Marks on VHS head drum.
 

This is an odd one. I have a JVC VHS from the late 80's in my office room that I only use for mould cleaning tapes, and also for ff or rw some of more 'delicate' tapes, as the Panasonics I use to watch them on do extremely fast cueing and have snapped a small number of tapes.

The only time any tape has come into contact with the head drum on this machine is when a tape is first put in, and the machine winds it around the drum and spins it through a little, to determine the tape length. I've never kknwoingly put a damaged tape through.

The head drum now has what can be described as whiteish (as in the drum looks lighter and matted on the mark, not as in paint) 'skidmarks' on the drum. They do seem to have been made somehow by a tape, considering thier position and angle. There is also, in one of the grooves on the drum, a tiny black speck.
I have tried cleaning the drum with Ispropyl, but it does nothing at all to either the marks or the single tiny black speck.

As I don;t use it for playback, I wouldn't be too fussed, but if these things can cause damage to tapes, then it would happen during the ff/rw cueing that the machine automatically does, and I can't stop that.

Ive never seen this before on any heads. It doesn't appear to be rough or abrasive in anyway, but I'm still weary. Has anyone encountred this before and able to shed some light on some possible ideas to maybe remove it? I have no idea how it got there.

Re: Marks on VHS head drum.
 

That sounds like enough for a dirty tape to scratch the head drum. The drum rotates quite quickly so damage can also happen quickly. Tapes can scratch the drum just as a faulty or dirty mech can scratch tapes. Specs Bros recommends all used tapes be cleaned before playing. Easier said than done of course. I value good VHS decks which can wind tapes without lacing them up, or only over the A/C head for timing. Similarly Sanyo Betacords which do the same for Betamax tapes.

Re: Marks on VHS head drum.
 

Well, it's this machine that I use to clean the tape.

I don;t really care about the mark if it's not going to damge the tape. It doesn't seem to appear abrasive in any way, but clearly something is wrong. Whether or not it may actually damage a tape I have no idea, I've never encounteed this before. I don;t have the machine hooked up to a TV

Re: Marks on VHS head drum.
 

Perhaps mould contributed to the scratching?

Re: Marks on VHS head drum.
 

the tapes aren't quite that bad. I've cleaned loads of mouldy tapes on it over the years. The tapes don't even come into contact with the drum except during the brief moment when it's testing for tape length

Re: Marks on VHS head drum.
 

If you've cleaned loads of mouldy tapes then won't the loads of short engagements with the head drum have increased the likelihood of scoring the drum?

Re: Marks on VHS head drum.
 

No, becuase the tape doesn't make contact with the drum while the tape is ging through, one of the reasons why I use this machine to do it. I've used it for years, and this only happened recently, suddenly.

Re: Marks on VHS head drum.
 

You said yourself that each tape briefly runs across the spinning drum when first loaded. How else do you think the drum was scratched? Magic perhaps?

Re: Marks on VHS head drum.
 

I would suggest you use a piece of soft cloth and Brasso with a circular motion. This could get rid of the bits of dirt. Obviously do it slowly and gently taking care to avoid the head tips.