simply say if you are an old-timer with 700+ CDs in your collection (I started buying CDs before I owned a player -- and that was the year they were introduced!), and if you are shocked by the condition they are in as you attempt to convert them to MP3 or other digital transportable formats -- then know this: a) Those CDs are completely recoverable if the "damage" is only on the silver side; and b) this is the repair machine you definitely want when you have a lot of CDs to recover! A $35 or $50 hand-crank unit is not going to do it for you. At least, not satisfactorily. If you are just starting out to convert your CDs to MP3s, you will find -- as I did -- that the conversion process is far more sensitive to scratched surfaces than the music players are, themselves. A CD that might seem to play "just fine" will not allow itself to be copied as easily. If your recording program is reporting lots of errors, or rebuffering repeatedly, or rescanning 3 and 4 times -- it's time to bring in a unit like this to save those CDs. If you only have a few in such a condition, then buying a new CD or the MP3 or iTunes version may be a better choice. Here are some Tips and Observations for use once you've bought this... a) I do not know why they call the first polish you use "Solution #2" and the second one you use "Solution #1" -- but they do. Solution 2 is a little thicker than Solution 1, so be aware before you squirt Solution 1 all over the place. b) Does this unit get a little messy? Yes. But not terribly so. And it's all contained within the unit so long as you are not crazy enough to open the lid while it's spinning the buffing pad and CD! 8-) But my Tip about using a Credit Card helps with this. Note: There is no avoiding getting your fingers messy as you remove the Buffing Pads from the machine and replace them with the next one. So get over it! c) The instructions for spreading the polish across the face of the buffing pad "with the tip of the bottle" are somewhat useless. The tip of the bottle is really not the correct shape to do this well. Squirt a few dollops of paste here and there on the pad, then use a Credit Card to spread the polish evenly. It gets easier as the pad gets used more. A dry pad absorbs more polish -- a used pad absorbs less. You do not need to cover the entire inner part of the pad up to the small hole because the retainer cap that locks the CD in place will cover about 1-1/8-in diameter from the center out. You do want to concentrate more on an even coating out to the very outside edges of each pad, however. Yes, this takes longer, but the results are vastly superior. d) Once you run your CD through Solution 2, I do recommend you heed the mfr's advice and proceed with using Solution 1 for the best results. That is a light aqua color and should be applied to the second buffing pad. You will notice that this polish is the one that gets flung about more because of its viscosity. e) After you are finished with Solution 1, remove the CD, and its locking cap. Then peel the Buffing Pad away from its turntable inside the unit. You'll notice a line of paste that has been flung against the inner walls of the machine. Carefully scrape off that goop with your Credit Card and reapply it to the Buffing Pad that has Solution 2 on it. This is all valuable paste and should not be discarded. NOTE: At first, I was reusing this paste on Buffing Pad 1, but that aqua polish is the finishing touch and needs to remain as pure as possible. Using the excess paste on the Buffing Pad with Solution 1 on it will degrade the final polishing. I switched to using it on the Buffing Pad with Solution 2 -- and although it discolors that white paste over time, it is a better choice. Mark the pads with a Sharpie if you start getting confused. Keep the Aqua Paste Solution 1 as pure as you can. f) If you must resort to using the actual 3M Sanding Discs for deeply-scratched CDs, you may wish to discard the excess goop that you scrape off the inner walls. I have not had to resort to these discs so I cannot swear if their sanding surface creates a gritty residue. If so, you might wish to discard that goop. If you have kids and they abuse these discs, I can see that the Sanding Pads might be very useful. g) While you have the Locking Cap off, and are preparing to insert the next CD, wipe off the bottom of that Cap so it can seat against the next CD properly. Don't let the goop fill up its threaded screw area, or under the Cap, itself. I did not find it useful to count just how many CDs the first bottles of polish might recover because some CDs have deep scratches and need more polishing than others. So, your mileage may vary. I had a few that required 2 passes. And