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Thread ID: 51426 2004-11-20 12:16:00 Off Topic, Video tape cleaner? Vince (406) Press F1
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294365 2004-11-20 12:16:00 I have a fairly large collection of movies on video tape. I am thinking of transferring them to DVD, but some of them need cleaning first.

Does anyone know where I can get a tape cleaning kit, or some such? Vince :-)
Vince (406)
294366 2004-11-20 19:38:00 Do you know if it's the tape which needs cleaning, or the video heads in the VCR? If it's the VCR, you can either buy a head cleaner, or as a friend of mine used to do, a bit of meths and a cotton bud, take the top off the VCR and wipe the video head with it.

If you need to clean the tape, then sorry, I can't help you there (maybe Godfather or someone will know).
somebody (208)
294367 2004-11-20 19:51:00 Cotton bud would be the quickest way to stuff the heads. Use Isopropyl + proper chamois cleaning stick - and doing it the correct way. Hold against the drum and turn it.
Bye
Peter H (220)
294368 2004-11-20 19:54:00 Really? I have never done it myself, but my friend has done it for 5+years and has never broken a VCR doing it. somebody (208)
294369 2004-11-20 19:56:00 Also clean all the little bits that the tape goes through. Put an old tape in & press play & you will see all the parts move into place that the tape goes through, these will need a clean too.
Pauline.
Pauline (641)
294370 2004-11-21 02:01:00 Cotton buds are very bad news for head cleaning. You can get a kit with proper swabs (chamois covered?), but a (wet) cleaning tape is the safest
way to go.

Taper cleaning requires a proper machine. Would a tape rental place have one? Or do they just bin them?
Graham L (2)
294371 2004-11-21 06:06:00 > Really? I have never done it myself, but my friend
> has done it for 5+years and has never broken a VCR
> doing it.

Peter is correct. Better believe him. Although cotton buds are commonly used to clean audio heads, they are a no no for video heads.

The reason is that the construction of audio & video heads is different, and the fibres from cotton buds can clog the video heads.

As Peter said, use chamois sticks in a horizontal direction while turning the drum. Do not use the chamois stick in an up & down manner.
Bazza (407)
294372 2004-11-21 07:45:00 Yes - you/Peter/Graham are probably right. I guess I should tell him about it, so he doesn't accidentally wreck any VCRs:) somebody (208)
294373 2004-11-21 12:35:00 > Do you know if it's the tape which needs cleaning, or
> the video heads in the VCR? If it's the VCR, you can
> either buy a head cleaner, or as a friend of mine
> used to do, a bit of meths and a cotton bud, take the
> top off the VCR and wipe the video head with it.
>
> If you need to clean the tape, then sorry, I can't
> help you there (maybe Godfather or someone will
> know).

YES everyone I do know how and when to clean the heads, and other parts of the VCR. Some of the tapes are dirty. The heads pick it up from movies I hire and transfer it to the next tape I play.

I thought I had made myself clear about it being the tape. Sorry if I seem short with you good people, it is just that I am really pissed off X-( after spending much more than an hour searching Google and the yellow pages, both on line and on paper without any success.

Thanks for your responses, but they haven't answered my question yet.
Vince :-)
Vince (406)
294374 2004-11-21 18:39:00 Shipleys in Chch would be a place to try or they might be able to give you the info to DIY.
Pauline.
Pauline (641)
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