OT: Cleaning video head on my Betamax VCR

[Tim]

On Sun, 2008-08-10 at 06:59 -0400, Thompson Freeman wrote:
> In commerce, however, you are just as likely to find isopropyl alcohol
> as ethanol sold as rubbing alcohol. Since isopropyl is toxic, it is
> more likely to be a fairly simple solution of isopropyl alcohol and
> water. Here in the States, you can find the isopropyl rubbing alcohol
> at 90%, sold as an antiseptic. The bottle label I have indicates, but
> does not explicitely state, that the product contains only the alcohol
> and water.

I thought surgical spirit (alcohol for antiseptic purposes) was
non-toxic, but still diluted ethanol, and something different from
rubbing alcohol (which I gather is just some thing used for no
beneficial medical reason).

It's common to find isopropyl/isopropanol (apparently the same thing,
but it'd donkey's years since I studied chemistry under crappy teachers)
sold as head cleaner.

Both isopropyl, and ethanol, are usable as head cleaner, and are
commonly used for the job, though it's usually isopropyl that's sold
specifically as tape head cleaner to the general public.

While ethanol smells a bit sweet, and the vapours can be intoxicating if
using a lot of it and working in poor ventilation, isopropyl smells
terrible, can give you a raging headache just from taking the lid off
the bottle, never mind being hunched over something in a small room with
it evaporating off all the bits that you've cleaned.  And contrary to
another poster, I have seen it mess up plastic parts - previously
smoothly polished parts looked like they'd been finely sandpapered, and
sometimes they feel sticky afterwards (that just screams "solvent" to
me).  It also makes your fingers feel disgusting if you get it on them.

I'd pick ethanol as my preferred head cleaner, any day.  I can do
without breathing in noxious fumes that makes my nose and eyes stream.

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