Vacuum-baking tapes

[Muckelroy]

I've been told a very intriguing method to fix sticky-shed, that works (supposedly) WAY BETTER than just baking a tape. I've run this through my head, and it seems to make sense.

So sticky tape has extra air and water molecules contaminating the oxide particles, which shove their way in between the oxide molecules, and make the particles weaken their bond with the backcoating. It can be said that the particles are now sitting on the backcoating perpendicular to it, making them more prone to being sloughed off by tape heads, etc.

Baking a tape will evaporate almost all of the excess moisture in the oxide, which makes some oxide lay back down parallell to the backcoating, back to normal. But there's still a stuborn million or so particles that stand on end, with air molecules still chilling out in there, so that they are still prone to being sloughed off. Inevitably, this limits the tape to a less-than-normal lifespan before it starts to shed again.

But putting a tape inside a vacuum chamber for a few days (And a STRONG vacuum chamber at that,) is like a fountain of youth for a tape. Baking a tape gets rid of the excess moisture. To follow baking, Vacuum-pumping it will suck all the extra air molecules out of the oxide. With no air molecules to support them, the problem oxide particles will lay back down against the backcoating, just as a new, fresh tape should be. Most all tapes should be good as new once you do that to them.

Of course this requires a lot of real estate. A massive vacuum pump, a secluded place away from your studio (because the pump is pretty noisy). blah-dy-blah-dy-blah.

-callie-

[peritus]

Right up there with home-made high-spec carbon-fiber (difficulty wise)... Cool idea!

[MadAudio]

Very interesting. Thanks, Muckelroy!