Tape

"AestheticsInMotion" (aestheticsinmotion) 05/15/2018 at 23:47 • Filed to: None

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Any preferences? There are a bajillion different brands, and numerous subtypes within each brand. I just want a good duct dape, masking tape, and electrical tape.

You see those two rolls of the parchment colored masking tape? I have three entire cases of the stuff, which is 96 rolls I believe. It’s Scotch 3M general purpose masking tape, rated high adhesion (made in Canada). It’s also complete and utter garbage, and likely the most infuriating thing I own. Why? Because it’s impossible to unwind it without it tearing! It literary sticks to itself too hard, and that coupled with it’s general thinness means good luck getting more than an inch without an annoying tear. Why do I have so much of this terrible, terrible product? Painter buddy asked me if I wanted “a metric shit-ton” of tape, and obviously I said yes. Turns out Noone at his company could stand using the stuff...

The blue 3M Scotch-blue Painter’s Tape for multi-surfaces (madeiin Mexico) is perfectly fine. It works for what I need, which is a little bit of everything, and no headaches. Blue painter’s tape. It’s ubiquitous and everyone’s used it.

Onto duct tape...

I haven’t been able to find duct tape the last few times I needed it. And it just so happens that I needed it again to repair an inflatable sleeping pad. Damn thing was expensive and it tears after two uses? Nope, haven’t gotten my money’s worth yet, thank you very much!

3M prostrength because PROFESSIONAL, STRONG, INDUSTRIAL. But mostly because I’ve had back luck with off brand duct tape. Hopefully this is “the good shit” (made in Canada)

And T-Rex Ferociously Strong Tape because why not? Also holy jeebus the tape is pretty thick, almost like a foam tape (ever handled #30 tape?). I’ve tested this already and it’s super strong. (made in USA)

You guys have any tapes you’re in love with? Any you hate? Are you shaking your head in disbelief that someone just made a post about adhesive strips of fabric? Are you loving Oppo even more right now?

Convertibles for your time

atfsgeoff > AestheticsInMotion 05/15/2018 at 23:58

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I roll with Gorilla Tape most of the time, though I’m not opposed to trying the T-Rex stuff. Reviews put it on par with Gorilla for strength of adhesive and cloth backing material.

If Gorilla tape is not available for whatever reason, I go with 3M.

AestheticsInMotion > atfsgeoff 05/16/2018 at 00:07

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I saw gorilla tape, considered it, and grabbed the other stuff. Next time I’m in the tape section I might grab a few more. Oppo duct tape comparison shootout review!

MrDakka > AestheticsInMotion 05/16/2018 at 00:07

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I don’t use tape, I use a cloth backed pressure sensitive adhesive XD

atfsgeoff > AestheticsInMotion 05/16/2018 at 00:11

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I’ve used Gorilla tape to replace a shattered rear quarter window in a ‘96 S-10 Blazer. That shit was actually completely weatherproof, both water and wind, for a year. I used a roll and a half to cover that huge window area.

Highlander-Datsuns are Forever > AestheticsInMotion 05/16/2018 at 00:16

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Gorilla tape ftw. I don’t use duck tape I actually have aluminum duct tape I used for some vent projects and since it’s thin I’ll probably have it forever, like 500 yards a role.

MiniGTI - now with XJ6 > AestheticsInMotion 05/16/2018 at 00:22

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That masking tape is probably rotten from sitting around. Even blue tape gets that way after about 2 years.

FTTOHG Has Moved to https://opposite-lock.com > AestheticsInMotion 05/16/2018 at 00:23

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I’ve used good and bad examples of all of your categories. Here are my picks:

Masking tape: ScotchBlue 2080EL - I think they market this as for walls and wood floors. This stuff has a smoother surface than most masking tapes but comes off just as easily. It is around $10 a roll but absolutely worth it. And yeah, some of those generic tan masking tapes are absolutely horrible.

Duct tape: Nashua 357. The original silver only. I’ve purchased other colors on sale to check them out thinking same thing but a little cheaper for a different color - they aren’t. 357 has an amazing ability to stick to stuff it’s supposed to without sticking to your fingers too bad like some of the gimmicky ultra sticky duct tapes. It also is really durable stuff. It’s pricey at around $13/roll but absolutely worth it.

Electrical tape: Scotch Super 88. Again it’s $4 vs. less than a buck for the same size roll of the generic stuff, but it works really well - crazy stretchy and sticks to itself without sticking to other things which is what you want in an electrical tape. As a bonus it smells nice and the little cases it comes in are very handy to re-use. I have a bunch of them full of screws and nuts and fuses - little parts like that.

RangerSmith > AestheticsInMotion 05/16/2018 at 00:26

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I like that 3M makes duct tape in various colors. For example black sharpie really stands out on white duct tape, and is really good for making labels for boxes in your attic/garage.

Urambo Tauro > AestheticsInMotion 05/16/2018 at 00:26

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I’ve always been a big fan of 3M products, but you might want to check out the Project Farm YouTube channel anyway. He’s got a couple of duct tape comparo videos.

Eric @ opposite-lock.com > AestheticsInMotion 05/16/2018 at 00:40

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I hate that white masking tape, too. Straight garbage. Every white masking tape I’ve encountered either ripped too readily or rolled/peeked/bled really bad. The best stuff is the blue stuff, followed by the yellow hobby stuff, which is also really good, but expensive and not quite to the blue painter tape level, but since the blue stuff doesn’t come in varying widths down to very thin, it doesn’t work for all RC painting applications (the main stuff I have painted over the years).

