The cleaning / deburring of discs

I am very curious as to how much little nicks and stuff on the rim of the disc affect flight and glide. Anyone with some insight on this please fill me in. Thanks.

[kcbrez009]

In short: very little.

Pitchers have long scuffed up baseballs with nail files, sandpaper, sharp fingernails, etc., in order to get some extra break on a curveball, but the flight of a baseball doesn't have the ability to defy gravity with glide the way the flight of a disc does. Additionally, air flows around a wing-shaped object differently that it flows around a sphere. These two factors lessen the effects of small nicks on the rims of your discs.

[John Hodgkins]

PDGA online rules says that you can do "minor" modification with sand paper.

[Hootie]

yeah, just lightly sand the nicks back down to smooth. I've never had a nick or scratch that has caused the disc to fly noticeably different. Of course, hit a big tree HARD and DX discs will fly very differently, but thats more from the taco effect than any little nicks or scratches.

[illyB]

I learned this from Dave Greenwell. Get piece of carpet that you don't care about and put your weight on the disc while quickly moving it back and forth. The friction will produce some heat that will smooth down any imperfections. Just don't do it on any carpet you like, it will leave streaks. I'm guessing a towel laid flat would work also.

[Hootie]

illyB..... thanks for the tip, didnt think about doing it that way!

[CBass]

They seem to definitely slow the disc down just a little bit. Also, makes them turn over more. Simple observations I've made after sanding disc edges. Guess thats why most people talk about breakin in a disc. BTW, drywall sanding sponges work great.

[Eirik]

Thanks for all the responses. I always guessed it had to affect it some.

[Bruce Brakel]

A little acetone on a soft cotton cloth rubbed into those nicks will smooth them out.

[MonTTy #794]

any nick or burrs are going to cause wind drag on the disc and slow it down to some degree. I smooth mine off with sandpaper occasionally then rinse off to remove the grit

[Rod Graham]

illyB said:

I learned this from Dave Greenwell. Get piece of carpet that you don't care about and put your weight on the disc while quickly moving it back and forth. The friction will produce some heat that will smooth down any imperfections. Just don't do it on any carpet you like, it will leave streaks. I'm guessing a towel laid flat would work also.

Thanks!!!!!