Everyone always claims not to mix tape lubricants. No one seems to know why and everyone seems to think that every different tape uses a different formula of lubricant.
I have been doing some extensive research on the topic and have found some conclusive results.
"There are two types of tape lubricant: wet lubricant and dry lubricant.
Sony uses a wet lubricant for Sony brand tapes.
Virtually everyone else uses dry lubricant.
The reason you don't want to mix and match these lubricants is you'll gunk up the heads on your camcorder when the two lubricants mix. It's like making little mud pies in the internal workings of your camcorder. The easiest way to avoid mixing the two lubricants is to pick a brand and stick with it. If you do happen to mix tapes with differing lubricant types, be sure to clean the heads on your camcorder to prevent any permanent damage."
So really, just don't mix the wet and dry lubricants. Dry on Dry is fine and Wet on Wet is fine.
I am still doing some research on head cleaners. Many people claim that each brand has its own head cleaner formula. My theory is that since there is only Wet and Dry lubricants that there are only Wet-Head cleaners and Dry-Head cleaners.
I'll keep you informed.
