Residue from Tape

Re: Residue from Tape

John Veerkamp

Goof-off.

Re: Residue from Tape

john Lucas

Mineral spirits or alcohol. I usually use low odor mineral spirits.

I have used.....

Brian Roberts

....naphtha for years.

I find it is the least likely to damage most finishes and surfaces.

Re: Residue from Tape

Dave Paine

The solvent used to dissolve the residue may attack the finish. Hence no single answer since it may depend on the type of finish.

You will always need to test a potential solution on an area which is ideally hidden in case the solvent marks or dissolves the finish.

I would try the following :

a) WD40. I was surprised reading this in another forum. It can remove some residue.

b) Denatured alcohol. Good for finishes other than shellac or French polish, but may take awhile to remove the residue.

c) Xylene. Softens the residue but then needs another solvent to remove the softened residue.

d) Goof-off.

e) Acetone. The last solvent to try. It will remove the residue but is so active, it may impact or dissolve the finish.

Careful scraping to remove as much of the residue as possible will help since you then need less of the solvent.

Re: Residue from Tape

Andrew

Thank you for the advise, really appreciate.

A good friend in advertising suggest Bestine

Keith Newton

As the one least likely to harm the most products.

On the other hand, your removal technique can have a huge effect on how well a tape peels. First, the glue gets harder with age, and cooler temperature. Using a heat gun or blow-dryer to warm it, will soften the glue. Too much heat will also soften most finishes, but not as quickly as the tape gum, so start by playing the heat from maybe a foot away first, with your other hand in the hot air blast. If you can leave your hand in the heat zone, it isn't too hot to hurt the finish.

Finally, if get your thumbnail under a corner and start pulling, don't pull straight up. The tape is more likely to tear and it seems to leave more residue than if you pull along the direction the tape is laying. This changes the force, so it is hugest along the outer edge where it will release better.

Then, there is speed of removal. Usually slower is better, when you have one of those difficult ones.

Finally, after you've done the best you can do, yet, there are still a few tiny lumps still on the surface, I wad the ply tape into a ball, and bump it against those patches. Sometime I can nibble them away, picking a little more with each touch.

The thing I don't like about solvents, is that you can dilute the glue into a thin emulsion that you just spread out over a larger area, but still can't seem to ever completely remove.

You don't see Bestine in too many shops

Dick Coers

But we had it by the gallon in the Industrial Design Model Shop hazardous material cabinet. They also had rubber cement by the gallon, but it was all left over from an older time. You know, before computers and power point presentations. The only thing I did with all those gallons was send them to hazardous material reclamation.

Re: Residue from Tape

Alan Hollar

I have used Goo Gone for years on lacquered or oil finished objects. Smells nice, so you can use it in studio or in the field without complaints. It will remove wax as well, so a spot rewaxing may be necessary. After 20 years I am on my 3rd bottle.