To tape or not to tape?

[Changeling]

Man, what an excellent question, 3M is raping painters, detailers, etc,. The cost is nothing short of robbery! I must admit I bought a role of 1 inch, but that will be the last !

I just plain can`t stand the thought of being screwed that openly, and have no intention of putting up with it and a company that would harbor advances towards me at that level.



If it takes me a little more time, so be it !

Changeling

[Accumulator]

Opposing view here: in the overall picture I`d rather spend some money for unequaled performance when the difference is something I can appreciate. 3M has the right to price their stuff however they like and if I genuinely thought they were making an outrageous profit I`d buy some 3M stock



If you`re a pro, just pass the cost along to the customer. If you`re an amateur like me, well, heh heh, nobody said this is an inexpensive hobby



Cheaper tapes can lead to serious problems (marring the paint after having corrected it because you can`t get the adhesive residue off, been there...) and not using tape when you have a reason to can cause irreparable problems...and (literally) irreparable problems are simply *not* acceptable...especially if you`re doing somebody else`s vehicle

[Eliot Ness]

Opposing view here: in the overall picture I`d rather spend some money for unequaled performance when the difference is something I can appreciate............

I`ve got to agree with you on this...... the 3M tapes cost more for a reason. If there is a better painters tape out there I haven`t found it yet. I also pay a pretty high price for my 3M Scotch 33+ electrical tape, but I wouldn`t consider using anything else, and every tool box I have has at least one roll inside.

[BlackElantraGT]

I think I will be going with the 3M tape in the future becase I`ve been using the Duck brand blue tape and I find that it leaves residue once you remove that`s almost harder, if not as hard to remove, than splatter itself.



For everyday use a lot of the Duck brand tape works perfectly fine but I`m gonna try out 3M next time to see if there`s a difference.

[Way2SSlow]

I hardly ever tape anything. I`m pretty confident in my abilities NOT to sling with the rotary or run over any trim with my PC. I have some tape just incase, but it spends most of it`s time on the shelf.

[bshertzer]

*watching this topic now*



i`ve been wondering the same sort of thing... should i really be spending the time to tape up or not? mostly what i tape up are the black trim around the windows as well as for example, the rocker trim on our passat. like last year the first time i buffed a car in prob. 10 years







i use a cyclo, and especially with the 83, it seems to get EVERYwhere, but it comes out pretty easily as well.





i just dont know if it`s worth it to spend the time to tape, or to have to go back and clean up the trim/rubber after the fact

[Accumulator]

i`ve been wondering the same sort of thing... should i really be spending the time to tape up or not?



i use a cyclo, and especially with the 83, it seems to get EVERYwhere, but it comes out pretty easily as well.





i just dont know if it`s worth it to spend the time to tape, or to have to go back and clean up the trim/rubber after the fact

Ah, I`d stick with taping it. Since you said the product gets everywhere I sure wouldn`t want to gamble on it always cleaning up just fine.

I also pay a pretty high price for my 3M Scotch 33+ electrical tape, but I wouldn`t consider using anything else, and every tool box I have has at least one roll inside.

Yep, great stuff :xyxthumbs I keep some in the "emergency kits" too, sticks better to wet/slippery/oily surfaces than most duct tape.



Toss it out and get some new rolls after a few years though, so it`ll always perform to spec when something hits the fan The stuff *does* have a shelf-life and it turns into a sticky mess that won`t adhere to what you want it to (but won`t come off anything else).