Tooth paste! Put a dab on your finger, rub it from the middle of the CD outward, then rinse with warm water and dry with soft cloth. The abrasives in the toothpaste(the white kind, not the gel) evens out the surface!
Bruce G., February 2009
Better yet, just get a dvd burner, make a few backup copies and put the originals in a safe place.
Nick, November 2005
See the following website. I also found at least one other non-commercial source of info by doing a Google search on: DVD scratches fix (You'll also get lots of places to buy repair kits, but it sounds like you shouldn't have to spend that much!)
aparently, if you rub ash on to scratched cds and dvds the they should stop it jumping. rub only a small amount on, apply it in small circular motion, and gently blow off the excess ash making sure you dont remove it all.
