Taping -- Worth it or waste??

[budman3]

I usually don't bother taping because I usually use products that don't stain trim. Even if a product did stain a little, it isn't anything that PB Trim Restorer wouldn't take care of. Mind you I haven't done any vehicles with excessive cladding like an Avalanche or Honda Element.

Since it's a long weekend I decided it'd be a good time to clean up the Tacoma and get a jump start on winter protection. I am planning on using Menzerna to polish it out and figured it'd be a good idea to tape up some trim so the polish won't stain. About half way through I began re-thinking my decision to tape. It took about a half hour and 1/8th of a roll of 3M blue tape to mask off the trim on the truck. On a normal detail, I could have already clayed and been onto polishing...

So on your details, do you find taping to be worth the time or a waste of time and tape?

I think it is worth it for this detail because I'll be working on it for 2 days. It'd also be worth it if I were doing an exotic car and spending 2 days on it as well (but I can't say that's gonna happen anytime soon). On a typical 4-6 hour detail, IMO its a waste.

Opinions???

[HighEndDetail]

9 out of 10 times I tape. It takes just a few minutes for me to tape up things. Rather then spend a few $$$ to fix something. This bmw is still worth a 100K and worth the tape to mask it off in my mind. And it was about an 8 hour detail

http://i101.photobucket.com/albums/m70/Zainodude/IMG_3426BMWZ8.jpg

http://i101.photobucket.com/albums/m70/Zainodude/IMG_3427BMWZ8.jpg

[dontsleeponit]

I was under the impression that any polish with a good amount of cut would damage black trim. Not necessarily stain it, but maybe mar it or make it hazy... am I totally wrong here or no?

Ive used XMT360 on my car w/o tape, didnt see any adverse effects, but thats not even close to a heavy polish.

high end - thats a prime example of a car that would be silly not to tape, any accidents on that bad boy would really suck!

[DantheMan]

I tape something on every car I touch.. Not always every piece of trim, but any area I feel like might be an area I need it, I will tape.. I tend to tape a whole lot more when I'm using the rotary vs. the DA..

[dontsleeponit]

yea theres another variable, rotary vs DA

[klumzypinoy]

I tape trim and other things off that aren't meant to be polished :p plus I don't want the emblems or anything to accidentally tear up the pads.

[SpoiledMan]

Tape is a *lot* cheaper than replacing trim, door handles, emblems or pads. Takes a few extra minutes and you don't have to worry about dealing with trim products that are often times a temporary fix.

[D]

I tape every car I work on. Doesnt take long once you get experienced doing it. And my products dont stain trim anyways. I just feel it keeps things neater.

[Gary Sword]

I think taping is well worth the extra time and cost. Better to be safe then sorry usually holds true.

[AL417]

On most cars there's something that I tape. It's just easier to tape it off than deal with a possible cleanup later.

[budman3]

Thanks for the feedback so far everyone. I was thinking about this more last night ...

-I'd be more apt to tape when using a rotary vs. PC
-A PC can't damage trim but the rotary can / will
-A PC won't splatter like a rotary will
-Applying a dressing before polishing will prevent staining
-High end cars vs low end cars?