if you don't always use Solution 1, then it affects how much of that polish you use, as well. But I got quite a large stack resuscitated, so far. I have not actually finished either bottle as I write this, and have not refinished all 700+ CDs in my collection. Also, the Wiping Cloths that come with the unit really should be replaced with Microfiber Towels. My method was to rinse my CDs in a sink and then pat them dry with Microfiber -- not a hand towel or paper towels (too coarse). Do not use paper of any kind -- not toilet paper or napkins. These are all too harsh and will scratch surfaces. This system is NOT complicated. Everything about it -- except the motor housing, itself -- is built around commonly-available supplies. The Buffing Pads are similar to 3M "Perfect-It" pads @ 4-5/8-in Diameter. The Sanding Disks are 3M discs. Even the two polishing solutions are available by other mfrs. So don't feel trapped by JFJ. Their prices are probably as competitive as anyone's, however. The trick is, don't buy more solution than you'll need, as the polish (like most car waxes) may get gummy or watery over time. It will not store indefinitely. If this item seems too costly for you, consider these points: You can waste a lot of money buying tools that really are not suited for the job. And you probably have. If you own 10 CDs that need polishing, then buy the hand-crank model. If you have over 100, this unit will serve you better. You can always sell it, later, because these are quite popular and well-respected. If I were a shop selling used CDs, I'd set one of these up on the counter and offer to clean 2 or 3 free for each customer -- they'd buy it after seeing the results. Swirl marks are almost invisible. The mirror-effect is very nearly as good as a new CD.

I watched several videos and read online reviews before making my purchase. I also know that a lot of my local retro game stores use this same machine to resurface their discs and I have been very happy with my purchases there, so I decided to get my own. The JFJ Easy Pro works very well with both resurfacing and buffing discs. At first, the instructions looking somewhat intimidating as there are a plethora of pictures and instructions, but once you read through everything and give it a try, it becomes pretty easy after only a few discs. The machine itself is pretty straightforward. You open the lid, unscrew the locking nut, attach the disc, insert the necessary buffing pad, close the lid, set your time, and away you go. The sponge buffing pads are easily cleanable due to the buffing compound being water-based. After so many cleanings, the pads will become hard and encrusted with dry compound, so using a little liquid soap and rinsing with water just like a sponge makes them clean again. Cons: The only real complaint I would have is that the description says that the 5oz. bottles of included buffing compound will do about 100 repairs. Truthfully, I’d get the package which includes extra supplies (it’s twice as many pads, buffing compound, cloths, and sanding discs), and it only costs about $15 more. The only other issue I encountered was while buffing double-sided discs. When you attach the disc to the plastic mounting plate, the graphics side faces the plate while the blank side will contact the pad. However, because there is no artwork on a double-sided disc, it requires one side to always touch the plate, so if that side is already scratch-free, it can become slightly scratched again. So naturally, you’d have to turn it over and buff it out, but then you risk getting minor scratches again. This isn’t a really big deal as I have found a cheap and easy remedy to this. I bought one of those eyeglass cleaning cloths and placed an old junk CD on top of it. I used an ultra-fine point marker and traced both the outer edge and inside hole. I cut it out with scissors (you’d be surprised how difficult it is to cut even with a razor blade) and when I buff a double-sided disc, I first place the cloth over the spindle, then attach my disc. Problem solved---no risk of scratching. I wouldn’t use anything like a rag or felt fabric as it may cause scratches. Use only something that is scratch-free. I would recommend you stay away from all of those other cheap off-the-shelf or “As Seen On TV” disc buffers as they will only remove light surface scratches, or some don’t even do much at all. You get what you pay for, and this is definitely a product worth its price. It pays for itself in the long run and gives you peace of mind when buying discs at yard sales or thrift stores where that may be scratched. I definitely recommend this machine to anyone wanting to buff their own discs or for friends.

