What type of store carries 99% alcohol?

[BOJAX]

At the drugstore I can only get rubbing alcohol which is apparently bad for cleaning.

Where can I buy 99% alcohol, how much does it cost and what's wrong with rubbing alcohol anyway?


Anything else that is good for cleaning heads, path, etc?


thanks

jamie

 

[Beck]

Ask the pharmacist at the drug store. They often keep it behind the counter. Standard 70% rubbing alcohol has too much water in it, which is left behind when the alcohol evaporates.

I use denatured alcohol from Home Depot, Lowes, even Wal-Mart in the painting supply area.

Denatured alcohol is my preferred tape path cleaner.

-Tim

 

[Herm]

I was able to get 91 % at walgreens. I dont know if thats good enough or not but I have used it on some things
I do have some Tech spray brand that is 99% but I dont know where i got it from I know it was somewhere on the internet but thats about it. The number on it is 1610-p

 

[FALKEN]

hey herm,

did you finally get your money back from UPS????

 

[Herm]

No my money is gone. Did I ever mention that in my opinion The ups store in bloomington Illinois cheated me out of $700.00 ? And its also my opinion that the owner of the store in bloomington Illinois ( Ron and peggy aper ) are thiefs.

Im through now.

 

[themaddog]

Have you considered small claims court, even just to be a pain in the ass to them?

-MD

 

[Dr ZEE]

i've found THIS ,
am not sure what's the deal there with shipping to canada: they say - "We offer shipping worldwide, but minimum order quantities apply and rates will vary to other areas."

Hey, guys, Beck? ...other long time tape-recordists, question: Is anything 'potentially' bad/wrong with using 'head cleaning products', besids maybe higher cost while there's nothing much to it....

I still have and use some radioshack/realistic head cleaner. I hope I do not harm my machines... I've no idea what exactly 'formular' of this thing.
Radioshack now has this: hope the link works - A/V Head Cleaning Solvent

CAIG makes great stuff. But I never used their head cleaning products.
CaiKleen A/V - VTR/VCR Precision Cleaner
I'd guess it must be at least good. ????? CAIG also have some restrictions on international orders... you need to check out their shipping policy.

 

[EDAN]

I've used standard rubbing alcohol on every recorder I've owned for the past 20 years and never had a problem. Years ago while recording in a real studio (2" analog of course), I ask the producer where to get "real" head cleaner from and he rolled his eyes and said the same place I do,.. the dollar store.

 

[Beck]

i've found THIS ,
am not sure what's the deal there with shipping to canada: they say - "We offer shipping worldwide, but minimum order quantities apply and rates will vary to other areas."

Hey, guys, Beck? ...other long time tape-recordists, question: Is anything 'potentially' bad/wrong with using 'head cleaning products', besids maybe higher cost while there's nothing much to it....

I still have and use some radioshack/realistic head cleaner. I hope I do not harm my machines... I've no idea what exactly 'formular' of this thing.
Radioshack now has this: hope the link works - A/V Head Cleaning Solvent

CAIG makes great stuff. But I never used their head cleaning products.
CaiKleen A/V - VTR/VCR Precision Cleaner
I'd guess it must be at least good. ????? CAIG also have some restrictions on international orders... you need to check out their shipping policy.

The only thing to watch out for is not getting the tape path clean enough (especially with a bad case of sticky shed) and leaving moisture behind. 70% Isopropyl is 30% water... you don't want to put water on metal alloy heads on a regular basis. Water residue left behind can encourage surface rust that builds up over time and won’t come off with a Q-tip. Oxidation can develop just inside the head itself if the liquid finds its way into gaps.

The last time I looked at Radio Shack brand head cleaner it was just 70% Isopropyl. Not sure about the stuff in your link though.

The only thing you get when you buy something called “head cleaner” is a little bit of Isopropyl or denatured alcohol for a whole lota money.

Unless you want some Freon-based cleaner, which some people like, just get 99% Isopropyl online or a pharmacy, or denatured at a hardware store. That’s all you need.

 

[arjoll]

Unless you want some Freon-based cleaner, which some people like

Aaah, that would explain the sunburn down here....analogue users cleaning their decks with CFCs.

CFCs are completely artificial (they did not exist in nature before being synthesized by man). They are used in air conditioning/cooling units, as aerosol spray propellants prior to the 1980s, and in the cleaning processes of delicate electronic equipment, and are a byproduct of some chemical processes. As mentioned in the ozone cycle overview above, when such ozone-depleting chemicals reach the stratosphere, they are dissociated by ultraviolet light to release chlorine atoms. The chlorine atom acts as a catalyst which can break down many thousands of ozone molecules before it is removed from the stratosphere. Given the longevity of CFC molecules, recovery times are measured in decades. It is calculated that a CFC molecule takes an average of 15 years to go from the ground level up to the upper atmosphere, and it can stay there for about a century, destroying up to one hundred thousand ozone molecules during that time.

When the Antarctic ozone hole does break up, the ozone-depleted air drifts out into nearby areas. Decreases in the ozone level of up to 10% have been reported in New Zealand in the month following the break-up of the Antarctic ozone hole.

 

[Zaphod B]

I just bought some 99% isopropyl in the pharmacy section of my local Tom Thumb grocery store.

It's great as a degreaser - I use it to clean the gear oil sling-off from my motorcycle chain from the rear wheel.

 

[Dr ZEE]

The only thing you get when you buy something called “head cleaner” is a little bit of Isopropyl or denatured alcohol for a whole lota money.

huh... thanks for sorta' clearing it up.
I also have to say, that I've got few more 'cleaners' here...
Realistic (brand), titles:
Head Cleaner
Professional Head Cleaner
Tape Recorder Head Cleaner
Tape Recorder Head Lubricant

also, GEMINI Record Cleaning Fluid
all of them smell like alcohol , all have note "contants isopropanol" .... the lubricant also has note: contents isopropanol, organopolysiloxane...
non of them would clearly reveal their "secret formular/recipe"

heh heh ...well, I've got a nice collection of plastic bottles.

I guess then I would not ask about whether Diamond Large Kitchen Matches wrapped with what have you cotton would do just as good as 'professional medical grade cotton tipped birch handles applicators'

 

[gwargantua]

After doing lots of research on this subject I use S-721H. This IS the stuff to use for cleaning heads, transport, pinch rollers etc.:

http://www.usrecordingmedia.com/profs7headgu.html