Does everyone use the green 3M masking tape, or are their other decent tapes out there? $8-$10 a roll seems kinda excessive........
Crazy ain't it! I think most "big box store" tape is junk, even some of the better 3M stuff they carry. I've spent more time than I care to admit getting the tape to pull off the roll without tearing sideways.
Yes, that is all I use! You can get a bit better price when buying a sleeve, but if you don't use that much it makes no sense to spend the extra money. I use it daily when I am not on the road transporting! God Bless Bill https://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum...ar-transport-hauling-open-or-enclosed.614419/
I ordered a bunch of this years ago https://www.amazon.com/stores/page/...fb32-ce39-4437-8cff-708d37aab92f&ref_=ast_bln Been very happy with it. Good adhesion, comes off nice, sharp edge. It tears easier than 3M, but if you're not a gorilla it works just fine. ~Peter
I use the green scotch 3/4" but I don't pay that much for it, still around $5 per roll. I use "American" brand 2" tape, it's yellow. It's about $7 a roll. None of it is cheap. But ya gotta have it i reckon. The cheap stuff will cause you a lot of heartache.
Never buy tape at a swap meet! It has sat in the sun being baked for who knows how many swap meets. I never works well. It doesn't peel off the roll without splitting and the glue is bad also.
It depends what the use is. I know that I can rely on 3M masking tape. They make many different types. Prepping for a paint job you will need a tape that can be stretched around contours and adhere to the intended surface. The flexibility factor just isn't there on most cheaper tapes. It needs to come off the roll easily and not break when working with a piece longer than your outstretched arms. As mentioned, you do not want residue left behind when removing or tearing along the edges. I have both cheap and expensive masking tapes and use them for different purposes. If you can't tape up a keyhole perfectly in less than 5 seconds, either the tape is not up to the task or you are not accustomed to that level of accuracy.
Been using the yellow for a while now, off brand, cheap. Pretty decent.. Actually 3M makes a yellow as well, Had to buy that because they're Always sold out of the 5star...
Good tape for anything that touches paint or primer, I buy it from bodyshop supply and get new rolls when I buy paint. Cheap tape or OLD tape on the paper etc. Only reason to use cheap tape is cause I have it around. Old tape can be revived by heating in microwave, but it only works a few times.
Yes! You got that one nailed! LOL! Good thing the other stuff like the price of the paint, the hardeners, the activators & the thinners, the price of the filler, the price of the sandpaper, and the price of labor for the multitude of hours required to make it smooth is all cheap! The the paint booth & its upkeep, and keeping the local city officials happy didn't cost anything at all! I used my buddies shop. Good thing I did all that stuff myself, my paint job only cost me as much as the entire rest of the truck build.
Grrr.. I got a roll of 3m blue. Really sticks hard to plastic drop cloths [can't remove!] but is ok on all other surfaces. Be nice if they put a part number on the inside along with the 3m..
It’s the only tape I use. My time and skills are too valuable to use cheap stuff. 40 years experience.
A couple of years ago I fixed a spot on my neighbors white Cadillac. I charged him $125 for cleaning up his spot on the fender and he complained., said he figured I had the paint so I wouldn't charge him, I told him I did, I had the clear cote and the primer along with metal prep, masking tape and paper, sandpaper plus the plastic wrap to cover the car. Buffing compound and all the steps after that. I didn't need to buy a thing but I will need to replace everything. I used a little of everything but I figured that $125 would come close to covering the materials. He paid up and said thank you.
I’ve used American tape. No issues. We use some off brand orange at school. Buy it by the case. Less than $2 a roll. When it counts or important I use 3m.
I tried the yellow off of Amazon...garbage. Thin, and rips easy, doesn't have the "stick to it" quality of the green. Coming off causes too much time lost!
I use green 3M tape. Works great, just recently bought a 4 roll sleeve from Amazon and I think it was 20-30 bucks.
Hello, In our long time use for all things masking tape, the Blue rolls seem to be the best for our painting applications all over the house or on metal surfaces. But, the key is to use new Blue tape. Why new? Using what Blue tape was left over from another job or usage on anything was easy, as we reached into the drawer and grabbed the first Blue tape roll available. In the back of the drawer, there were several new, never been used tape rolls. The easy access of what tape is closest to the open drawer front was handy and simple. But, for the painting project, sometimes those old left over Blue Tape rolls just did not stick or leave a clean line for the painting projects. Despite making sure of the pressure placed on the tape during applications, sometimes the edge just did not want to stay put during the paint process. So, when we were pulling up the tape, the edge left some ragged splotches and had to be refinished again. Jnaki Now, in our tape drawer, we use the Blue Tape left over roll for things that are necessary to stick on a wall, a metal surface or someplace that critical edges are not necessary. The advantage of the Blue Tape over what we used to use as “normal” Beige Masking Tape is obvious, no residue. But, the older the left over Blue Tape roll is, be careful for the next application for edge sharpness. The old used roll gets handled by grabbing or gets tossed on the counter or wherever, so the edge gets its share of abuse. The old gets used for everything as it is in the front row of the drawer. The new rolls will be for masking edges that need sharpness and will not have bleeding blobs when the tape is removed. Then as there is a break from other pressing projects, that once new roll will now join the old tape rolls in the front… The cost is minimal as the Blue tape gets multiple uses and on different projects...YRMV
I’v purchased the green Ace Hardware tape, won’t stick to anything, paper or plastic Blue works great
I think it all sucks. I have paid for the high dollar stuff and the cheap stuff. For what you pay, it oughta stick and not bleed under.
It's crazy expensive, but it works. To cut down on costs, I'll use blue/green on paint lines and regular 3M or Duck brand masking tape for all the filler plastic and paper mask outs. Anyone try 3M or Duck blue tape? Kind of peeve's me when I'm watching a project being built on TV (Kin dig-it, etc.) and they've used $50 of blue or green to mask off a dropped front axle assembly. Never mind wrapping the axle in paper and taping the ends, just grab a box of tape and start striping all the components. Guess that's par for 500k builds...
If I need a sharp line between colors I use 3M Fine Line tape. It's thin plastic tape that you can stretch around corners and follow body lines with. And no bleed through.
Yes, I'm not looking for cheap.........just cheaper in quanity. I had a sleeve I bought from Smart Shoppers a few years ago, and have just about used it up. They went out of business during the Covid era.
DEFINITELY...I never use masking tape for between colors of a two tone or any customer stuff with many colors, shading, etc. The 3M fine line is great & comes in many thicknesses. However a lot of the guys who do the really intricate stuff have gone to CF Tapes. They are also color coded for how much you can bend them around! God Bless Bill https://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum...ar-transport-hauling-open-or-enclosed.614419/
I have 3m blue but no part number, I have 3m green [pn 233] that comes off the roll hard, haven't used it yet. I think it cost $8.00 out of Napa.
I remember Smart Shoppers, when I was in high school, my Auto Body instructor bought almost everything there. Too bad they didn’t survive.
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