Saving your old cassettes

[adam1977]

I came across this video on YouTube after a recommendation on another forum (Amstrad) I haven't tried the method yet, but I thought i'd post it here in case it helps anyone who has problems loading old tapes, or even pre-recorded audio cassettes:

 

 

I'll copy and paste the post here if anyone's interested:

 

"All,


The lockdown period we are in has caused a reinvigoration into my Amstrad CPC464 as I think I mentioned on my intro.  I've been on eBay the last few weeks buying and selling, getting some of the games I always wanted as a kid and couldn't afford.  Yes, I know I could get them free and use an emulator, but that doesn't do anything for me.  I love using my original kit and I love the physical media.  Plus I find the process fun, skipping down the stairs to see the postman's latest delivery!


Anyway I had a problem starting to develop - some of the cassettes I was acquiring and also some I'd been given hadn't been looked after that well and basically I couldn't get them to load.  I clean the cassette head, both with methylated spirits and a dry cleaner but to no avail.  I even binned one tape "BMX Freestyle" by Codemasters - more on that later.

Then I thought - hang on; these tapes, they're sure to be dirty.  What can I do about them?  After a bit of searching I hit upon the following; 

 

 

and, in short, it works!  By God it works!

I purchased some WD40 silicone lubricant from Amazon (
https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B006UCNI38/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1), gave it a whirl on the recovered-from-the-bin BMX Freestyle and hey-presto loaded first time.  I'm over the moon!

You would not believe the difference to the sound quality and also the crud that came off the tape on to the cotton bud!  I've got some old music tapes I'm hopefully going to sort using this method.  Suddenly the world is a bigger place (alright, I'm getting carried away now, but you get the idea!)...

Give it a go and I think you'll be amazed.

[_The Doctor__]

I'd stick with the 3m or 61 lube and not the wd40... thanks for covering this method again though. Some folks might not find such stuff buried here in the endless recesses of AA .

Edited May 10, 2020 by _The Doctor__

[Rybags]

WD40 is only a temporary lubricant.

I do suspect that if the solvents in it got onto the tape surface it'd not be good for it.

[adam1977]

It's not the traditional type of WD40, it's the 'dry' silicone type:

 

 

In the video it was recommended he used Kontakt 61, but ended up using 3M Silicone spray, he then left the cassettes for a few days before testing them, but ended up leaving them several weeks before they played properly, I suggest viewing the video ?

[adam1977]

I've just tried the method on a tape that didn't load, it struggled at first to fast forward whilst applying the treatment, but after doing it a couple of times it fast forwards really well; i'll be leaving it a few days before attempting to load it ?

[_The Doctor__]

I suggest you watch both videos, rewind is the stronger better method normally used for spinning tape... it is also normally marginally faster. Don't forget the pencil and tape smak method of loosening a tape before lubrication...   If you dig the forum you'll find discussion about these methods and a few other choices as well, some involve tape transplant into new carrier housing etc...

[adam1977]

I tried the method on a cassette that previously refused to load, i'd tried all sorts of things, fast forwarding, rewinding, smacking it, nothing worked.

 

A couple of days back I applied WD40 Dry PTFE to it several times, as outlined in the video, this evening I tried it and it loaded straight away, a lovely clear tone too ?

 

Edit: I've just realised I put the wrong picture up before ? I actually used this WD40 product:

 

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B006UCJ4Z4/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Edited May 12, 2020 by adam1977