Masking Tape

[Less]

How many use masking tape when you polish?



I`ve seen alot of C&B`s with people taping up every seam on the car, but doesn`t that also cover a small amount of paint?



Do you spot-polish after you remove the tape? Or is it just such a small area that no one will ever notice that it wasn`t polished?

[BobD]

I rarely tape any more. Products have come such a far was you don`t need to worry about staining as much. Sometimes I`ll tape when using a high speed in areas I think I might possibly burn the trim.

[imported_Jakerooni]

Yea I think I taped pretty frequently my first couple of years. it`s a great training tool to better understand how your machine will work by edges. But once you got it down there`s not really a huge advantage to it anymore. I very rarely break out the tape even when wetsanding anymore.

[imported_shine]

I tape up when using a rotary near trim that borders paint. It can be easy to bump the trim when trying to equally polish all of the paint 100% equally.

[imported_billzabub]

Ditto. I still tape, but it is pretty much just for protection of vulnerable trim pieces. ...my little "$4 rolls of insurance." lol

[Less]

I do the same thing as Shine and billzabub. I only tape off trim, lights, sunroof glass, etc. It`s to keep the polish from staining those pieces.



But sometimes I`ve seen people tape up all of the body seams, and painted trim (like along the side of the doors on some cars).



I`m assuming its to keep polish dust out of those areas. But arent` you sacrificing uniform polishing to the entire panel?



I`ve also heard it said that some cars have thinner paint near the edges of the panels. Is that true?

[BobD]

I do the same thing as Shine and billzabub. I only tape off trim, lights, sunroof glass, etc. It`s to keep the polish from staining those pieces.



But sometimes I`ve seen people tape up all of the body seams, and painted trim (like along the side of the doors on some cars).



I`m assuming its to keep polish dust out of those areas. But arent` you sacrificing uniform polishing to the entire panel?



I`ve also heard it said that some cars have thinner paint near the edges of the panels. Is that true?



It`s usually so they don`t machine polish the edges where paint is thinner.

[dibbs26]

I`ll be purchasing a Megs G220 shortly and was also curious about the the masking tape in relation to where/where not to put it etc.

Any help for a newbie machine user in relation to the above appreciated.......;)

[ALAN81]

I use blue painters tape less stick and does the job

[BobD]

I`ll be purchasing a Megs G220 shortly and was also curious about the the masking tape in relation to where/where not to put it etc.

Any help for a newbie machine user in relation to the above appreciated.......;)



You won`t have to worry about burning anything with that machine.

[dibbs26]

You won`t have to worry about burning anything with that machine.



Thanks for the replies guys.

Danase how about polish residue between the panels?, I thought the tape would have been placed there for this reason..........

[Boston Man]

Whats the difference between the 3M`s blue tape and 3m`s Green tape?

[imported_Ivan Rajic]

Just tape it off because even if you don`t burn it, you can in fact easily stain it, and worse get some residue under the trim with which you`ll have fun later... it`s true once you get more experience, especially on certain cars, you don`t tape as much, but I think it`s still very important in order to get everything polished... even if the product I`m using won`t stain trim, which it usually will, there`s no way I`ll feel comfortable with the pad butting up against an antenna, BMW grilles, etc. etc.