I am a very capable person. I'm a College Trained A+ Computer Repair Tech, and yet I had great difficulty getting the JFJ-Pro Polishing machine to work, to get positive results. There's a real art to polishing discs. I am only using the 20 second button and then letting the disc & motor cool. NOTE: The CENTER of the DVD Disc next to the center mount hole contains all the Copyright and Decoding information (instructions) for the DVD/Blu-Ray Player, to decode & play the discs. I am only working with DVDs. Blu-Rays have a film coating and are to fragile to mess with so I'm sticking with DVDs (I have LIGHTLY polished with a yellow buff pad and Blue #1 polish and repaired Blu-Ray discs. SHORT 10 or 20 Second button ONLY!). I purchased the machine to cleaning & polish BRAND NEW DVDs. They come damaged from poorly designed discs storage boxes, ALL OF THEM!. The discs are overlapped in the storage box (to maximize room) and the discs rub on each other during shipping (from vibration) & scratch the discs. The biggest problem I had is the polished discs are MELTING the Discs Decoding Strip next to the center hole if polished for too long a time. Sand paper did not work at all & destroys the discs, MELTED IT! SO I HAVE VERY LITTLE EXPERIANCE TO COMMENT ON FOR SANDING THE DVDS. KEEP POLISH TIMES SHORT, I ONLY USE 20 SECOND BUTTON. (I'm saying that a Sanding Disc MAY work, I just have not figured out how-so I stick with buffing & polishing) I have carefully been polishing the discs with polish #1 & #2 (not in that order) in 20 Second Intervals Only & repeat as many times as needed. I use Hot Water, Dawn Dish Soap, Zeiss Lens Wipes and GENTLY wash off any remaining polish compound. I use a Sears Mini Hobby AIR COMPRESSOR ($100.00) and BLOW off any water to dry the discs & prevent water spots. The discs do not scratch AT ALL with this method (NOT EVEN MICRO-SCRATCHES). I'm spraying the polishing pads (inside the machine) with plenty of DISTILLED water before polishing. I have been storing the polishing pads in freezer bags to prevent drying of the pads & polish compound. I have not given up on this machine & intend on making a sizeable investment in polish & pads to see if I can make it work as I can find NO OTHER OPTIONS to repair lightly scratched DVDs. I Hope my initial experience is helpful. Good Luck! ***** *****UPDATE: JUST MY OPINION! I Took the used buffing pad, washed it out in the sink like a dish sponge under warm tap water until it was clean, pressed out the excess water between 2 towels, used polish # 1, four times for 20 seconds each time, cleaned & dried the disc and a DVD that would not previously play, now it does, so I am making progress. The spray bottle of DISTILLED IS A MUST! KEEP THE BUFFING PADS VERY MOIST! THAT'S THE KEY!!! (DISTILLED WATER- is clean, it's water only, leaves no residue behind) Keep buffing times short and check the disc. Be sure not to melt the data ring at the disc center. The extra water makes a heck of a mess so have a soft towel to clean up, simply keep rinsing clean up towel in the kitchen sink. Get used to cleaning your machine, BE GENTLE with the lid hinges so you don't damage anything. I also found an old tooth brush very helpful for clean up in the corners. I use the distilled water spray bottle on a direct forceful stream and clean the buffing liquid out of the hinges and joints on the lid mechanism. I place a towel at the bottom of the half open lid to catch the run off. For Final clean-up. I carefully place the machine on it's side, letting the lid & top hang over the edge of the kitchen sink and spray it clean with my spray bottle letting the run off drain into the sink. Then I wipe the machine down with a soft dry cloth. New Update: (After 3 months of owning the JFJ Polishing machine), After much Practice, Trial & Error Tests, I am happy to report I have been able to repair more than a 200 DVD discs and I am now getting fairly positive results. Upgraded my feedback rating to 4 stars. I also made a large purchase of yellow buff pads, white buff pads, polish liquids #1 & #2. I had to do a lot of looking to get the overpriced supplies, (because I refuse to be forced to use PayPal, thus the 4 star rating). This machine can not repair everything, so don't expect miracles, but IT CAN REAPAIR MOST scuffs, MINOR Scratches, oxidation & hazing damage that prevents the DVD's from playing. I HAVE LEARNED THERE IS A REAL ART TO POLISHING DVD'S. I have now been able to save over 200 DVD's and I have many more to repair. I am quite please with the JFJ purchase & will soon buy a spare, a back-up JFJ Machine. GOOD LUCK! (Final Note: DEEP SCRATCHES ARE NEAR IMPOSSIBLE TO REMOVE. That's when you may need to resort to the sand paper discs. But that's a whole different animal.)

