gc-forever - Gamecube/Wii Forums

I was going to post this earlier but have never got around to finishing it.

Here's a great way to remove light scratches and even some deeper scratches from GC jewels.
If your Jewel is heavily scratched / has deep scratches, it's advisable to do this:

You could also let a very high grit sandpaper (more than 1500) make the heavy job of getting rid of the deep scratches, and then finish up with brasso.

Takes less time.

Thx for the hint, SouLSLayeR!
Just don't get too carried away with sanding, or the top of the jewel won't be flush with the rest of the drive lid.

This method does NOT work on the sticker-type jewels like the IcedCube ones. It'll only make them dull.

What you need:
- Brasso metal polish
- microfiber cloth (one is good two are better)
- "elbow grease"
- patience



WARNING: Brasso has a VERY strong odor and isn't exactly healthy to breathe in (may cause drowsiness and dizziness).
Also it's toxic to aquatic organisms, so don't empty it into drains. If you can, work outside. If you can't, work in a very well ventilated area.
If you plan on reusing the cloth, store it in a sperate box or in a somewhat airtight container.
DO NOT put it in a washing machine unless you want your clothes to smell like rotten eggs and gasoline.

Where to get Brasso? Well, that's a bit of a tough one... I'm from Germany and I got it from here, in the US it should be available in any hardware store or Walmart.
I don't know how or where to get it in other countries, but if you have the chance to obtain it at a reasonable price, go for it!

Allrighty the procedure itself is very simple but requires a lot of patience and "elbow grease".

Lay the cloth on a sturdy, even surface and dab a few drops of Brasso onto it.



Lay the jewel on the brasso and start by rotating it in a circular motion while gently pushing down.
Repeat, repeat and repeat until your fingers hurt
Brasso basically works as a sort of high-grit sandpaper, which means it scrapes off the plastic, layer by layer until the surface is even again.
This is a slow process so get ready to spend some time on this. (actually it's not that bad, my jewel took about 20mins to finish)



Check every 5-6 minutes for results by wiping off the brasso remains with a clean cloth.
Repeat until the scratches are gone / you're satisfied. This can take a VERY long time depending on how thouroughly you do it.
When you're done you should wipe away all the brasso remains and maybe clean the jewel with a bit of water. And TADA!! Scratch-free jewel!!

Obligatory before and after images, YAY!

Before


After


The camera literally had no more scratches to focus on, so it focused on the lamp

Well, that's it! Enjoy!! Feedback always appreciated!

I've recently polished mine with non-gel toothpaste. Brasso has worked well on my Xbox jewel, but I didn't have any to try on the jewel.
Looks nice!

By the way, are newer gamecube jewels taped/glued on? Heat it to remove?

Sadly it won't work on the newer jewels...they're stickers like the IcedCube jewels. Tried toothpaste and Brasso to no avail...it only made things worse.
Yes they are glued on, I don't know how to remove them without damaging them. Tried it with a needle and some thread but you could see every little scratch and bulge.

nice brasso tip...thanks



i wonder if a light layer of urethane clear coat would fill in the stickers, make em shiny and provide a protective layer at the same time...
anyone want to volunteer to try??

You must have read my mind, I've been wondering how to do this for a while and the best I could come up with was a dremel with a polishing bit but didn't have the guts to try it through fear of melting the jewel.

Thanks for the tip mate

I've heard that Meguiars Plastx works for the sticker-type jewels...haven't had a chance to try it out though. I'll see if I can get my hands on some and post the results here.

Great info, I actually did this to my cube's jewel. If you have a drill/dremel and the appropriate 'accessory', I'm talking about the cushioned disc-shaped pad (don't know how it's called) and you're careful, the job is done in no time. The key is to apply very little pressure to avoid introducing scratches instead of taking them out.
And let me just say it works beautifully with CDs & DVDs too. Toothpaste never did the trick for me.

My 2 cents.

You could also let a very high grit sandpaper (more than 1500) make the heavy job of getting rid of the deep scratches, and then finish up with brasso.

Takes less time.

Also works with plexi and acrylic.

First of all, this thread needs to be bumped. Lately I've been infatuated with polishing up my GC Jewels. (Note... If I didn't add "GC", you could take that differently) lol. So I followed the instructions here with Brasso. First of all, I used 1500 grit sandpaper and then finished off with 2000 to remove and smooth out all the scratches (wet sanding btw). Now I have a very smooth but dull jewel. I proceeded with the Brasso instructions and it got a bit smoother but duller at the same time. No big deal... I then took some MAAS (metal, plastic polish etc) and it got a bit of shine back after a few run throughs. I finished that off with an automotive liquid wax for the renewed shine. I can still see swirling scratches when viewed in the light properly, but angle it just right and it looks like a mirror. Pics below.

Also, I did try using a Dremel like tool with a polishing bit. Didn't work very well for me. Go past speed 2 and you can damage the jewel very easily if your not careful.

Overall I am very satisfied with my results. I do wish I could rid of the micro swirling marks but maybe I need a wax or buffing compound for that. Maybe even a finer grit sandpaper. I'm at a 9/10.

Any other suggestions are welcome. Every time you buy a used cube, your looking at a heavily scratched jewel so we all need an easy way to polish them.

novus
about 10$ ebay for the kit shown in the pic..

i was buffing out some scratches on my jeep plastic windows.
it worked so great i wondered how it would perform on a GC jewel and the jewel came out looking fantastic without even putting any effort. i used the same power buffer and microfiber cloth that was used on the jeep

sorry, no pics since it was an impulse trial, but it worked great..