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The problem with any method that does not leave the
tape pack intact before treatment is that oxide may stick to the next leaf
as it unwinds, pulling off jigsaw puzzle shaped sections of the
tape.
As to cassettes.
Real brands use a different formula for the
soup that, when spread on plastic sheets and slit, becomes the cassette
tape. Lubricant issues at slow speeds are different, among other
things.
Have any tapes not back-coated developed
sticky-shed? As far as I've been able to determine, no cassette tapes were
back-coated.
Some white box cassette tapes were slit from
regular reels designed for other uses, including instrumentation tape where the
rods are aligned differently than on audio
tape.
Tape formulations changed without notice. A
given brand and number, manufactured at different times, may have had minor
changes made to the formula that has now shown significan
consequences.
It would be useful to know what cassette brands and
product numbers have developed sticky-shed. If there is a date of recording as
well, that could contribute to identifying those at risk. Of course, this does
not "date" that tape but gives some idea of when it was in use.
Steve Smolian
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