You are both wrong . I have done this more times than i can remember on
very stuborn dirty heads . You dont force the erasor in there like
shoveling dirt .. you set it on there very light and let it rub for a
bit and watch the picture come back .
Have you ever tried it ?? no .. so you dont know .
It does not hurt the movie tape either .

Alcohol is useless to clean anything its just like using water .. throw
it out and forget it thats why many people dont get vcr heads clean .

The little heads on vcrs are only a problem if the rub up &down across
the gap instead of with the gap or push to hard and gouge . They will
not melt or absorb anything . I have repaired vcr`s sence the beginning
of the boat anchor top loads and work on brand new stuff of today and
not a drop of alcohol around .