Like others have already said before it's a poorly designed machine. You really have to use test CD/DVDs the first several 10-15 times to get the hang of it so you don't break or ruin your good music or video media. There are so many variables at work when you operate this machine that you have to be very careful because if you're not 100% on each varible most likely you'll ruin your disk. The biggest one ares as follows: the nut that holds the CD in place can't be too tight or else it will break the CD, the nut can't be too loose or it will break disk, you can't leave the disk for a 2 min spin or the metal disk holder will seal with the dvd label ruining the disk when you take it off after the spin, You can't use machine too close to the last use or it will cause aforementioned problem, You can't use too little liquid polisher or CD will scatch, you can't use too much much polisher or it will make a mess all over machine, the heavy duty sandpaper pad is just for show, use it on your disk and you're making the problem worse, and the list goes on. The biggest fault with this machine is that you're instructed to use as a final finishing liquid blue color liquid once you sand then polish your disk with their white liquid polisher, this liquid is useless and damages PS2 games since the blue liquid gets in between the two creases close to the disk ring and prevents the console from reading the information there and by consequence does not recognize disk as authentic PS2 disk. Though if you do decide to buy this product you can also use a high quality liquid white polisher and it will give you about the same or if not better results. I

Neato! Ogre battle March of the black queen $125 I got a $68 one Monster rancher $114 I got a $32 one On top of that I've been buying $50 boxes of PS1 games from Craigslist. So far this thing has worked perfectly. It's not true that it says you have to buy their merchandise too restock the machine. But definitely make sure you are buying the same brands. For instance they use 3M sandpaper and Maguire's polishing compounds. Neither of which are cheap but definitely cheaper than buying their small packages of these. Although if you like the company keep buying their refills as it helps them stay in business.

I just got mine today and have to give this thing 5 stars considering the price and that a really good resurface machine is about $2000. With that in consideration the way pro plus really is a very good machine if you read the directions and simply use some common sense. Use one buffing pad for solution 2 only. Use the second pad for solution 1 only. Do not mix them up. One will stay whitish from using solution two amid the other one will be blue from using solution 1. Also since you get two sanding pads do the same thing. Use one for coarse and the other for fine. I actually was able to stick the label from coarse and fine into the center of the sandpaper after applying them to the sanding pads so I never have to get them mixed up. After doing this you simply put in the sanding or buffing pad you want for the job. Now on to consumables. I found out quickly from my first couple of jobs that it is much more economical to do a batch of discs at a time and do it in assembly line fashion. I set up 3-4 discs and after if they are in similar condition I simply do one at a time using buffing pad with solution 2 then done. For the tough jobs, do the same thing. Line up a few and sand them all using the same grit sander, then after all are done. Wipe the discs, then switch to buffing pad #2 and do them all with that. Then again with pad #1. This way you are able to go faster as you aren't switching pads multiple times as well as saving solutions since when you run a job, a lot gets flung onto the sides of the machine inside. Simply wipe that off after each disk and apply it to your pad when you put on the next one. You'll be good to go and running like a well oiled machine in no time. This saves you a lot of time and money on solutions. Anyway, I hope this helps people thinking of buying this. It's an excellent machine as long as you understand how to use it and what for. If you don't intent to do a lot of discs, I'd say ship your discs off to get fixed and save the time and money. If you're like me and starting a game collection or starting to sell, then this is Great starter machine. Also please keep in mind, as the directions state, the machine will shut off if the motor reaches its thermal threshold. This