I can't stand taping before polishing!

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WRAPT C5Z06

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I still do it, but I can honestly say that I dislike it a lot. It's the ONLY part of detailing that really bothers me. Anyone else feel the same way?
 
I don't really care for it and it's time consuming but I think it's a necessary evil otherwise I'll be spending additional time removing product or worse, repairing damage.

I remember when I used to do bodywork and painting. Masking off an entire car was a real pain but it was one of those things that were a must...

I feel your pain!!
 
BobbyG said:
I don't really care for it and it's time consuming but I think it's a necessary evil otherwise I'll be spending additional time removing product or worse, repairing damage.

I remember when I used to do bodywork and painting. Masking off an entire car was a real pain but it was one of those things that were a must...

I feel your pain!!
Click to expand...
Yeah Bobby, I still do it because it's a necessity. but boy is it annoying! :eek:
 
Taping = Double edge sword.
Damn to do it,Damn if you don't!
 
If you can get it done in just a couple strips, its not bad. It used to take me a while to rape a car but now I can pretty much curve and turn te tape pretty quickly. I hated when i had to do it in pieces. Some days i like to do it-others I don't.
 
Ok-I definitely meant "tape a car", not "rape a car".....stupid auto correct!
 
The worst thing about modern cars is the...

Pebble Textured Black Plastic Trim

And any other black plastic, vinyl or rubber trim. That's just one of the reasons I like buffing out classics, like a 1970 Chevelle, etc. classics either don't have all the easy staining plastic trim or very little of it.

Chrome and stainless trim is the best... wipes off easy...


:D
 
As a fellow weekend detailer/z06 owner I feel your pain....
Even though the majority of my details are done on Corvettes it still takes me over an hour to mask them off...The area around the halo and the roof is the hardest if someone has an efficient way of doing it please share..
 
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I actually dont mind it. For me its like how some boxers enjoy getting their hands taped up for the fight. It gets them in the zone or prepared for the fight. Thats kind of how it is for me in a way. I tape everything up and while I am doing it I am going over how I want to first attack the paint, what polish combos, and what machine to use.

Now if we want to talk about something I hate then lets talk windows...
 
07 z-oh-6 said:
I still do it, but I can honestly say that I dislike it a lot. It's the ONLY part of detailing that really bothers me. Anyone else feel the same way?
Click to expand...

I cheat and get burned, so I tape rubber and the black plastic trim, especially the pebble texture that Mike mentioned. Pretreating the trim with exterior dressings made it a bit easier to wipe off waxing mistakes.
 
I agree that taping is one of the worse parts about detailing. But I feel the need to do it! And trying to tape up the plastic trim that Mike mentioned is a pain. I have an Avalanche and trying to tape off the rear tailgate is difficult. I always have to ensure I clean all of my dressings off really well prior to applying any tape, and the tape still barely sticks.
 
Mike.Phillips@Autogeek said:
The worst thing about modern cars is the...

Pebble Textured Black Plastic Trim

And any other black plastic, vinyl or rubber trim. That's just one of the reasons I like buffing out classics, like a 1970 Chevelle, etc. classics either don't have all the easy staining plastic trim or very little of it.

Chrome and stainless trim is the best... wipes off easy...


:D
Click to expand...

I agree with you Mike!

The new pebbled plastic trim becomes a real challenge to tape when it has any type of protectant on it. This is just enough of a barrier that keeps it from sticking well enough.

Before I tape I'll go over each section with Prep-Sol or Isopropyl Alcohol to remove any contaminates in order for the tape to stay put when I'm buffing. It only tales a few minutes but saves allot of time on the other end.

You've just got to love chrome and stainless steel trim!! :props:
 
PAR Detailing said:
I actually dont mind it. For me its like how some boxers enjoy getting their hands taped up for the fight. It gets them in the zone or prepared for the fight. Thats kind of how it is for me in a way. I tape everything up and while I am doing it I am going over how I want to first attack the paint, what polish combos, and what machine to use.

Now if we want to talk about something I hate then lets talk windows...
Click to expand...

Cue "eye of the tiger"... haha
 
BobbyG said:
The new pebbled plastic trim becomes a real challenge to tape when it has any type of protectant on it. This is just enough of a barrier that keeps it from sticking well enough.
Click to expand...

I agree... I have a car out in the studio right now and there are portions I cannot get tape to stick to at all.

I remember a mistake I made when I was younger, I was getting ready to tape-off a 1959 Corvette before taking a rotary buffer to it to remove all the swirls and had the brainy idea to test out "The Glosser", a wiper that is impregnated with some type of glossing agent and I think some type of protectant but I'm not 100% sure on the protectant. My friend Bill Stuart owns the company and sent me some to test out. So I wiped the Corvette down with the Glosser and thought it did a pretty good job of making the paint glossy and slick... then I tried to tape the car off.... m-i-s-t-a-k-e

Couldn't get tape to stick at all. Did like you mentioned, wiped the areas I wanted to tape-off with some Glass Cleaner I had with me and it worked well enough to push forward with the buff-out... Somewhere I have some very detailed pictures of the process used on this car but here's one...

Taken with an early Mavica around 1990, I'm carefully wiping off M16
59CorvetteLowDown.jpg
 
Yeah I hate taping the trim too. It takes so much time and requires a lot of concentration and patience.
 
I tape the pebble black trim that Mike talked about, and rubber seals. Otherwise a rinse with the power washer gets everything else out of the cracks.
 
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