I have restored several hundred 8 track tapes, I do a very thorough and professional job. Not only do I replace the pressure pads (which is on about 95% of all tapes) but I also replace the sensing foil but then I go a step further and apply splice tape on the underside of where the sensing foil is, that is just extra protection so if someday the sensing foil ever fails the tape won't come apart and your tape player won't eat it up! I also remove the roller and clean it thoroughly and also the spindle it goes on, I also remove the reel and clean the spindle it goes on and both spindles receive a very light lubrication. The outside tape cartridge itself is thoroughly cleaned and if there are many bad scuffs I even go so far as to use a polishing compound to remove them, only if they are very distracting, I spend way too much time on each tape as it is but it's just because I want these to be treasured by someone who cares about the antiquated formats that are no more. I of course have to charge a bit more than some others but surprisingly in many cases I'm only a few dollars higher than ones being sold untested, which you really should NEVER buy unless you know how to do the necessary things that will need to be done on over 90% of them. Every tape after restoration is then put into the tape player and played all the way thru till the foil hits the sensor and changes tracks. You do not need to be even slightly concerned about these tapes functioning properly when you receive them. You do need to make sure your tape player is maintained properly tho, especially cleaning the capstan. If you're not familiar with proper maintenance take a bit of time and watch a few videos on youtube on properly cleaning your 8 track machine.