Tape Project Forum
General Category => General Discussion => Topic started by: Red Grant on November 01, 2011, 05:22:20 PM
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Being a 'cheapo', I've been using isopropyl alchohl for the heads, and just hot water for the roller.
Do these products really make 'enough' difference for those who have used them compared to alchohol and hot water?
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On everyday cleaning you're probably fine (maybe use a cleaner like 409/Fantastic on the rollers every other time).
The Lasermedia cleaners come in handy when you get a sticky shed tape, an old splice/sensor tape that the adhesive is oozing out, or other sticky crap on your tape path.
If you never play old tapes of questionable origin, you may be okay, but considering the number of machines out there that use magnetic tape, I can't see these products being available forever.
Personally, I always keep a spare can of each.
The roller cleaner has really saved the day a number of times. I could experiment with other solvents but when there's a product available that's made for the job, I don't see a reason to take a chance that some other solvent might ruin the roller. I never use it unless I can see stuff that 409 won't clean off.
I know Doc uses Naptha for the metal parts of the tape path but I already have a couple of cans of CL100 and I'm guessing that'll last me my lifetime. I probably use CL100 once a every 10 cleanings (99% alcohol the rest of the time).
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The people who make the machines and the heads have long recommended isopropyl alcohol for the heads and guides, and that's what I use. And I don't feel cheap when doing so. If there are stubborn deposits, I haul out the Ampex head cleaner, which is a mixture of xylene and 1-1-1 trichloroethane. You can't get the trichloroethane any more, since it's bad for the ozone layer. I have enough to last for a while, but not enough to make any real difference to the ozone layer. The xylene you can buy by the gallon at Home Depot.
For the roller, it depends. What's it made of? Most of the rollers I'm using (and here I lump together pinch rollers and the ATR capstan) are urethane. The manufacturers recommend water, and that's what I use.
What's actually in the Lasermedia products? If they're not willing to tell me, I'm not willing to use them. The fact that someone puts "Head Cleaner" on a label is not enough for me.
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Important points Paul!
Particularly regarding the use of roller cleaners on urethane parts (duh,.. never thought about that so I better edit that in the Beginners Guide).
The one can of Cl100 that came with a label used to have the ingredients on it but now it's just a fuzzy blur. Maybe I'll shoot off a email to Kurt over at US Recording Media to find out.
Thanks for the straight poop!
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Thanks.
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I wouldn't use acetone on any parts of a tape path. Some heads are sealed together with epoxy resins as are guides. Acetone will dissolve epoxy.
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The one can of Cl100 that came with a label used to have the ingredients on it but now it's just a fuzzy blur. Maybe I'll shoot off a email to Kurt over at US Recording Media to find out.
Perhaps, you could request the MSDS for the product from them.
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I wouldn't use acetone on any parts of a tape path. Some heads are sealed together with epoxy resins as are guides. Acetone will dissolve epoxy.
I've applied acetone, sparingly...when I had SSS :-(
Thanks for your reply, Steve.
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Luckily, acetone evaporates so quickly that you probably didn't do any harm but don't use it again!
A million years ago, one of my first jobs was running an assembly line in an arts supply factory. My line packaged a product called Fun Film which was a gooey plastic gel that folks used to dip loops of wire into to make stuff like clear plastic flowers and leaves.
Every time I changed colors I had to clean every speck of the last color out and we did it with acetone. I used to go through a 55 gallon drum of the stuff every couple of days. At the end of my shift, I had some lucky person clean the entire line including the floors. I'd pump out a gallon of acetone into a bucket and they'd actually mop the floors with it!
That might sound horrific, but at least I didn't run the aerosol paint line. The metallic paints for it were stored in huge tanks that went from floor to ceiling and every once in a while someone had to climb the ladder on one side up to the top, then climb down into that tank and mop the inside. They used a forced air respirator but even still, they'd come out of there totally woozy. Another person had to watch from the top in case the guy in the tank passed out!
Ahh, the good old days!
I guess all those fumes I sucked in during the 3 months I worked there explains a lot!
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Ah, that's good stuff, Steve :-)
A colleague, who was raised in Alaska, described a job wherein he and others would work inside a petroleum pipeline adorned in full-on hazmat suits, breathing apparatus, etc.
Funny...I never had those kinds of jobs in college - haha.