cjacek
Analogue Enthusiast
Hi Rolf,
I thought I'd ask 'cause you restore Open Reels for a living so here goes .... I picked up the AKAI GX-270D from an elderly gentleman who said the machine did not work properly, "worked, then kept slowing down ..", he said. He was giving it away for free!! (The original Akai aluminium empty reel was also included
). Cosmetically, the GX-270D, was almost mint but very dusty and it seemed that the heads and tape path were never cleaned! 
I took it home and the first thing I did, before testing it, was I cleaned the heads and tape path to the best of my ability. (I just didn't want to run a perfectly new tape on a filthy machine!). Anyway, I tested all functions, recorded and played back for a good 5 - 10 minutes. All was well. No problems. Was it that the previous owner didn't have a clue on how to operate it ? I don't know. It worked perfectly when I tested it. 
Anyway, that's not the point of my rather lengthy post now .. 
What I would like to know is HOW and with WHAT do I PROPERLY and THOROUGHLY clean the heads and that whole area where the heads are located in and also how you'd clean the pc boards, all WITHOUT tearing these appart piece by piece ? (I already dissassembled all the knobs, pinch roller, silver front face and gave these a "bath" - literally!). The only stuff which bothers me (I hate filthy things) is the head area and pc boards - all things in and around that area have dust, dirt and oxide. Interestingly when I looked inside the back, there were cobwebs all over and dust! I did what I could with my duster spray and rag but the pc boards are still a bit dusty ... I really would like to restore them properly. I actually looked into this and found a company, near my area, which stocks pretty impressive compounds which are meant to clean pc boards. These are plastic safe and are meant to be sprayed generously onto the pc boards, while the machine is tilted so that the extra moisture drips down outside of the machine. The person I spoke with said the dry time is about 30 seconds. This is what he recommended: http://www.mgchemicals.com/products/406b.html
This sounds really good to me and I would like to know if you'd recommend this as well ?
Outside of the 406B, I have Caig Deox-it (5%) and Caig Lube and of course dusters. Where do I use these ? Can you PLEASE recommend something else (from their website) that I need or may need ? What about for the "heads" area problem ? Some parts are really dirty with oxide and are even hard to remove with alcohol! There's also spaces I can't reach which are dirty ... Is there a spray or solution of some sort which you can just spray and it'll do the rest ? What about this one: http://www.mgchemicals.com/products/407c.html
What about lubrication ? (I heard a bit of "squealing" when I used "rewind").
Anyway, sorry to go on and on but I need some advice here ....
Thanks again for your time!
Daniel
I thought I'd ask 'cause you restore Open Reels for a living so here goes .... I picked up the AKAI GX-270D from an elderly gentleman who said the machine did not work properly, "worked, then kept slowing down ..", he said. He was giving it away for free!! (The original Akai aluminium empty reel was also included
). Cosmetically, the GX-270D, was almost mint but very dusty and it seemed that the heads and tape path were never cleaned! I took it home and the first thing I did, before testing it, was I cleaned the heads and tape path to the best of my ability. (I just didn't want to run a perfectly new tape on a filthy machine!). Anyway, I tested all functions, recorded and played back for a good 5 - 10 minutes. All was well. No problems. Was it that the previous owner didn't have a clue on how to operate it ? I don't know. It worked perfectly when I tested it. Anyway, that's not the point of my rather lengthy post now .. What I would like to know is HOW and with WHAT do I PROPERLY and THOROUGHLY clean the heads and that whole area where the heads are located in and also how you'd clean the pc boards, all WITHOUT tearing these appart piece by piece ? (I already dissassembled all the knobs, pinch roller, silver front face and gave these a "bath" - literally!). The only stuff which bothers me (I hate filthy things) is the head area and pc boards - all things in and around that area have dust, dirt and oxide. Interestingly when I looked inside the back, there were cobwebs all over and dust! I did what I could with my duster spray and rag but the pc boards are still a bit dusty ... I really would like to restore them properly. I actually looked into this and found a company, near my area, which stocks pretty impressive compounds which are meant to clean pc boards. These are plastic safe and are meant to be sprayed generously onto the pc boards, while the machine is tilted so that the extra moisture drips down outside of the machine. The person I spoke with said the dry time is about 30 seconds. This is what he recommended: http://www.mgchemicals.com/products/406b.htmlThis sounds really good to me and I would like to know if you'd recommend this as well ?
Outside of the 406B, I have Caig Deox-it (5%) and Caig Lube and of course dusters. Where do I use these ? Can you PLEASE recommend something else (from their website) that I need or may need ? What about for the "heads" area problem ? Some parts are really dirty with oxide and are even hard to remove with alcohol!
There's also spaces I can't reach which are dirty ... Is there a spray or solution of some sort which you can just spray and it'll do the rest ? What about this one: http://www.mgchemicals.com/products/407c.htmlWhat about lubrication ? (I heard a bit of "squealing" when I used "rewind").
Anyway, sorry to go on and on but I need some advice here ....
Thanks again for your time!
Daniel
