From: utzoo!watmath!watcgl!dmmartindale Newsgroups: net.audio Title: Re: Tape recorder maintainence Article-I.D.: watcgl.88 Posted: Sat Jan 1 05:43:55 1983 Received: Sat Jan 1 06:46:37 1983 References: yale-com.599 I've never been able to find 91% isopropyl alcohol, but I've discovered that drugstores which supply doctor's offices (often located in the same building as one or more doctor's offices) may carry 99% isopropyl. Anyway, this is fine stuff for cleaning heads and capstan, but NOT the pinch roller. Alcohol will cause the rubber to harden eventually. The manual for my tape deck (Harman/Kardon) suggests using an "aromatic hydrocarbon" for the pinch roller. Someone suggested that ordinary lacquer thinner was good for this.