Bronzed CD

There's a thread about it here. I read it some years ago and I think they're nothing to worry about.

What Exactly Causes Pinholes On CDs?

 

Blast! Whaam! Bam! Thank you Dan! A Whaam Records Compilation 1981 - 1984 CD issued on Vinyl Japan in 1995 seems to have this problem. Don't think this is going to reappear any time soon.

PDO and definitely ropey on the outer edge.

 

The bronzing is never on the readable side. The recorded data, however, is closer to the label side, and that's why it can be affected.

Correct, unless they're unusually huge or numerous. But that's extremely rare.

 

not every pdo disc suffers bronzing/rot. The ones that do, eventually will be unreadable. So rip a lossless copy now, or buy a different pressing.

 

I don't think that the bronzing affects the physical shape of the pits and lands in the plastic which reside directly beneath the aluminium layer.
However, the bronzing likely affects the laser reflective capacity of the aluminium. Theoretically you could remove the damaged aluminium layer, apply a new one and the disc would function again.

 

It sounds like it. I would burn a digital copy asap - if you still enjoy U2 music.

 

You should be able to pick up a non UK PDO copy fairly cheap. Just be thankful it isn't something by Coil.

 

Are you saying this or is this a quote from a Led Zeppelin song?

 

yes, I have a bunch of those rotten bastids!

 

PDO used aliminium instead of silver on the CD surface in the UK. French PDO CDs have no problem.

 

I have about a half dozen or more PDO CDs that have bronzed significantly. They all play OK except for one of them.

 

The two major plants that were set up to manufacture CDs in the UK in the 80's had fatal flaws in the manufacturing process.
Nimbus UK CDs had a very weak top layer that came off as goo if you cleaned them in any way, while PDO UK CDs eventually turned bronze.
Once is an accident, twice is just careless.

 

All CD-V’s were that colour!

 

Correct. The PDO UK made CD-Vs were intentionally made that way to look different. Not related to the rot. ironic they look like the earlier failing CDs.

 

I think you have that flipped. PDO has said that they mistakenly used Silver, which is why the bronzing occurred. Almost all manufactured CDs use Aluminum to this day.

 

So, my CD isn't rotting?

 

Well they did it to cut costs. I figure silver is more expensive.

 

Yes I have a few that are Gold in color and some that are the darker bronze. I ripped them just in case for safe measure.

 

I thought it was silver instead of gold. The silver reacted with sulphur in the booklets to produce silver sulphide.

 

The early UK PDO CDs were gold tinted.

 

Good idea just in case!

 

Is it a CD-Video (CD-V)? If not, are the edges are more bronze than the rest of the disc face? That's classic PDO UK rot.

This has been a problem before with U2 PDO UK discs:
My U2 UK PDOs are rotting away

 

Ok now I just bought another U2 CD pressing

 

A good idea if you are a fan of the album. Mine is Island Master IMCD 223 842 297-2 which according to the rear of the disc was Made in France. It has remained silver.

 

Keep in mind these rot problems, which have been extensively documented on SH.tv, are specific plants made during a specific period with incorrect materials and/or processes.

PDO UK, and its successor companies, continued to make CDs until recently that work fine because they changed to the standard materials that Philips/PolyGram/PDO/PMDC used in their other plants that have been proven to work.