Inappropriately sticky DC100 tapes

Once again I have some HP 85 tapes, which are basically 3M DC100 cartridges. These have the interesting property that, left to sit for the better part of a decade, when the tape is first spun the oxide ends up stuck to the tensioner loop inside of the cartridge, leaving a clear spot on the tape. Which is bad as the drives use optical sensors to find BOT/EOT perforations in the tape, not to mention the fact that your Important Data is now missing some bits as they are stuck to the tensioner loop which doesn't get to touch the head. Suppose I'm willing to take extreme measures with a tape that I think has not been spun in a while, like disassembling and reassembling the cartridge. (As you might imagine from my description above, I have some cartridges which are sacrificable for parts.) Anybody got any good ideas for removing and replacing the tensioner loop without removing the oxide from the tape? -Frank McConnell