Tape?

[young at heart]

Kind of a basic question but is it OK to use just a good quality blue painter’s tape to mask off trim, badges, ridges etc. before polishing?

Seems like it would be fine but I just wanted to make sure.

Can only imagine that awful feeling if you started pulling up tape and…well, you know.

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[NightmareMoon]

Blue painters tape is about the safest thing you can use. Dont leave it on overnight, but yeah perfectly safe and recommended to cover headlights and black plastic when you need to protect them from an orbital.

 

[Unbridled5.0]

^ that

 

[young at heart]

Blue painters tape is about the safest thing you can use. Dont leave it on overnight, but yeah perfectly safe and recommended to cover headlights and black plastic when you need to protect them from an orbital.

Thanks, you know I should have asked if it was ok on paint as well?

 

[DFB5.0]

This is a topic that came up when I did the advanced paint correction class with Sandro last year.

- With general purpose type masking tapes, you really shouldn't leave it on for extended periods of time as you risk expensive damage to your paint.

- Painters tape is ok, but from memory, it doesn't have the same heat tolerance. Polishing generates heat, which could cause the adhesive to react.

- Some tapes can leave residue behind, often from heat. Removing that residue can re-inflict marring.

For those reasons, I would stick with tapes specifically designed for automotive/detailing tasks. Something like Carpro's red masking tape, Kamoi or 3M Precision. The Carpro stuff is surprisingly affordable.

CARPRO Automotive Masking Tape 1/2" - 30% More Tape!
CARPRO Automotive Masking Tape 1" - 30% More Tape!
CARPRO Automotive Masking Tape 2" - 30% More Tape!

Kamoi Kabuki S | Auto Detailing Masking Tape – Parks Car Care
3M Precision Masking Tape for Automotive Detailing - High-Quality Japanese Made Tapes in Multiple Sizes – Obsessed Garage

From my perspective, I hate taping because its tedious and time consuming. Paying just a little bit extra for these tapes is money well spent, you don't want to be stuffing around reapplying tape because it didn't hold or reacts to heat and leaves residue behind.

 

[John S]

Would the red CARPRO tape be a better option than blue painters tape or other 3M options in protecting the multi layer Mach 1 hood stripe? I'm worried about damaging the flat black finish with adhesive residue and also lifting the gloss black edge stripe if the adhesive is too strong.

 

[Johnny maverick]

I use 3m yellow because that's what use to mask for paint. I tell people when you mask it off it's not bullet proof. Try to stay away from it with the buffer just in case.

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