{"id":3121,"date":"2010-10-04T09:15:25","date_gmt":"2010-10-04T13:15:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.detailedimage.com\/Ask-a-Pro\/?p=3121"},"modified":"2016-11-16T12:29:35","modified_gmt":"2016-11-16T17:29:35","slug":"ask-a-pro-how-to-remove-tape-residue","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.detailedimage.com\/Ask-a-Pro\/ask-a-pro-how-to-remove-tape-residue\/","title":{"rendered":"Ask-A-Pro: How to Remove Tape Residue"},"content":{"rendered":"

Just wondering what I should use to get the sticky stuff from tape off the paint – Amanda<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Thanks for the question Amanda.\u00a0 Thanks for contacting us with your question and I hope you continue to enjoy Detailed Image <\/a>and find\u00a0Detailed Image Ask A Pro <\/a>to be helpful.<\/p>\n

I never gave the term “masking tape” any thought when I was younger.\u00a0 It was just the alternative to “scotch tape”.\u00a0 But, as I got older and more familiar with the painting process, I learned the relevance of the word “masking” (though I continued to be baffled by “scotch”).<\/p>\n

Masking different areas of your car is an important step while painting or correcting the body of a vehicle.\u00a0 It saves your vehicle from unsightly overspray and irreversible burning caused by improper buffer use.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"Cabrio<\/a><\/p>\n

Unfortunately, a side effect of using masking tape is that it may sometimes leave some sticky residue that not only looks bad, but can negatively affect polishing, waxing, etc.\u00a0 So, here are a few tips to help alleviate this problem.<\/p>\n

First, start with a premium tape.\u00a0 While there are many masking tapes available, a premium automotive tape such as\u00a0Meguiar’s Professional Masking Tape<\/a>\u00a0sticks instantly to painted surfaces and is easy to release.\u00a0 It comes in various widths for fitting various gaps and applications.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Secondly, don’t let it sit too long (especially in a hot environment).\u00a0 The key to not ending up with residue is to tape off the car, do your work, and then remove it promptly.\u00a0 Letting it sit too long, especially in a hot environment can cause the adhesive to begin to transfer.<\/p>\n

There are times though where the residue will appear, even though you did everything right.\u00a0 Here are a couple of different ways to remove it safely:<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Use another piece of tape-<\/strong> This is the safest method.\u00a0 Rip a strip of tape off the same roll and place it over the residue affected area.\u00a0 Press it down, or dab it, and peel it back.\u00a0 It should lift the residue off the paint.<\/li>\n
  2. Use denatured alcohol and a microfiber towel (or Q-Tip)-<\/strong> This is second safest. Dab a microfiber towel or Q-Tip with the alcohol and wipe the residue affected area.\u00a0 Use small movements to avoid inducing marring and light pressure (for the same reason).\u00a0 By nature, though, this method could<\/em> introduce some marring so be careful with your technique.<\/li>\n
  3. Use a solvent (such as Goof Off or GOOP)- <\/strong>While I have found this to be safe on modern paints, you will always want to test a small, “secret” area to ensure compatibility with your particular paint.\u00a0 This method works well and works fast. Apply in the same style as #2, but you will want to be sure and wax afterwards.\u00a0 The solvent is strong enough to cut through your current layer of wax\/sealant and you will want to wash the area and re-protect before moving on with the rest of the day.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    \u00a0<\/p>\n

      \"Cabrio<\/a><\/ol>\n
        Thanks for your question and let me know if you have any questions or comments.Wishing you many distinctive miles!<\/ol>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

        Have you ever used masking tape on your car, and had difficulties removing the tape residue afterwards? In this reader-submitted question, David Bibiloni addresses the possible causes of this problems, and offers up some solutions as well. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":23,"featured_media":21389,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[63,64],"tags":[89,649,283],"class_list":{"0":"post-3121","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-general-detailing","8":"category-submitted-questions","9":"tag-how-to","10":"tag-sticky-residue","11":"tag-taping"},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.detailedimage.com\/Ask-a-Pro\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/10\/5048511656_1d95b01319_b.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p1kPO7-Ol","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.detailedimage.com\/Ask-a-Pro\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3121","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.detailedimage.com\/Ask-a-Pro\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.detailedimage.com\/Ask-a-Pro\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.detailedimage.com\/Ask-a-Pro\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/23"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.detailedimage.com\/Ask-a-Pro\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3121"}],"version-history":[{"count":13,"href":"https:\/\/www.detailedimage.com\/Ask-a-Pro\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3121\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3129,"href":"https:\/\/www.detailedimage.com\/Ask-a-Pro\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3121\/revisions\/3129"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.detailedimage.com\/Ask-a-Pro\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/21389"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.detailedimage.com\/Ask-a-Pro\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3121"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.detailedimage.com\/Ask-a-Pro\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3121"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.detailedimage.com\/Ask-a-Pro\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3121"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}