Power of Blue Painters Tape

[sportscarhiatus]

Power of Blue Painters Tape




Well folks... I took delivery of my 2012 Acura TSX SE today. I went ahead and had them NOT perform any detailing on the vehicle, even though it was already sitting on the showroom floor with some slight marring. I just had them do a spoiler install and vacuum out the interior.

Anyways, clear bra-ing will not happen till next week, so I had a 2 hour drive back home. What did I do in the meantime? BLUE PAINTERS TAPE!!! Yes, it looked goofy, but hey, I'm not risking any permanent chip. Mike and I spent about an hour using up a whole roll of tape. But hey it worked

So moral of story is, if you don't have a clear bra, and are looking to drive somewhere, here's a temporary (and cheap - 6 bucks or so for a roll) solution for preventing chips!!! (and bugs too, mind you)


At Dealership prior to taping

After 1 hour of taping

We were so hungry, we needed RIBS...

Back home safe and sound

What the front end looked like

After it was all said and done, removing the tape only took about 15 minutes. My paint and front grille were left in pristine shape.

Can't wait to get clear-bra'd.


You know what's sad, I already put my son to work in helping me wash the car. He was the official RINSER extra-ordinaire .

What's MORE sad? I was already claying and whipping out my PC to buff out at least the hood. I just couldn't stand the micro marring already there from the dealership. ARrrrrrrrrgh. Meantime, I used PC, orange and gray pads Power and Super Finish. Then Jetseal via Red pad all around. Will buff the rest this weekend or so, prior to clear bra.

.........

 

[MustangMikeFL]

great idea. Why mess up the bumper the first day? LOL good work!

 

[Chris's FX4]

Nice.:xyxthumbs:

It definitely is an excellent and cheap temporary solution. A lot of the guys up here with Subaru's do this for the Rally in the fall. Bumpers, mirrors, wheel openings, they're all covered in tape.

Did you notice if anybody was taking pictures of it on the trip home?

 

[sportscarhiatus]

great idea. Why mess up the bumper the first day? LOL good work!

thanks man. Yeah, I learned my lesson. Back in 2007. Brand new Black nissan altima. Pristine. Drove it back. ROCK CHIP on hood. Big. Blatant. Annoying. There permanently entire life of car. Sheeeeeeesh.

Never again.

Nice.:xyxthumbs:

It definitely is an excellent and cheap temporary solution. A lot of the guys up here with Subaru's do this for the Rally in the fall. Bumpers, mirrors, wheel openings, they're all covered in tape.

Did you notice if anybody was taking pictures of it on the trip home?

Thanks Chris.... haha... no I didn't notice anyone with a camera taking pics. I did notice a lot of people LOOKING tho. Even cops. LOL.

They're all just jelly...

 

[timaishu]

You forgot to tape an inch or two above the windshield where it meets the roof.

I filled in a rockchip right at the lip of the roof a week or so agl.

 

[sportscarhiatus]

You forgot to tape an inch or two above the windshield where it meets the roof.

I filled in a rockchip right at the lip of the roof a week or so agl.

I was debating taping that too

Yeah we all hate rock chips...:bat::bat::bat:

 

[LC2ner]

Nice ride. Please tell me you opted for the 6MT.

I wish I'd have done the same...on my 2 month old SE, I have a chip on the hood, passenger fender, driver door, and driver a-pillar--the paint is way too soft.

 

[sportscarhiatus]

Nice ride. Please tell me you opted for the 6MT.

I wish I'd have done the same...on my 2 month old SE, I have a chip on the hood, passenger fender, driver door, and driver a-pillar--the paint is way too soft.

No sir... I wanted a stick, but wifey needs to drive this. Besides I have marilyn (my 5.0) for that. The paddle shifters on mine are pretty responsive, with rev match... Perfect for a daily.

Yeah sorry about the chips on yours. Clear bra is a god send

 

[shoeless89]

HAHA thats awesome! Congrats on the new car!

 

[SON1C]

Keep it up and you'll ruin the clear bra sales

 

[ziggo99]

So how much tape did that take?

 

[bigdriver4u]

That's what I'm talking about. Doing work with the Blue Tape. I'll keep that one in my back pocket for use one day.

 

[brlukosk]

Any idea what film you are going to have installed? I've got 3M that's a few years old on mine. Not really happy with the clarity.

 

[sportscarhiatus]

HAHA thats awesome! Congrats on the new car!

Thank you Shoe! I love it. My daily driver accounts for about 70% of the year I drive. So now, I can at least enjoy the drive more, than my boring civic

Keep it up and you'll ruin the clear bra sales

Lol!!! Good point. Although it's a lot more work. Not sure if I do 1 hours worth of work to apply the tape everytime I hit the highway... lol. And for the record I am still getting clear bra'd... just not till next week. So I will still help its sales

So how much tape did that take?

I used up the whole roll pretty much. Not bad for 6-7bucks cost to protect your paint.

That's what I'm talking about. Doing work with the Blue Tape. I'll keep that one in my back pocket for use one day.

Definitely. And LITERALLY. I think I will leave a roll of blue tape in my cars permanently for any events like this

 

[sportscarhiatus]

Any idea what film you are going to have installed? I've got 3M that's a few years old on mine. Not really happy with the clarity.

It will be the same as what's on Marilyn, so Tori will also get 3M. I've been happy with the 3M ones thus far. I had it on Zena (370Z) in the past too. I figure after 5 years, might be good idea to replace it anyways. That's the whole point of it, it's sacrificial. 750 bucks or so, every 5 years, for pristine virgin paint? Sign me up.

 

[rivaladversary]

OP, what brand of painter's tape did you use? my girlfriend has a 2011 graphite luster TSX and we're planning on driving down to LA from SF. Were there any marring issues?

 

[A-train]

very cool! nice ride, and the ribs looked delish!

 

[scooterguitar]

I like the looks of the tape, sets it apart from the rest ;>)
Imagine passerbys thought you wrecked it and were holding it together with it!

 

[sportscarhiatus]

OP, what brand of painter's tape did you use? my girlfriend has a 2011 graphite luster TSX and we're planning on driving down to LA from SF. Were there any marring issues?

I got 3M I believe... I got the easy release type. No issues with marring. That's the whole idea. It's the same type of tape you use when you're buffing...to separate the trim from the paint.

 

[rivaladversary]

I got 3M I believe... I got the easy release type. No issues with marring. That's the whole idea. It's the same type of tape you use when you're buffing...to separate the trim from the paint.

can you be awesome and link me an image or something of the tape? I want to make sure i have the same tape.