Audio and Video Tape Restoration and Transfer Service

Many types of magnetic recording media like audio cassettes, reel-to-reel, and video tapes are all prone to something called “sticky shed syndrome”.

Sticky shed syndrome happens when magnetic tapes absorb moisture over time. Eventually, the moisture will render your tape unusable. That means not being able to record or playback your magnetic tapes. If you have magnetic media that’s been sitting around for many years, it’s best to avoid playing back these non-rejuvenated tapes. Recording or playing tapes with sticky shed syndrome often damages them and gums up your tape player’s heads.

Fortunately, Two Squares offers affordable and long-term solutions to protect your magnetic media. First, we offer help with audio and video tape restoration through our tape-baking process. Two Squares can also digitize your magnetic media. Our restoration services can preserve your treasured audio and video for many years.

Technical Details of Magnetic Media

Magnetic audio and video tapes contain three parts: plastic tape, iron oxide, and a polyurethane binder. Polyurethane helps magnetically chargeable iron oxide adhere to plastic tape. In the 1970s and 80s, people, companies, and organizations used these tapes as low-cost ways to record audio, video, and other data. This older media often needs tape restoration before it can be used without issues.

The major problem with magnetic media is that it’s prone to absorbing moisture from the air, otherwise called hydrolysis. After continual exposure to normal ambient living conditions, the urethane molecules in tape binders absorb moisture and migrate to the tape’s surface. This process, otherwise called sticky shed syndrome, causes a gummy residue on the surface of your tapes.

As you can imagine, residue forming on your tapes can cause many problems. This residue is horrible for tape players because it can build up on your tape heads. Besides what this gummy substance does to your players, it can also smear your tapes and worsen their playback quality. Once this gummy tape smudges your magnetic media, it’s likely to cause permanent damage.

Audio and Video Tape Restoration Through Baking

Luckily, there’s a way to improve the quality of your tapes while not damaging them or your playback equipment. This process is known as “baking” tapes. Baking is a video and audio tape restoration service that removes moisture from urethane binders, eliminating sticky and gummy residue.

Baking is a very controlled process. Incorrectly baking tapes at overly high temperatures can cause exposure to damaging magnetic fields. In other words, you can’t just throw your tapes in an oven! Attempting the baking process at home could permanently damage your media. Safely bake your tapes by contacting the tape restoration professionals at Two Squares.

Frequently Asked Questions About Tape Restoration & Baking

How Do I Know if My Tapes Have Sticky Shed Syndrome?

Even with advanced, more durable binders, old and new tapes are susceptible to built-up moisture.

Here are the most common signs your tapes have sticky shed syndrome:

Squeaking sounds during playback
Warble and beat during playback
Tape peels away from the reel while unrolling

You may also observe sticky shed syndrome after noticing residue on your tape player’s heads. A full tape restoration will solve the issue, but until then you can help maintain the tape deck by regularly cleaning the heads with isopropyl alcohol, which acts as a solvent. But some tape decks have heads that are harder to access than others.

But what if you’re unsure if your tapes have sticky shed syndrome? In that case, we recommend not playing your tapes unless you’re okay with potentially damaging one or two of them.

Instead, be safe and have the professionals at Two Squares use our process and equipment to bake your tapes. Our audio and video tape restoration service process prevents you from risking ruined tapes and gummed-up tape players.

Is Baking My Tapes a Permanent Fix?

No, baking a tape is not a permanent fix. Tapes will reabsorb moisture as they originally did. Unfortunately, tapes often absorb moisture quicker the second time around.

The best thing for video and audio tape restoration is to bake tapes once. Then, capture your audio or video using professional-grade equipment that preserves them in digital formats that don’t degrade over time.

After the tape-baking process is over, you’ll typically have a few weeks to enjoy your tapes in their original format. If you need to protect the tape longer than a few weeks, we recommend pressure sealing them with silica gel to avoid re-exposing them to damaging moisture.

Magnetic Tape Restoration

Audio and Video Tape Restoration and Transfer Service

Technical Details of Magnetic Media

Audio and Video Tape Restoration Through Baking

Frequently Asked Questions About Tape Restoration & Baking

How Do I Know if My Tapes Have Sticky Shed Syndrome?

Is Baking My Tapes a Permanent Fix?

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