considering baking some tapes myself

[BruceBanner]

Anyone here done it? Advice? I've got 4 2" reels from the late 80's early 90's that need it.

Please advise,

Bruce

[tonewoods]

Anyone here done it? Advice? I've got 4 2" reels from the late 80's early 90's that need it.

Please advise,

Bruce

I've had successful results (the ability to get a good clean play off a tape that was previously shedding) by "baking" the tape in one of those dehydrators that you use to dry fruit and mushrooms.
5-6 hours or so....

Love to hear how folks who really know what they are doing do it...

[djimbe]

I have successfully used a fruit dehydrator as well, though it was a 1/4" reel, not 2". You need to transfer and archive your reels right away after the bake, too. The positive effects do NOT last forever, at least not for me, and I had that reel stored where my "good" 2" reels were stored after the bake. I put the baked reel up a few weeks later and it was sticky again (though not like it had been before). I would also recommend that you check tape path cleanliness during your transfer if you can. Baking will help you get from one end of 2500 feet to the other, but you can still get small amounts of shed that can mess with your frequency response and tape speed...

[Dominick Costanzo]

Dehydrators are the way to go.
The longer you "bake" it the better the repair to the damage.
For a 2" tape, 12 hours minimum. 24 better.
Place something between the reels to make a space to allow air flow.
Allow the tapes to return to room temperature before playing.
Remember not all tapes need baking
Scotch 202 & 206 rarely do.
Never bake acetate based tapes, only polyester.
When done, put the tape in a plastic bag with several tablespoons of desiccant.
Store the tape in a dry cool place.
This storage procedure will minimize degeneration of the tape to the "sticky shed" condition.