Takes forever to tape.
- Thread starter pcw25
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Bates Detailing
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- Jan 11, 2011
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Blue painters tape - and instead of taping on DD's I usually just thoroughly clean up my "signature" afterwards - unless I am compounding. When compounding I will happily take the time to tape.
Lasthope05
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- Aug 29, 2007
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What are you taping down thats taking such a long time? The only real important thing you tape down is window trims and unpainted molding. 5 minutes tops.
ryanmcg1
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- Sep 17, 2011
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I don't find anything different between the two. Also takes me forever to tape up a vehicle it's not just plastics and window moldings but headlight molding, chrome emblems, door, hood & trunk edges.
ShinyRex
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- Jan 5, 2011
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Thanks, I didn't think there would be a difference but I had to ask anyway.
On a side note I always get a kick out of using tape to make a 50/50 line for test spots.
Lasthope05
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- Aug 29, 2007
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There's a pretty big difference in adhesiveness. The green 3m is stickier and imho leaves less residue on the paint.
I personally feel all of that is excessive and unnecessary when working with a DA polisher but if you feel more comfortable doing that way its perfectly fine as you can never be too safe.
TRILLIS
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- Jan 10, 2012
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If your working with a team mate as I do. I sometimes get them to do the fiddly bits by hand while I do the roof then I don't have to be as cautious when I get to that area with the machine.Under and around door handles,badges under and on side mirrors and around headlights then tape up long areas only, like windshield and doortrims. All seems to blend ok. Otherwise as stated I find it time consuming as well.Is it just me or are car manufacturers putting ridiculous amounts of pourous black plastics on new cars just to annoy us.
habeba86
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- Aug 21, 2010
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Nope, they do infact do it to be annoyong!
On topic.....I use blue painters tape, never used anything else. After a while u get very good at taping...you get a feel for the tape and start being able to make very straight lines rite against where the trim meets the paint and curves become easier. I lay a few inches of tape down, then with one hand hold the tape on the trim then pull alot of tape out and while keeping it taut pretty much lay my head where the line i want taped and then with my other hand lay the tape line. That probably sounds confusing, but youll get the hang of it.
Monster Shine
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- Jan 2, 2012
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I agree very much with the above, when it is in the cards I use green 3M tape. Otherwise I do go with 3M blue painter's tape
oldmodman
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- Sep 25, 2007
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I have both 3M Green and Blue tape, in several different widths.
And yes, taping is my least favorite part of the job. I can spend as long as two hours taping.
But if you think taping a car is a pain. Try taping a part for powder coating. You have to use this really thin hi temp plastic tape. The damn stuff has a mind of it's own. And you can't remove it until after the part has been baked at 400 degrees to set the powder coat.
And yes, taping is my least favorite part of the job. I can spend as long as two hours taping.
But if you think taping a car is a pain. Try taping a part for powder coating. You have to use this really thin hi temp plastic tape. The damn stuff has a mind of it's own. And you can't remove it until after the part has been baked at 400 degrees to set the powder coat.
Monster Shine
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- Jan 2, 2012
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Take it from a guy who owns a powder coating business. He is not joking, the cost of those tapes is no picnic either. Glass cloth tape can routinely hit $25-$35 a roll.
ryanmcg1
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- Sep 17, 2011
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I'm glad to hear you been successful in not burning any door or hood edges but don't be misinformed about a DA they will burn edges and sharp body lines if not careful.
Mike Phillips
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- Dec 5, 2022
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Taping off to perfection does take a long time... I personally don't do it...
Here's something I've been posting for years so instead of re-typing it I'm copying and pasting it from the below thread where I was asked the age-old question about polishing the paint under the tape-line next to the trim.
Post #6 from this thread,
Tape it off and avoid a lifetime of ugly...
Usually either by carefully machine waxing during the last steps or by hand.
I actually wrote a detailed answer to this question in one of the first write-ups I posted to this forum after moving to Autogeek from Meguiar's.
Step-by-Step How-To Article using Pinnacle Products with the new PC 7424XP
Mike Phillips said:Here we've taped-off the rubber gasket between the glass and the window frame and I'm pointing to show that there's about an 1/8th of an inch of paint that's not going to get buffed with either of the two polishing steps. After the correction steps we'll remove the tape and carefully wax these areas for a uniform look that will match the polished areas next to the tape line.
While not perfectionist detailing in some eyes, remember this is a daily driver, not a show car.
You can invest more time and just run the tape down the rubber and get it close to the edge of the panel if you want or just overhang a little like I did here. It's your choice based upon what you're trying to accomplish and how much time you want to invest.
Another factor that will affect how much time you want to invest into the "little picture" is how much you're charing for your work. Doing fine detailing to small areas is very time consuming and most detailers already struggling charging as much as they want to get...
But that's what I do... I major on the majors... and minor on the minors unless someone is willing to pay for the time it takes to minor on the minors...
Nappers
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- Jun 16, 2009
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I tape as needed..... My cars, don't , Sgt's Ford Explorer, plastic flares, bumpers, mirrors...Tape....
I use the blue 3M painters tape, it's kinda flexible for turns and what not and I got a ton from my sister who worked at Sherwin Williams, got the wide stuff, thin stuff.
Like someone said, taping is easier than cleaning wax off of that peppled textured plastic that you need un-obtanium to get the dried wax off of the plastic....
I use the blue 3M painters tape, it's kinda flexible for turns and what not and I got a ton from my sister who worked at Sherwin Williams, got the wide stuff, thin stuff.
Like someone said, taping is easier than cleaning wax off of that peppled textured plastic that you need un-obtanium to get the dried wax off of the plastic....
Is that a Mosquito?
shoeless89
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- Jul 18, 2010
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:iagree: It usually takes me ~45 min or more to tape up a car really well when doing a full correction. I would rather spend extra time taping then burn through something, marr some plastic or clean polish out of everything.
Mike Phillips
Active member
- Dec 5, 2022
- 51,004
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That's my philosophy, spend a little time up front and save a lot of time at the end plus detailing wax out of the cracks and off of plastic trim isn't my idea of fun.
Plus... if you leave wax in the cracks or plastic and rubber trim stained your customer will use your name as a cuss word the rest of their lives...