To tape, or not to tape?

[Jeremy1026]

Who out there tapes before they go at it? Tonight I washed, clayed, and taped of my MINI in 3 hours, then it got dark so I had to stop until morning. But it got me thinking, how many of you don't even worry about taping and just use a trim cleaner after?

[MLPearson79]

I did it with my first polish. But I don't know if I will ever do it again.

I hate tape.

[minimarks]

Tape it.... If you get wax on the black....Not just a matter of wiping a little cleaner on it and it's like new. It keeps coming back.

[ScottRiqui]

I tape whenever I'm applying polish or wax/sealant. I don't tape off the paint when I'm applying vinyl dressing to trim, though, since I can use my thumbnail in the gap between the trim and the body to keep the applicator off of the paint.

[MLPearson79]

Well Black Wow eliminates the wax-on-the-trim issue. So I'm thinking next time, no more tape?

[k_h_d]

Originally Posted by MLWagner79

Well Black Wow eliminates the wax-on-the-trim issue. So I'm thinking next time, no more tape?

Even with black wow it takes a lot of effort to get the polish or wax out. I would tape.

I believe there are some waxes that do not turn trim white? Is NXT one of them? Polish will for sure.

[Crashton]

If I'm waxing by hand I'm careful & don't use tape. If I'm going to use the randon orbital, yep I tape. It saves a lot of cleanup work.

[gokartride]

I've never taped and frankly think it's way too much work. If you have to tape you're using the wrong products, imo. I use Klasse...no residue is left on trim. I'm sure there are other favored products that must do the same.

[snapper]

Turtlewax ICE can be used on any surface as well with no residue. I use it on everything (incl sidewalls) except for the front windshield.

[MINIFVR]

+1

ICE is amazing in that respect. Now that I use Prima products for the paint, I've been ICEing my black trim. It works nicely- doesn't dry it out or anything like that.

I never tape when I wax...it is a lot of work as mentioned before. I just try to be careful and whenever I do get some wax on the black trim I wipe it off immediately. A year ago I used spray-on turtle wax and got some on my black trim....that was the last time that product saw the light of day.

[chows4us]

Taping

Professional results = expected
Personal car = OCD

[kenchan]

i tape when i do the MCS. just faster that way for me.
it's only a once a year thing so doesn't bother me. rest of the time is
SpeedShine and SprayOn wax everyother QD.

[MINIFVR]

I think with taping its just a matter of personal preference and results.

[OctaneGuy]

Hmm, are you talking about a Klasse as a polish or a wax?? And are you applying it with a machine or by hand? Because taping is helpful when polishing with a PC, but I remove the tape before final polishing and waxing or sometimes just before waxing.

Originally Posted by gokartride

I've never taped and frankly think it's way too much work. If you have to tape you're using the wrong products, imo. I use Klasse...no residue is left on trim. I'm sure there are other favored products that must do the same.

If you put BW on the trim first, then get wax/polish on it, removing it is much easier. If you're using BW as a cleaner--yes it takes effort--but using a towel with some bite like a shop rag will help greatly. You don't want a dressing/protectant with solvents that will melt old wax or residue.

Originally Posted by k_h_d

Even with black wow it takes a lot of effort to get the polish or wax out. I would tape.

I believe there are some waxes that do not turn trim white? Is NXT one of them? Polish will for sure.

Taping isn't always necessary. I don't always tape my own MINI but that's because I'm more lazy with my own car. But next time you do a MINI meet up, look at a persons trim or around the headlights, or around the various crevices and you will see whether they tape or not.

Originally Posted by MINIFVR

I think with taping its just a matter of personal preference and results.

[MINIFVR]

I go as close to the trim as possible, even if I get a tad of wax on the trim. I'd rather work out the wax on the trim than not have all of my paint waxed.

[mini44]

I tape around the sunroof , the black gutter around the roof the fender skirts, takes about 15 minutes. I don't bother with around the headlights etc. Just get fairly close with the polisher and do the rest by hand.

[OctaneGuy]

The problem with this post is that it shows you aren't using tape correctly. The purpose of tape is to prevent getting polish residue off the cracks, crevices, and areas like trim and rubber and felt that are very hard to remove the polish.

