Re: Dry tape squeal...

[drhodes@xxxxxxxxxxxxx (Doug Rhodes)]

At 18:04 22/11/1999 -0500, Graham Newton wrote:
>The object of this would be to apply a thin film of very light silicone
>....It doesn't have to permanently bond to the tape...It
>could simply lubricate sufficiently to get the tape past the head
>without the squeal problem, then evaporate.

I am not a materials specialist, but I would venture the guess that
silicone, though an excellent lubricant, would be there to stay once
applied to the tape. Silicone lubricant is astoundingly good at "wetting"
most any surface. The corollary to this is that it is very difficult to
remove. Though it may be delivered within an evaporating medium, the
silicone itself does not dry out. Unlike silicone rubber, which upon
solvent release sets into a stable, dry solid, silicone in the form of a
lubricant remains capable of migrating until it has covered virtually
anything it comes in contact with. This may or may not be problem in this
application. However, the solvents necessary to remove the silicone at some
time in the future may also be capable of removing the magnetic oxide
coating. If the tape has significant historical value to you or anyone
else, I would bear that in mind.

I have a friend, a record collector, who has sprayed ArmorAll (which
contains silicone) on many of his pre-1935 78 rpm discs. They do, indeed,
play a bit more smoothly. I suspect, however, that future archivists who
inherit his collection will be horrified, and will have very limited
options for removing the stuff.

Cheers

Doug Rhodes