[ARSCLIST] powdery substance on 2" tape

[Heath Condiotte <hcondiotte@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Hello all,

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v663/heath4242/whitepowderontape.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v663/heath4242/whitepowderclose.jpg

The above links point to two pictures of a reel that contains a powdery
substance we have never encountered before.  I'm wondering if any of you
have dealt with this and have any suggestions? Here are the pertinent
details:

-Ampex 456 from circa 1977 (at least that was the record date--the stock
could be older)
-No apparrent water damage
-Tapes have been stored in a climate controlled, stable vault for at least
the past year.  Prior to that time, we do not know where these tapes were
located
-The white powder wipes off rather easily when touched
-The powder covers all edge surfaces of the tape--not just the openings in
the flange.  When the flange is removed, the substance is on the entire edge
surface.


Would a pellon cleaning be a sufficient method of prepping these tapes for
back up? Or would more processes need to be performed? Our caution is based
on our assumption that these tapes will need baking (they are from a
suspicious batch), and although we have treated mold and water damaged tapes
before, this substance is new to us.

Thanks in advance for any input

Heath Condiotte
Audio Engineer
Xepa Digital
www.xepadigital.com
hcondiotte@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
(724)794-3686 phone
(724)794-3292 fax