Cleaning dust or hair shavings out of a VCR?

[Leanoric]

Hi guys, just wondering if anybody could advise me. I recently purchased a 1989 sony SLV-353 and upon opening it I have discovered that it is full of what looks like black hair shavings. They are located all around the tape area of the machine. Im not actually sure what they are but I havent seen anything like it in any cleaning vids in youtube and am not sure what to to do about. I understand that it is not sensible to use a vacuum clean to suck it out due to static?

Here is a picture, any advice would be much appreciated, thanks.

[lordsmurf]

That isn't hair. The deck is screwed. That's very likely shed oxide.

That can be damaging to heads. Any tape subsequently put into the deck can be harmed as well.

Let me guess ... a random eBay purchase? And "tested" and "working" -- ie all the normal lies/BS?

I would tell the seller he has two options -- pay for return (and refund), or pay for supplies to clean it. Because either way, he will be paying out some bucks.

The ONLY way I'd let this slide is if it was a "for parts / damaged / broken / as-is" sort of unit. And you're planning to salvage it for parts, not try to refurb that unit directly.

As far as cleaning, whatever you will do will be risky.

Clear tape can peel that mess up, mostly, but do not touch anything else with the tapes -- especially not heads or similar.

Vacuum is way risky, not just static, but may suck up something that should not be subjected to suction.

The lube in the deck is screwed. You may need to fully clean and re-grease moving part pathways.

Cleaning an oxide-shed deck us tedious, frustrating, and may still have a bad outcome.

[Leanoric]

Lordsmurf, thank you for taking the time to reply. You're right, it was an untested ebay purchase and it wasnt that cheap either.
It is a model that I had back in the day and have been trying to find one for some time so was probably too hasty in hitting the buy button when it showed up.

When you say clear tape, should i press the sticky side all around the tape deck so that the oxide sticks to it? Any particular type of tape? Also will i need to take the whole machine apart?

I have plenty of 99.9% rubbing alcohol, is that any use in this situation?

I can some better photos if that will help.

[lordsmurf]

I would return it, or at least get a steep partial refund.

What eBay seller was this from? Hopefully not that VCR scammer in Houston.

For the clear tape, brand isn't important. But the stickier, the better. Clear simply so you can see what you're doing. You're only using it as a poor man's vacuum cleaner (but due to static, not money). But it's extremely important not to touch anything sensitive, like the heads. You'll have to gently brush up some of the oxide from those places.

Rubbing alcohol won't do anything here, aside from clean the heads. (Using copy paper, I no longer advocate chamois or foam swabs, quality has tanked in recent years. Some DSLR swabs still fine, but expensive.)

More photos will mostly be to educate others that visit this thread.

[Leanoric]

Nope, wasnt the Houston seller, it came from the north east of England (Im in the Uk).

I think Im going to take this on and try to get it cleaned up and working, They dont make these anymore and I dont like to see old hardware get binned so its worth the challenge.

Damn, I ordered a load of the foam swabs just after i bought the vcr. Probably from china if the quality has taken a dip.

I’ll take some before and after pictures for anyone thats interested.

[Leanoric]

Well I gave it a good clean and tried a tape in it. It got spat back out, the blue gear underneath the left side tape guide turns out to be broken.
I have a feeling thats not the only problem with it so have requested to return it.
I should have taken your advice in the beginning Lordsmurf.

[hodgey]

The blue gear cracking is a common problem on Sony VCRs of this vintage.