This is related to the following question: Cleaning 5ΒΌ" floppy drives
Is there a proper way to clean the pressure pad that simply presses against the back side of a single-sided 5.25-inch Apple II floppy disk?
For floppy disks that are degrading, shedding oxide contamination may accumulate on the pressure pad. If the drive door is closed with no disk in the drive, this innocuous action now transfers any contamination from the pressure pad to the drive head.
Does rubbing the pressure pad with an alcohol-moistened cotton swab or premoistened medical alcohol prep pad cause damage to the pressure pad in any way, such as abrading the glide surface or loosening the pressure pad adhesive?
Is it worthwhile to replace the pressure pad with some sort of generic sticky-backed fibrous material that is trimmed to fit onto the mechanism, to minimize damage to old floppy disks?
Is it feasible to reduce wear on old fragile floppy disks, by replacing the fibrous pressure pad with a smoother non-porous glide surface material such as teflon tape?
