![]() |
Duct Tape for Aero Testing?
Hello -
Here's a silly question. Can Duct Tape hurt your paint job? Assuming it doesn't hurt your paint job, how easy is it to remove the sticky stuff that it leaves behind? I am asking because I am thinking about using Duct Tape to test changes to the car's nose. CarloSW2 |
All I have to say is.... Yay for medium gray unpainted plastic bumpers. So ingenious. Must have known that if you were gonna buy this type of vehicle, the paint in that area is probably gonna have mud/dirt/rocks thrown at it anyway, and if you do want it painted you pay for it.
Hey, they should make it where if you don't want painted trim, you don't have to. Some do it already, but might as well have everyone do it. I'm gonna guess it depends on if it scuffs the paint or not. In reality tho, the only damage you will probably have is from you getting that sticky stuff off of there, and it will probably remove the wax/protectants there were on it beforehand if you get it off of there successfully. might cause that swirly paint appearance if it microscopically damages it. |
DifferentPointofView -
Yeah, I wish my car came with unpainted bumpers, like the super-base version has. You can get colored duct tape, so I can have white duct tape on my white bumper. I think my best bet is to get a used bumper cover cheap (I know where to get one!!!!) and modify that to the max. CarloSW2 |
I think that if your real careful on how you put it on, it should be fine. and if you want to take it off. just peel some slightly off and pour warm soapy water into the adhesive part of the tape. should take it off of there.
|
There are several products on the market to remove the sticky stuff. If you leave the tape on for to long it will remove the clear coat. If you are just testing, you should be O.K.
S. |
Once, when i had only a 2 door Cellica (LOVED IT!), i had to get 10ft PVC pipes home from the store for boffing. I put them in the car long ways, hung them out the window, and duct taped them to the side of the car until i could get home.
The tape came off easy. The paint was not damaged. The sticky stuff was very difficult to remove. Adhesive remover may of helped but i was cheap and lazy back then. |
I used white duct tape on my white paint: bumper, side panels, the works. No residue, came off clean. I had it on for about a month or so.
If it does leave some residue, it's nothing a little WD-40 can't handle. |
Quote:
|
Just wax your car first.
|
Wax? :thumbup:
|
yeah , a couple of heavy coats of wax will help protect the paintwork and go gently when you take the tape off.
The residue can be removed with a number of products but one of the best is by 3M specifically designed to remove tape residue and not harm the paint work underneath. The exact name escapes me but any decent auto supplies place should be able to help out. If you are going to do even a small number of experiments this would be my choice. Cheers , Pete. |
<------you missed the joke. :D
|
just warm it up with a hair dryer when you take it off, it will come off much easier. As for the residue, you can even use peanut butter. :)
|
Yes, and I have the battle scars in my paint to prove it.... It on a bit of painted plastic - so the bond wasn't as strong as painted metal to begin with...
Luckily, I had some clear coat that I could apply to it to prevent more damage... |
I say make sure the paint is protected and in good condish to begin with. If it's faded/cracking/unwaxed/chipping paint, damage is much more likely than nicely kept waxed every 3-6 months vehicle.
|
Quote:
|
Which one, the waxed or unwaxed?
|
Waxed - I also hit it with some murphy's oil soap when the first quarter inch seemed to pull more than I liked... The tape had been on somewhere between 36 and 48 hours - but it was warm outside...
|
you must have used the good kind of tape :p, I use the crappy stuff that's plentiful and cheap that also comes off when I want it to... problem is the adhesive sucks and you constantly have to re-tape everything.
|
Try using masking tape instead. If you're just taping gaps for testing, masking tape should hold well enough, long enough to get the numbers you need, and ought to peel off with no damage to the finish when you're done.
|
elhigh -
Quote:
CarloSW2 |
Calm down, everybody.
The solution is to use blue painters tape. It is specifically made to not harm painted surfaces. If you must use duct tape, wax first to help in the release and make sure you use a high quality tape. I used to use tons of duct tape to seal environmental chambers at work and found the best was the "357" tape I would get at Orchard Supply Hardware. |
After 30 years of masking tape usage on a wide range of boating applications, I and many other sailors, have found that UV degradation is the real culprit. We use the blue or bright green ( 3x more expensive ) by 3M - only. It's designed to lift, leaving little or no residue even after 10 days / 2 weeks. Be careful after more time than that ! Duct tape is very sticky and designed for wrapping metal ductwork - permanently. Inexpensive, tan paper tape masking tape will degrade overnight if it gets any moisture and with sunlight light after a day or two and it will be a bear to get off wax or not.
|
after a while (a long while) the UV rays degrade it so much you can literally wipe the "adhesive" off of the body panel
|
Use painter's tape, as some stickier duct tape adhesives may pull off some weak paints or clearcoats.
|
We use a really nice black gaffer's tape made by Permacel in the windtunnel in addition to a 3M Aluminum tape. I've never seen it hurt a car's paintjob per se, though most of the vehicles have been relatively new. Those two styles of tape are pretty standard for all the windtunnels I've been in.
Waxing the car first is going to have some adverse effects on tape adhesion, at least in my experience. A good trick for removing blue painter's tape is to get it wet. Also, another good removal tool for glue residue that almost everyone has is WD-40. |
A few years ago at Halloween time I had the bright idea to make a jack-o-lantern with my orange Beetle. I cut the shapes out of black poster board and applied them to the doors with plain old masking tape bordering all edges. It looked great! Many people thought it was painted that way.
It was like that for 3-4 days. When I removed them I pulled off specks of paint. Not enough to see immediately but once pointed out you can quickly connect the dots. This was cheap paint that was also lifeless and 15-20 years old. As long as you don’t have a 90's Chrysler product, factory paint in good condition will be ok. If you have pealing clear coat or a poorly prepped re-spray I would use with caution. |
My experieces are that duct tape works fine unless you let it get wet. Then it will be nigthmare to take it off. Otherwise good for that job. I attached my kammback with duct tape and it hold yp nicely for 3 weeks. on the last week there was lots of rain and it came off. Duct tapes didint and I have still some residues of those tapes in my cars rear end.
|
duct tape
Quote:
DuPont PrepSol or any de-waxing agent or paint thinner,with enough elbow-grease, will remove adhesive residues. At Bonneville many racers use it.Out there they call it 200 mph racer's tape! |
All times are GMT -4. The time now is 03:47 AM. |
Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.11
Copyright ©2000 - 2025, vBulletin Solutions Inc.
Content Relevant URLs by vBSEO 3.5.2
All content copyright EcoModder.com