I am terrible at taping

Tuck91

Tuck91

New member
It seems whenever I go to do a car, by machine or by hand, I am terrible when it comes to taking things off such as trim, cracks, windows, etc.

heck, I dont even know If I am using the right tape :scared:

On the Dodge Power Wagon I recently did, I only taped up the real important areas and was extra careful.

So what do you guys use for tape? It would be nice if I could get it at Home Depot or Lowes. right now I am using 3M blue painters tape

what do you guys think? Can you tweak my technique? any tips are appreciated.

thanks in advance.
 
Depending on the car... sometimes I tape and sometimes not. If a car has chrome "badges" or sharp chrome trim, I'll tape it to keep from tearing up my pads.

Sometimes I do headlight lenses if they are plastic and I think I might brush them with the edge of the pad....

I usually don't tape the seams between doors, hood/fender, etc. I tend to be fairly neat and use lesser amounts of polish than I did when I first started polishing. Consequently, hardly any polish gets down into those areas. (The "old-timers" used to slop compound all over the hood, then crank their rotaray up all the way and compound would FLY everywhere!!! I never get any polish anywhere! I also use M105, which, I've found, to be very low-dusting as well).

Yes, 3M blue painter's tape is what I use also, when I choose to tape.

Don't worry You'll get better as you practice more!:D
 
Thanks Bill, your post helped me quite a bit. I dont wanna ruin any pads to something as silly as chrome trim :smile:
 
If you really want to get fancy with tape then

Go by an automotive paint supply house and get some 3M painters tape in
1/4" and 1/8" sizes. Then you can really pull it around hard curved areas with ease. This would be the tape on the very edge and then if it didnt have a little paper say 2-3" paper attached to it, you would put down a wider tape just above the edge of that one, and its sealed and protected very well. We used to use this stuff all the time in the paint shop when we were taping up cars for painting. This little stuff isnt blue like they sell as painter's tape, at least it wasnt back then, but it really worked well when you wanted to get that fine line just perfect and needed the extreme flexibility of really narrow tape. We also used another version of this for laying out pin stripes since none of us were anything like Von Dutch, etc.. :)
DanF
 
I been using 3M Blue tape 1" and also the Green 1/2" tape. Now who said old timers used to slop compound all over the hood, then crank their rotary's up all the way and compound would fly everywhere? We only young dudes here, it must be some other forum on the internet......:wink:
 
CamoZ71 said:
Thanks Bill, your post helped me quite a bit. I dont wanna ruin any pads to something as silly as chrome trim :smile:
Click to expand...

Most newer cars don't have many "sharp" edges or chrome trim or badges. But I do a lot of older cars/ muscle cars, etc. They are known for having lots of chrome and emblems that will gouge and ruin a pad in seconds!

Tip: On pickup trucks with large "out-rigger" mirrors (used for trailering), tape off the mirror bolts... they're rough on pads too!:wink:
 
zoomzoom mazda5 said:
I been using 3M Blue tape 1" and also the Green 1/2" tape. Now who said old timers used to slop compound all over the hood, then crank their rotary's up all the way and compound would fly everywhere? We only young dudes here, it must be some other forum on the internet......:wink:
Click to expand...

I use the same. The green has a little more stick to it too.



I still know of few old school detailers that have polish sling on everything within 6'-10' of where they polish cars! I've showed them how to pick up a bead a few times but they are just stuck in their way. :out:


LOL, I will try and take a pic one of these days of their work area. :D
 
Todd had a nice post on how to tape on another web site. It really gives some good advice on how to efficiently tape trip, etc. I hope he will repost here.
 
Hey guys

uses4duct-tape-078.jpg


Be honest. Did I go overboard?
 
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