I think this is the post you MIGHT be looking for. I have some more
acetate-based Magnetophonband up for treatment - most in FAR worse
condition than the one I treated.
I would be very curious to hear Steve's approach.
Date: Thu, 6 Oct 2005 14:37:35 -0400
From: "Richard L. Hess" <ArcLists@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Subject: Re: [ARSCLIST] old acetate tapes - curling/tape tension remedies?
At 11:37 AM 10/6/2005, dave n wrote:
Hello all -
I'm looking for information about how anyone here on the arsc-list has
handled and transferred old acetate tapes that have begun to curl?
Hello, Dave,
Friedrich Engel, the retired BASF historian, gave me a present in a phone
conversation (yes, to Germany, his English was far better than my German).
You can re-hydrate acetate tapes.
The procedure I used, based on discussions with Engel, was to place the
tape in a 100% humidity atmosphere for about 24 hours.
The subject in question was a 1935 Carbonyl Iron tape from the Jack Mullin
collection. Too bad, there were only a few tones on it, but it played.
When I first got it, it behaved much like a carpenter's steel tape measure
and you could hold a foot or more of it extended. After the treatment, it
felt like a satin ribbon.
I placed the tape in an open container inside a sealed container. The
sealed container had about an inch of water in the bottom. The tape was up
on spacers in the open container. This was room temperature.
I tried this again with a tape that spent several years behind a woodstove
and it did soften it a bit, but the tape was too blocked (adhered layer to
layer by edge melting) and too fragile to play either before or after this
treatment, although the fragile pieces were much softer even after this
extreme.
I would suggest trying this with one reel that is not as important to get
the "feel" of the process.
If it works, thank Herr Engel, if it doesn't please let us know here and
let us know your experiences.
I would think this is safer than trying to force the tape into contact by
either tension or pressure pad.
I make no warranties as to the long-term effects of this treatment.
Cheers,
Richard
Richard L. Hess email: richard@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Aurora, Ontario, Canada (905) 713 6733 1-877-TAPE-FIX
Detailed contact information: http://www.richardhess.com/tape/contact.htm
Quality tape transfers -- even from hard-to-play tapes.
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