Old painter told me to never use cheap masking tape on a fresh respray

Guy I worked with back in Phoenix swore by 3M blue tape and said anything else was asking for trouble. I thought he was just being picky so I grabbed a couple rolls of store brand tape from the auto parts shop to save 4 bucks. First job with it was a silver Honda Civic hood I had just shot clear on. Pulled the tape off and it left a residue line right where the clear stopped that took me an hour with wax and grease remover to get out. Then the next car I used it on the tape actually lifted the edge of the paint when I pulled it. Never again. Has anyone else had cheap tape ruin a finish on them?

3 comments

3 Comments

margareto261mo ago

Learned that lesson the hard way too. Cheap tape peeled my clear right off.

marywilson1mo ago

Wait, it peeled the clear coat right off the car?

william_harris1mo ago

Hate to be that guy but it wasn't the tape. It was the paint underneath that was already damaged. Cheap tape just pulled off what was left of a failing clear coat. If your clear coat peels off with masking tape then it was already dying. That thin layer was barely hanging on. Tape just finished the job.