My favorite tape is the grey 3M double sided foam tape. I think it’s marketed as outdoor mounting tape and it comes with red film over it that you peel off before sticking. I use it for all kinds of things - mounting stuff to RC cars (where I learned about it), mounting stuff on walls that I never want to see come off (a computer wall clip and a battery charger are the last things I mounted with it), holding stuff in place during assembly, etc. It’s just an amazingly versatile and highly effective tape.

smobgirl > FTTOHG Has Moved to https://opposite-lock.com 05/16/2018 at 00:40

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I feel like electrical tape is one of the few products where the price really correlates with quality. It’s sort of a go-to for fixing non-electrical band stuff and even then you don’t want the cheap crap. It gets SO MELTY.

Eric @ opposite-lock.com > smobgirl 05/16/2018 at 00:44

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You use gaffer tape for this stuff...

Nom De Plume > AestheticsInMotion 05/16/2018 at 00:44

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!!! UNKNOWN CONTENT TYPE !!!

Put a roll in the fridge and it will probably work fine. Canada, eh.

smobgirl > Eric @ opposite-lock.com 05/16/2018 at 00:46

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Can’t tape marching drum sticks with gaffer tape though. My hands hurt just thinking about that.

(That’s the main reason there’s always electrical tape handy.)

AestheticsInMotion > Eric @ opposite-lock.com 05/16/2018 at 00:49

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Glad I’m not the only one who can’t stand that stuff

I’ve used that foam tape for Miata purposes when I want something mounted solidly but I’m too lazy to make a bracket. Did the trick for my microphone, voltage gauge, head unit, etc. Love the stuff.

It’s crazy expensive but I’ve used a 30# foam tape a fewer times and the strength is mind-blowing.

I’m going to paint the bare threads and nut black so they blend in better. Anything specific I should look for paint wise for something like this?

Eric @ opposite-lock.com > RangerSmith 05/16/2018 at 00:51

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You need vinyl floor tape. Every Lean/Kanban/6S/whateverbuzzwordoftheday manufacturing department needs/uses at least 10-15 different colors/patterns of the stuff, so it’s widely available and not ridiculously expensive...

Eric @ opposite-lock.com > AestheticsInMotion 05/16/2018 at 00:55

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I’d probably use the usual blue 3M tape and a trash bag, although I would have done it outside the car if it was possible. A few thin layers with an airbrush.

I’m not sure what would stick to the nut well, though. I paint polycarbonate with special paint that adheres very well with the plastic if the plastic is clean but doesn’t adhere well with the paint itself.

Have you considered a black oxide coated nut?

Lokiparts > AestheticsInMotion 05/16/2018 at 08:06

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3M Nuclear Duct Tape... no really.

http://a.co/6ZQBStu

This stuff is amazing. I discovered it back when I worked in a Navy shipyard. I deliberately chose not to ask why they had hundreds of rolls of nuclear duct tape on a nuclear powered aircraft carrier. I figured some things I’m better off just not knowing. All I know is it is the best duct tape ever made.

Right now it’s going for $40 a roll on Amazon and at that price I would have a hard time suggesting anyone actually pay that much for it. But the Amazon price fluctuates frequently. If you can snag some when it drops arount $10 ~ $15 or so, it’s the best tape ever. 

TorqueToYield > Eric @ opposite-lock.com 05/16/2018 at 08:31

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This is the consumer version of 3M’s VHB tape. The stuff is nuts it’s so strong.

There are some fun Youtube videos of how insanely strong it is:

If you want more variations they’re available online, check 3Ms website for a datasheet listing all the different part numbers: https://multimedia.3m.com/mws/media/67100O/3mtm-vhb-tapes.pdf

They make special kinds for bonding to plastics like acrylic and polycarbonate.

If you couldn’t tell I love this stuff.

MontegoMan562 is a Capri RS Owner > AestheticsInMotion 05/16/2018 at 09:54

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For painting I’m actually a big fan of Frog Tape. Available at Lowe’s, more expensive but I’ve had less issues of “bleed through” with Frog Tape than I ever have with blue 3m stuff.

Also it’s green. I graduated from Michigan State so that’s always an improvement.

Eric @ opposite-lock.com > TorqueToYield 05/16/2018 at 11:56

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Yeah, we used VHB at work (all of us, because for some reason people that participate in my hobby often work in engineering departments), which was how we were all introduced to this type of tape, but for our applications we found it was better to use a less permanent adhesive because we rarely wanted an essentially-permanent bond since we periodically needed to disassemble things we taped together (we used it in place of expensive “servo tape” since it was stronger and cheaper). The consumer stuff comes in 10lbs, 15lbs, and 30lbs versions, with the 15lbs one being by far the most useful and versatile. The 30lbs was far too difficult to remove and the 10lbs was a little too easy. It was the Goldilocks of semi-permanent adhesive foam tape. So you find that light grey stuff all over in our cars and houses...

His Stigness > AestheticsInMotion 05/17/2018 at 11:34

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Gorilla tape is my absolute favorite. Duct tape is like masking tape compared to gorilla tape.

As for masking tape I use the 3m automotive type, which is green. That stuff sticks so well without being damaging.

3m electrical, everything else is garbage.

And for double sided tape I again use gorilla tape. They have black stuff which is crazy strong, and then clear stuff for light duty things.