Protecting the CD surface

[vinylmaster]

Among other annoying problems, I've discovered - the hard way of course, is CD-R's are particularly sensitive to scratches, unlike their commercial counterparts.
Is there anything out there that can be applied to CD-R's that will protect the data surface? (And if so, can this be applied to Sony's playstation games? My son in particular would like to know about this.)

Thanks all.

~J.A.W.