The last one I did I think I used Crest toothpaste...It was really bad, but I got it to read after two tries.
Only go from the center out. (I think you are trying to eliminate interferrence reflections from the CD laser vs CD surface)
Don't get greedy, do some and then test it - try to get a clean read with the least amount of buffing.
Oh yeah, don't forget to floss!