The tape should be removed BEFORE waxing. Sometimes I will remove the tape before final polishing if the car is heavily swirled out and the tape lines are showing swirls. But in that case, if it was heavily swirled to begin with, I'm using a high speed rotary buffer which splatters like mad where tape can benefit. For final polishing I'm on the PC, and very lightly going over the car where I have greater control over where the polish goes.

It's a preventative measure that can save you time and headaches but you need to use it correctly.

Richard

Originally Posted by MINIFVR

I go as close to the trim as possible, even if I get a tad of wax on the trim. I'd rather work out the wax on the trim than not have all of my paint waxed.

[bee1000n]

The lesson:

If you're polishing (i.e., removing paint defects), tape off trim and crevices so you can polish all the way to the edges and not build up polish residue.

If you're waxing there is less to worry about because...I'm not sure why.

When I wax I "cut in" by hand around the trim, and use the PC for all the large areas.

[rwkeating]

Originally Posted by OctaneGuy

...

The tape should be removed BEFORE waxing. ....

Now I'm really confused. I thought we taped in order not to get wax on plastic, rubber or anything else that is was hard to remove from.

Do you tape differently for wax than for polish? I just got a G100 and can't imagine using it without taping.

[LynnEl]

Originally Posted by rwkeating

Now I'm really confused. I thought we taped in order not to get wax on plastic, rubber or anything else that is was hard to remove from.

Do you tape differently for wax than for polish? I just got a G100 and can't imagine using it without taping.

Waxing vs. Pre-waxing.

[LynnEl]

I'm going to make some pre-formed plastic surrounds that go over the wheel arch plastic. I've found those to be the biggest pain because of the pebbly texture.

[Candu61]

Tip for removing wax on black trim that keeps reappearing use a white eraser rub lightly and no more problems.

[OctaneGuy]

MiniMayBee explained it very well. Ya gotta remember that detailing is all about common sense. People don't seem to understand the all important WHY when working on their cars.

For instance..I see this all the time. How often should we clay? Some people say 1 to 2 times a year. I say, clay as often as you need to. Only you will know when that is because how soon bonded contaminants accumulate on your finish is highly dependent on where and how you maintain your car.

Should you tape your car? Should you remove the tape before waxing? Or before polishing??

Taping is one of those things that you will find an enthusiast or a quality detailer doing. You won't find it from production detailers, body shops, car dealerships, etc..

Its entirely up to you if you want to tape or not. I tape most of the time, but sometimes I don't because some cars don't need it. The question about when to remove tape can be easily answered by looking at your process.

The most time consuming part of a quality detail is polishing. If you spend 6 or 7 hours polishing panels, and 20 minutes waxing, what stage do you think you have the most chances of getting residue into the panels? Obviously the stage you spend the most time. And it just so happens that most polishes stain the trim, so you want to keep it away from plastics.

My polishing steps are usually divided into multiple steps. A more aggressive stage and a finer stage to prepare for waxing. There might be many levels in between. Sometimes I remove the tape just before waxing because the amount of wax that I apply is very very thin, and chances of getting it into cracks is low. Especially if you start from the center with the bulk of the product on the pad and work out towards the edges. You can then work the tape line areas with this "residual" wax instead of a fully loaded pad.

Other times, I will remove the tape before the final polishing step, using the same above technique. It depends on the condition of the paint and your technique. But you will never leave any area unwaxed when you are done otherwise you are trading out one evil for another.

Richard

Originally Posted by rwkeating

Now I'm really confused. I thought we taped in order not to get wax on plastic, rubber or anything else that is was hard to remove from.

Do you tape differently for wax than for polish? I just got a G100 and can't imagine using it without taping.

[bee1000n]

Originally Posted by OctaneGuy

[really good explanation]

I knew you'd be able to explain it for us.

It's nice that you think we're all spending 6 to 7 hours polishing our cars to perfection, too. You bet we are - if not more.

[MINIFVR]

OG: I think you may have misunderstood- I never tape when I detail. Thats probably just as bad as not taping correctly...maybe I should start.