Blue and Pink Head Cleaner and Tape Lubricant

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1. Hi all.
   I'm sure that some of you remember the cleaning kits that came from Radio Shack 20-30 years ago with the two plastic bottles, one pink, head cleaner, one blue, head lubricant. I have several RtR in my system, all maintained religiously, from Fostex mastering decks to Akias, sonys, ect. I use the head lubricant on the heads and guides. My hearing is not what it once was but I notice a difference in sound quality and extended period of time between cleaning, 4 to 6 hours playing time.I have done the blind ear test with a cleaned demagnatized deck with and without the head lubricant. I have stockpiled three bottles from e-bay. I have dragged the internet and inquired at numerious companys and have found only one that still can provide it, but the problem is that they will only sell in such an amount to fill a large swimming pool. The lubricant is a silicon/alcohol base and works well for me. I have even made my own but will not use it on my more exspecive decks. I tried it on my Sony 250A for several months without any problems but that is as far as I will go. The question is- does anyone know where to obtain tape head lubricant in small quantaties? Thanks ahead of time.
   Darrell

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2. Have heard about that product but no leads where to find it anymore. sorry.

3. I googled it for you. This is one place I found that has small quantities. You have to scroll down to the bottom of the page.

   http://64.233.161.104/search?q=cach...rntablebasics.com/+tape+head+lubricant+&hl=en

4. BINGO! Hi TrexT, thanks so much. I have been looking for some time now. :thmbsp: It really works for me. Only been using it for a couple of years but into RtR since early 60's. Thanks again! I knew this site would be a big help!
   Darrell

5. Hi Vintage TX. Thanks anyway. I always look for your posts, I have been reading here for a couple months and have learned alot from you and other members. Thanks and take care.
   Darrell

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6. Good search Trex !
   Will order a few bottles today. :thmbsp:

   Darrell, thanks for those kind words, don't be a stranger in the future now.

7. Hi again. Don't think it will do any good to order, currently out of stock, ie, does not carry anymore. I e-mailed company with inquiries and will wait for reply. I guess the search will continue :worried: . I am surprised that you, Vintage TX, had not tried and or were using head lubricant! I am by no means any kind of audio expert but it was dramatic enough for me to constantly be looking for sources for it. My home-made head lube is not an exact chemical copy any am worried about ill effects, thats why the use on the Sony 250A, not a big loss if things went wrong. I don't see any ill effects, but I know better. Murphy's law, when something can go wrong, it will at the ............. you know the rest. This site is beyond great and the folks here greeted me with warmth. Thanks, I have to put on my tracking outfit and go-a-lookin'.
   Darrell

8. No tape or tapehead expert here but I would think any head lube would wear off regardless of it's origin, homebrew or store bought. The tape running over the head will take off within an hour at least, but just a guess.

   That being said, I would think a small mixture of silicone lube and isopropyl alchol, say a drop of each on a cotton swab would not do any damage to tape heads. If you've been using lube on your hi end heads already without problems I'd say you're ok.
   Seems to me the greatest damage to the heads is gonna be from the tape itself grinding down the heads over time, and that does happen. Just my thoughts on the subject.

9. Hi oldhifiguy.
   I think your right. I use the head lube withcleaning first before every reel on my high end decks, less on others. Thanks for the reply.
   Darrell

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10. Radio Shack Tape head lubricant, contents- Isopropanol #67-63-0, Organopolysiloxane.
    Home brew, Isopropanol #67-63-0, Polydimethylsiloxane (63148-62-9)
    Mix is 50% of each, It says the silicon element is electronics safe. Like I said, I have been using it on low end deck for months without ill effects. Please, Use at own risk to equipment! For the curious, thanks.
    Darrell

11. I would think headlube mostly eases the abrasion of the tape for a time but needs repeated apps. With hi qual. fine micro particle tape the wear factor should be minimized to a great degree. And keeping the heads clean at all times don't hurt either.

13. I was planning test this for those tapes with "dry syndrom" :scratch2:

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14. xbikertrash, if you go to google.com and type in tape head lubricant you'll get a bunch of possible sources. For now here's another one. Good luck. http://64.233.161.104/search?q=cach...audio/aaacess.html+tape+head+lubricant+&hl=en

15. Hi again guys.
    Thanks. I've done the google, yahoo, Jeevse, ect., and have found numerious site with it but they don't carry anymore. I know that the lubrication properties last only a short time, The tests I done were with high qual. tapes on mastering deck in mint condition for the sound quality and were done after the lube was applied and dried, fresh. Pretty hard to distingish the sound quality difference after listening for half an hour because it souns sooooooo good anyway. The difference was detected immediately and only listened for a few min. for the sound quality test. Having used it on the high end decks for every reel, I think that it gets and stays on the mastering tapes that I listen to all the time also. So Vintage TX, find some silicon lubricant that your comfortable with puting on the heads. Mix with 50% of your favorite alcohol and apply to the dry tape. Give it a try. I went into a recording frenzy a couple of years ago copying CD's, I wish dig. camera was working, I looked at my tape library and it about scared me to death. I can't beleive the amount of space it takes up. I don't remember where I found the time to do all that. Somewhere around 300+ reels! I think I need serious help!!! Thanks guys, let me know what happens, take care.
    Darrell

16. I have a Tape Head Cleaner and Lube Kit TK-6 from Robins Industries Corp. of Flushing, NY. from the 60's. No list of ingrediants. I also have had concerns how long a lubricant would last on tape heads.

    I have a reel to reel Sony TC-630 D tape deck I inherited and it is probably from the late 60's. It is big unit and it must be vintage since it has a walnut vineer case! It works well but I had to replace the leather reel brakes that had deteriated.

    It has spring loaded felt pads that full time press the tape on the recording, erase and play back heads. I installed a small sheet metal lever to keep the recording and erase pads from contacting the tape while playing back. I move the lever to the side to allow the pads to contact the tape when recording. I think this should give me longer tape head life. I added a simuliar lever to my old Sony Stereocorder 464-SL Reel to Reel Tape Deck I had in college. That one predated the Sony 250A and had tubes!

    Charlie

    Last edited: Apr 12, 2005

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