Taping

[Jenn1270]

Prior to this weekend I've typically hand waxed and not worried about "wax in my crack" as my husband laughed about. I taped up because I was going to use the PC to do a little paintwork cleaning with BLACKFIRE Gloss Enhancing Polish, prewax polish, car polish . I followed it with BLACKFIRE Wet-Ice Over Fire Kit, detailing kit, car care kit.
I got everything wiped down after the BFWD and then waited over night and put down a layer of Midnight Sun. I took the tape off before the final wipedown and the places where the the tape was had some nasty residue from where they polish, WD and MS were under the tape. It took a bit of elbow grease to get it off. I think it may take less time to just hand wax than tape up.

Two Questions

1.) Do you typically tape for laying down a sealant and topping with a 'nuba?

2.) Do you have any tricks for getting the crusty residue off other than elbow grease?

Please discuss


Jenn

[slickooz]

1. I normally don't tape up the car while waxing. If I used a DA to apply wax, I would stay away from trims and edges and finish it off with hand application.

2. I would try to hit it with a polisher, maybe used M205 or any light abrasive polish. Then reapply sealant and wax.

[david79z28]

I do those areas by hand also. I don't get wax in my crack!!!

[Blackg35shine]

Plastic dull scrapers always work for me to get off thick Residue off my cars paint (Infiniti g35). It works without scratching paint. Then I would just take some wd40 with a mf towel to get off any tiny residue. It works for me pretty good. That's how I would Debadge cars for people.

[opie_7afe]

i dont tape for waxing, after using a polish/paint cleaner i will remove tape and use some last touch spray detailer let it dwell for a min then wipe it down usualy loosens up the caked on stuff, i try to do this before the ipa wipe and before i apply sealant/wax. could use any other spray detailer or some clean filtered/distilled water also. hope this helps!

[brawl]

I do those areas by hand also. I don't get wax in my crack!!!

nice post!

[Mike Phillips]

I'll usually do all the machine correction work with the tape on and then remove the tape during the machine application of the wax and be very very careful not to run the buffing pad over any trim.

Before applying the wax I will carefully wipe off any residue like normal and pay extra attention to to any tape-line residue to remove as much as possible by hand before machine applying the wax.

The combination of buffing pad, wax and oscillating/rotating action of the polisher will tend to loose and remove any leftover residue.

[SeaJay's]

1) I do not tape when I apply my wax or sealant with my DA. I typically will first go around by hand and wax up to trim, door handles, etc to ensure I have a little buffer zone when I use the DA.

2) To remove tape residue I usually use an IPA diluted on an MF. And carefully wipe. Always careful not to use a lot of pressure. I've also just washed the car again, which removed the majority of it. Can also use a little tarminator on an MF, but that usually leaves a residue.

[tuscarora dave]

When I tape off trim, door handles, window moldings etc. for the purpose of preventing damage from the buffer pad spinning or abrading over these easily damaged areas, I typically align the tape's edge on to the paint just below or over the crack at the edge of the molding. I make sure that the tape is over the crack and onto the paint about 1/8" to 3/16" and is sticking to the paint well and then fold or press the remainder of the tape up on to the delicate piece of trim that I am wanting to protect. This assures that not only is the trim piece protected from damage but the crack is also covered so compound/polish can not be packed into the crack as well.

Upon removal of the tape there will be a slight line of compound/polish "on the paint" where the edge of the tape was. This slight line of residue is typically very easy to clean off by wrapping a MF towel around my index finger and wiping it off. If the residue is being stubborn then a little ONR mixture on the towel will usually remove it easily. So my taping is a two fold preventive measure.

1. To cover the crack to prevent any product from being packed into it by assuring that my tape line is beyond the crack by a slight margin.

2. To prevent the damage of the delicate piece that the tape is covering.

After pulling the tape I can typically move right onto the waxing step whether there is a slight line of polish residue or not. I will actually wipe off any slight line of finishing polish with the wax applicator itself as I am applying the wax. This make things most efficient. Now of course if I am applying Opti-Coat I will have pulled my tape and either have done a total wash using a degreaser or an IPA wipedown of the paint depending on the severity of the dusting on the glass or cowling.

I hope this helps. TD

[Hoytman]

What size tape are you using in body gaps Dave? Three quarters of an inch (3/4")?

Seems like on my car I might get by with 1/2" in places, but I need to check and see. That may be too small and I'd end up using the 3/4" tape.

I'm thinking the object is to protect the edge just barely. Now that I'm thinking about it there may not be enough tape on the paint to hold it to the edge if I use the 1/2" tape.