Switched Keys

If you've played disc golf for 20 years, you may have saved a few discs from long ago. If they were premium plastic such as Champion Edition, or Discraft's Z plastic and the discs have been in storage for some time, you might find that they have become sticky. Apparently the plastic separates after a while and a film forms over the surface of the disc.

In the past I've just used the disc until the film wears off. I've since discovered that you can clean up those old discs. I discovered that rubber that becomes sticky can be cleaned with 70% alcohol. I wondered if that would work on my discs as well. Sure enough it does, but it's not magic; it requires a little work.

This is one disc with the sticky film.

In order to clean it I poured a small amount of alcohol on the top of the disc and spread it until it covered the entire surface. It's tricky since the contour of the disc slops away from the center. Too much will just roll off the disc.

Then I started rubbing it in with my fingers to dissolve and mix the film into the alcohol. That also is tricky since alcohol dries so fast. Just before it begins to dry I rub the mixture off of the disc with a rag or towel. For my discs it required some pressure, but you have to be careful at this point not to rub too hard in the center of the disc and crack it. I support the center with my knee to avoid that.

You may also want to be careful not to rub off an existing stamp. You can just rely on repeated applications of alcohol and milder rubbings, or avoid the center of the disc altogether. You only really need to get rid of the stickiness around the edges where you grip the disc.

After my first attempt, there were noticeable sections that were not cleaned enough, so I went through the same steps.

This is the final product, an old new Discraft Z-XL followed by a comparison image showing the clean disc with another one that needs some work.

The film doesn't just go away. It's on the rag, so you may want to change rags if you're cleaning several discs.