Cassette repair advice?

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Old tapes are awesome. They're so cheap and easy to get used, since people don't value them so much for collecting, so you can score really nice finds on tape. Of course they're easy to get because they wear out, it's so disappointing to score something great that turns out to be unplayable. Luckily they hold up incredibly well if they were good quality to begin with, and even if they wear out I think it's a great way to hear tons of music because you just get CD's for stuff that you care about. So, I'm wondering if anyone has tricks for repairing them?

Splicing is easy, all you need is one of those blanks with the case held together by screws. You can break open a regular case, then put the reels in the blank case, splice with some strong glue and screw it together nice.

Tight reels that won't wind right & play back warbly- does anyone know if there's a way to lubricate them?

Magnetised/degraded sound- the kind that gets that ear piercing shrieky noise- are those ones beyond all hope or can you recover them somehow?

― sucka (sucka), Sunday, 28 September 2003 04:57 (twenty-two years ago)

my experiences with the last 2 problems is that they're pretty much unsolvable unless you bake the tape. never had this done by anyone other than professionals so can't help you with the methodology.

― phil turnbull (philT), Sunday, 28 September 2003 06:38 (twenty-two years ago)

That's jargon, right- you don't actually put it in an oven?!

― sucka (sucka), Monday, 29 September 2003 04:24 (twenty-two years ago)

from http://www.loopers-delight.com/tips/tape/Baking_Tapes.html

Regardless of what format is used, the following are the most common tape problems:

Sticky residue or powder on tape, which makes it difficult to play the tape.

Binder degradation (oxide flaking off the basefilm).

Physical damage due to poor tape recorder maintenance.
The sticky-tape / -powder problem can be temporarily relieved by baking the tape for at least eight hours at 55°C (130°F), and an extreme case may require 18 to 24 hours. A convection oven is recommended for this procedure. This heating process makes the tape usable for a few weeks and can be repeated many times. I recommend copying any tapes that develop this problem because their long-term durability is questionable.

The second problem, binder degradation, can sometimes be reversed by storing the tapes in a cold and dry environment for a couple of weeks. The third problem of tape damage is usually caused by one edge of the tape being curled and is the result of an improperly aligned tape transport. A severe case of edge damage, pleating, or creasing is usually difficult to play, but I have developed a method of correcting the problem so that the tape is at least playable...”

― the surface noise (electricsound), Monday, 29 September 2003 04:25 (twenty-two years ago)

Thank you- beautiful! It even explained the squeaky noise problem "stiction" and how to fix it. Well, it's some trouble to go to and I don't even have anything I care about enough to do it, but now I know in case I have to. Have to sneak one last praise for tapes- I have maybe 5 times as many as I have CD's but I've lost more CD's to scratching, bronzing and material flaking than I've lost tapes. Oh that reminds me- now I have to ask one about CD scratch repair.

― sucka (sucka), Tuesday, 30 September 2003 04:36 (twenty-two years ago)

eleven months pass...

I have found that sometimes a tape can be unstuck with lead powder from a pencil. Again it is temporary but you can get it copied at least.

― james nicolson, Wednesday, 29 September 2004 12:32 (twenty-one years ago)

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