Hi, Andrew,

Sorry, maybe I wasn't clear. I have updated the post*:

Agfa Tapes* (updated 2012-02-26)

*Agfa PEM-526* exhibited dry shedding. See our article here 
<http://richardhess.com/notes/2009/01/30/back-coat-turning-to-powder/>. 
This is a totally dry dusting of powder, so it may or may not be Soft 
Binder Syndrome (SBS), but we could class it as that as the particles 
are not being retained well. Although a similar condition has been 
reported with PEM-469, recent experience shows a different degradation 
modality for PEM-469.

*Agfa PEM-468, PEM-469* There are mixed reviews on these tapes and we 
have been told that most of the bad tape was recalled and transferred at 
Agfa's expense. This was supposedly affecting only a half-year's worth 
of batches from pre-1990. Unike Ampex/Quantegy, baking is NOT 
recommended as a matter of course, based in part on our experience with 
the PEM-526 and this article 
<http://www.tomshardware.co.uk/forum/page-42797_32_0.html>, although the 
baking temperature may have been a bit too high (60 °C) in that instance.

The author of these pages encountered two very nasty reels of one-inch 
Agfa PEM 469 in 2012-02 (recorded in 1988-01) that shed a waxy 
clear-to-slightly-yellow exudate from the mag coat. This waxy coating 
did show some buildup, especially during fast wind, but not nearly as 
much as Ampex 456.We can't call it SSS because one of the definitions of 
classic SSS is that it is resolved by baking. This apparently is made 
worse by baking...and I'm too chicken to try it. It should probably be 
considered yet another variant of Soft Binder Syndrome (or SBS).

**

Another point of interest is that some of the mag coat was also 
transferring slightly to the back coat which was then coming off on the 
capstan (which presses against the back coat side of the tape). This was 
a pressure transfer from the back coat to the capstan as the pinch 
roller (pressing on the mag coat side) was segmented and the segments 
clearly printed onto the capstan. No pressure, no mag-coat residue. This 
is an A-wind machine, a Sony APR-16. It is a reverse configuration from 
the Studers.

After consultation on the ARSC List and receiving replies from Marie 
O'Connell in New Zealand and Corey Bailey in Los Angeles, I decided to 
continue with the non-baking recommendation as there was just too much 
conversation on the Web and ARSCList against baking to make me feel 
comfortable.

The tape's mag coat was run over a Pellon pad in library wind and then 
over a D5-soaked Pellon pad, also in library wind.  D5 was generously 
applied to the heads and fixed guides immediately before the transfer. 
We applied about 2.5 ml (cc) of D5 to each tape. Note D5 is also known 
as decamethylcyclopentasiloxane, Siloxane D5, CAS # 541-02-6, and 
sometimes referred to as Cyclomethicone (generally in regards to the 
product as produced by Dow Corning). It is found in many personal care 
products and has recently been declared safe for the environment by the 
Canadian Ministry of the Environment 
<http://www.cdr-siloxaned5-bor.ca/default.asp?lang=En&n=9320DEF6-0&offset=3&toc=show#s2.1>.

The worse of the two tapes was stopped twice to re-clean the heads and 
reapply D5. It is not clear to me if the slight loss of brightness was 
due to reproduce or recording issues, as apparently some batches of this 
tape shed when originally manufactured.

This tape has been reported stable in parts of Europe, but Ms. O'Connell 
confirmed the clear-to-yellow waxy exudate and indicated that it was one 
of her least favourite tapes to transfer. She reported that it did 
respond to her isopropyl drip technique 
<http://richardhess.com/notes/2006/03/09/wet-playing-of-reel-tapes-with-loss-of-lubricant-a-guest-article-by-marie-oconnell/> 
and Mr. Bailey suggested gentle baking (about 48 °C for 24 hours) which 
allowed him to have success with the tape.  He also reports success with 
lubricants from The Last Factory here 
<http://www.baileyzone.net/analog%20tape%20diy.htm> (second to last 
section).


------

Does that help? Any other questions? Thanks for identifying my lack of 
clarity.

Cheers,

Richard



On 2012-02-26 5:27 PM, Andrew Hamilton wrote:
> On Feb 26, 2012, at 4:57 PM, Richard L. Hess wrote:
>> ....The author of these pages encountered two very nasty reels of 
>> one-inch Agfa PEM 469 in 2012-02 (recorded in 1988-01) that shed a 
>> waxy clear-to-slightly-yellow exudate from the mag coat. The mag coat 
>> was also transferring slightly to the back coat which was then coming 
>> off on the capstan (which presses against the back coat side of the 
>> tape).
>
> Interesting mode of SBS, this dry shedding.   Was the tape B-wind or 
> was the mag coat actually coming off on the pinch roller?
>
>
>

-- 
Richard L. Hess                   email: [log in to unmask]
Aurora, Ontario, Canada           (905) 713 6733     1-877-TAPE-FIX
http://www.richardhess.com/tape/contact.htm
Quality tape transfers -- even from hard-to-play tapes.