happens to me and I had to let is sit for about 15 minutes today. The machine itself didn't seem very warm, but I had been running some really damaged discs that needed some serious sanding for a few minutes and I'm sure the 4-5 1 minute cycles caused the motor to get close enough to shut off to protect itself. It's not a problem with the machine or a design defect, this is simply not a volume machine. For me, if I ever get the the point that I need to do a lot of these then I'll have probably reached the point where a $2000 azuradisk will make sense then. For now, for the 10-20 I'll probably do each week this is a perfect economical system and I really couldn't be happier with it. Money well spent, just do your research and make sure this will really meet your needs. Again, this is really a small volume home or very small business unit. This is not something for a large business or someone with a very large collection as it will be frustrating to wait for these cold own periods. If your in that boat, look into an azuradisk or similar industrial machine that can handle your capacity. I hope this was some helpful information for someone looking. Again. It's a great little machine and it totally does what it says and I can see the quality in it. It's sturdy and well built while being lightweight (plastic mostly). For a little over $100, it really is a steal considering how much you'll save not having to repurchase games, movies, etc. good luck and enjoy.

Bought my first Easy Pro in 2008. Our second was added a few months later. We need to polish a fair number of discs - about 250 a month. Here is why I have two: Due to the friction between the buffing pad and the disc, there is a fair amount of heat generated. In my experience, you cannot buff disc after disc without some "cool down" period between. What needs to cool down? The steel plate that the disc mounts against and the buffing pad. The plate, when hot, heats up subsequent discs and in turn the pad becomes warm. Because the primary buffing pads are made out of a foam material, they become fragile when hot. So, to keep our volume up, I bought a second machine. That way we could alternate between the two machines, giving each machine a cool down time before the next disc. (most of the discs we buff are books on cd, and there can be up to 20 discs in a set). We bought the second machine about 4 to 6 months after the first. In that time, the lid/mount assembly appears to have been updated/upgraded by the manufacturer resulting in a better end result and less "oscillating" of the disc. There is enough difference in the machines that we no longer use the older machine, only the new version. Having buffed several thousand CDs and DVDs with the Easy Pro, there are a few things we have learned for best results (IMHO): - go easy on the buffing compounds. When the pad is new, apply a light coating over the entire face of the pad. Only re-apply more compound after you have buffed 5-10 discs. Then apply another very light coating. - before using the "sandpaper" discs, try using the two basic steps: compounds 1 & 2. We only use the sandpaper discs as a "nuke option". - we always use two steps: 2 minutes each, pad with #1 and pad with #2. - we use cloth towels to carefully wipe the discs after buffing. Be especially careful to wipe then inspect the outer edge of each finished disc to insure there is no remnants of the buffing compound. - if you buff more than 100 discs a month, buy the 12 oz. bottles of compound. It is much less expensive per oz. - always keep a spare pad on hand. We had one pad come to pieces (I do not remember the circumstances, but I do remember it was my fault). We did not have any spares on hand and had to wait several days for a replacement to arrive. )These aren't the kind of consumables that you can just pick up at your local office supply store.) - If the label side of your disc is damaged (scratch through label exposing disc), all the buffing in the world won't fix it. This is a little know fact, but the label plays a roll in reflecting back the laser (coming from the other side). If there is a defect in the label, the laser light just goes straight through! For what you get (a commercial quality machine - it even has a steel case), the machine is a steal. I think it is a little bit like razors/razor blades. In this case, the machine is very low cost - but they will make it up on the supplies. Bottom line is I would buy it again in a heart beat. Could not be happier.