Is duct tape safe? Alternatives?

[sully06]

I want to do a partial grille block and cover some gaps. Will duct tape mess up the finish on a car or should I use painter's masking tape(is it strong enough tho)? other ideas? Thanks

[UltArc]

I went from Cleveland, Ohio, to Livonia, Michigan, with painters tape covering my front end- grille blocks, and gaps. It left a residue, from the heat, but came off easy. The residue was worse in spots I missed, and then it cooked. Images on my cars page.

Duct tape on a grille left a bit of residue, but it wasn't metal- plastic on an Escape. Came off easy for it with goo b gone.

[Sporty Modder]

I used reg duct tape on my Celica, left it on for 6 months. Mistake! Been cleaning residue off for hours now. On my town car I used residue free duct tape and it came off clean.$8 a roll iirc.

[lordherald]

an alternative to tape might be removable vinyl.
I used to have to make a lot of signs at my last employer many of which were price tags on used equipment.
We used Oracle 651 if we wanted the sign to stay (company logo) and oracle 631 if we wanted to be able to remove it with out heat.
Both of these would stay on aluminum, steel or paint even in sub zero temps.
The nicest thing about it is that it can be bought in rolls up to 36 inches wide and it will not hurt your paint.


Regular vinyl safety tape.



Oracle 651 scraps that I had sitting around.

I had to piece a lot of tape together for the yellow and black stripe piece. The solid red and the adjacent black section were both sign vinyl.

[YukonCornelius]

Blue painters tape is safe for a few weeks, takes the rain well. Duct tape or shipping tape is a big NO. Anyone dealing with tape residue use a clay bar.