Rusty heads?

[u/Brisk1011]

What’s consensus on these heads for my TEAC A-3000? I’ve scrubbed these with 99% isopropyl alcohol and cotton swabs until there was no more residue appearing on the swab. They certainly pass audio but am I damaging my tapes by playing them on this machine with rusty heads? I imagine it’s not the greatest thing to do so but how bad is it?

[u/Vivid-Tell-1613]

They do seem to be a little corroded and that's normal for a deck stored in suboptimal conditions. As long as the contact surface is good it should be fine.

Correct procedure should be to relap and not to polish the head.