Still tryin to find alteratives for Pinch Roller cleaner

bubinski

bubinski

New member
I finally broke down and went into the closet sized radio shack we have her in town in nowhere SW Montana and asked the guy there if he had any pinch roller cleaner and he tried to sell me head cleaner and said it would work. I told him it would dry out the rubber ( after I told him what a pinch roller was ) and he thought they had it about 10 years ago. Bite me battery seller.
I posted about this before and had a few replies including forula 409 and some other products I seem a little reluctant to try.
Anybody have any tried and trued potions or maybe brands of rubber restorer, or even maybe what the basic chemical I need is?
Like head cleaner is 99% isopropal>>>>>pinch roller cleaner is>>>>>>_______ ( please fill in the blank)
Thanks, bubinski.
 
Blue bear.....Thanks a load for the link !!!!!

$3.95 for 3.5 oz bottle of " Rubber Renue " !!!
lots of other stuff I been needing also.
Thanks again, bubinski.
 
Yo Bubba:

In a "pinch" I've used GIN dabbed on the end of a Q-tip to clean the rollers.

It might dry them out but they sure are happy rollers.

Green Hornet
 
I know this is going to sound wrong but,
last year I needed to get my Otari 8 Track serviced,
not knowing too much about maintaining it, I inquired on up keep.

I was told;

for heads, 97% Alcohol

for pinch roller, dish detergent & warm water.

GOOD LUCK

Sean
 
smellyfuzz said:
for pinch roller, dish detergent & warm water.
Click to expand...
I'd heard that too... but never from anyone I trusted enough to actually try it -- not to mention that you'll never actually be sure you get all the detergent off!

Pinch roller cleaner evaporates quickly and cleanly with no chance of residue...

Bruce
 
Rubbing Alchohol..Its the same stuff as the cleaner for cassette head and roller cleaner. The reason the cleaner Bruce mentioned evaoporates fast is because of the high alchohol content. Rubbing alchohol is super evaporative because there are no sticky residues. Pure as it gets the better. Im not sure soap is such a great idea, many detergents and soaps contain wax additives and perfumes that can not only build up on the rollers, but also contaminate the tape. Another warning about perfumes, some are toxic can can lead to premature cracking of the rollers. Degauss the head before and after cleaning.

Peace,
Dennis
 
Some clarification on terminology....

Sorry Dennis.... the term "rubbing alcohol" is widely misued, and there is a big difference between rubbing alcohol and head cleaner -- novices would easily get confused because rubbing alcohol is DEFINITELY NOT what you want to use....

1 - rubbing alcohol is only 70% pure and is a pharmaceutical skin wash-- for head cleaning, 90% or higher of pure isopropyl alcohol is what's needed

2- rubbing alcohol also contains additives that are very damaging to audio components (as you pointed out the pure stuff does not contain these additives...)

3- pinch rollers SHOULD NOT be cleaned with head cleaning isopropyl as this dries out the rubber. Pinch roller cleaner is not the same formulation as isopropyl alcohol at all....


Bruce
 
QUOTE FROM BLUEBEAR

Pinch roller cleaner evaporates quickly and cleanly with no chance of residue...
Click to expand...

I'm not disagreeing with you Bruce, I'm sure you have far more knowledge on this then I, but I was just repeating what was told to me.

He did mention to me the residue aspect & a drying out of the rubber warning, therefore telling me about the soap.

Does the product you are recommending prevent drying out of the rubber ?

Sean
 
Sean, it's the use of the alcohol that will dry out the rubber faster than normal.... the Pinch Roller Cleaner specifically DOESN'T dry out the rubber -- I don't know that it helps condition the rubber beyond that... it just doesn't make it worse!

Bruce
 
Re: Some clarification on terminology....

Blue Bear Sound said:
Sorry Dennis.... the term "rubbing alcohol" is widely misued, and there is a big difference between rubbing alcohol and head cleaner -- novices would easily get confused because rubbing alcohol is DEFINITELY NOT what you want to use....

1 - rubbing alcohol is only 70% pure and is a pharmaceutical skin wash-- for head cleaning, 90% or higher of pure isopropyl alcohol is what's needed

Bruce
Click to expand...
There must be some kinda Canadian difference to whats on the shelf at the Pharmacy... My "rubbing alchohol" is 97% isopropanol alchohol, after the radio shack head cleaner ran out I went and got bottle of the same stuff at Fred Meyer( maybe I got lucky). If I knew there were other "rubbing alchohols" that were contaminated with "additives" I would have been more specific to brand names. Less General next time right.
I hope I didn't infer putting alchohol on rubber!, I thought I inferred not to by the premature cracking.
I might next time also clarify that not all rubber cleaners are created equal either, even pinch roller specific cleaners can cause glazing with certain types of rubber compounds. Depending on the durometer, porosity and shape of the contact area can dramatically change the effectivness of certain cleaners. I use pinch Roller cleaner on my Mountain Bike, keeps the XTR Rapidfires nice and clean (Teflon and rubber roller interface), Im not using it on a recorder because Im tape free recording.

So now that Ive made that clear, just buy the stuff the manufacturer recommends. It usually the safest route in my noviced opinion. :0)

Peace,
Dennis
 
Ah interesting! That never occurred to me (difference in pharmaceutical products between Canada and US)....

Rubbing alcohol here in Canada is always 70%, making it unusable for head-cleaning!

Higher concentrations are always referred to as Isopropyl alcohol.


Bruce
 
I must admit I've gotten away with it a few times due to lack of proper cleaner on hand, combined with general laziness and impatience; that is, I've applied 91% alcohol to the pinch roller. well, no cracking yet, but I think I'll get the right stuff at the referenced website if I need to clean it again.

by the way, after years of use of my old 4-track I never did see much residue come off that roller onto the q-tip. seems like it never needed cleaning in the first place. Is that unusual? Have only used Maxell XL II and TDK SA tapes.
 
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