Is taping prior to detailing necessary?

[zeefauna]

Hi,
Have anyone worked on cars using the DA or rotary without taping the moldings, windows etc? And what to do if its not taped up prior to detailing?

I hope Joe of Superior Shine can help in here as i see from his posts, as i didn't find any tapings on the car.

[TKDDAD]

Re: Is taping prior to detailing necessary?

Originally posted by zeefauna
Hi,
Have anyone worked on cars using the DA or rotary without taping the moldings, windows etc? And what to do if its not taped up prior to detailing?

I hope Joe of Superior Shine can help in here as i see from his posts, as i didn't find any tapings on the car.

Superior Shine is in a league of his own...for me, taping is a must and an incredible work saver...it takes time up front to do it but I find that I can then focus all of my attention on the paint and not worry about getting close to trim, cracks etc...IMHO, it's the only way to detail a car unless you love detailing your detail job...

just my two cents...

[DogParkGuy]

Only if you don't care if you get wax and polish on trim.

[OctaneGuy]

Re: Is taping prior to detailing necessary?

In experienced hands, splatter is much easier to control with the PC over the Rotary Buffer. The chances of throwing product is much less on the PC. It depends on the car you're working on. Some cars don't have much trim and if they do, often you can access them by opening the door and wiping it. However it's still a good idea to tape over emblems.

Richard

Originally posted by zeefauna
Hi,
Have anyone worked on cars using the DA or rotary without taping the moldings, windows etc? And what to do if its not taped up prior to detailing?

I hope Joe of Superior Shine can help in here as i see from his posts, as i didn't find any tapings on the car.

[zeefauna]

Thanks Guys for the advice.

I find taping the car a chore, but I guess it is an advice i should diligently heed...

[blkbmw]

Like Mike said at one of his classes, nobody likes to tape trim because it is a chore and they say that they don't have time, but they always seem to have the time to spend doing the chore of removing wax from trim and emblems. You'll spend less time taping than cleaning up if you don't.

Jason.

[TKDDAD]

Originally posted by blkbmw
Like Mike said at one of his classes, nobody likes to tape trim because it is a chore and they say that they don't have time, but they always seem to have the time to spend doing the chore of removing wax from trim and emblems. You'll spend less time taping than cleaning up if you don't.

Jason.

I just think you get a cleaner job if you do this:



Than if you don't....sure I'd prefer not to tape off but IMHO the results are better if you do...

[Mike Phillips]

The technical answer is

No


You don't have to tape anything on a car off before you work on it.

[DaGonz]

Originally posted by zeefauna
Thanks Guys for the advice.

I find taping the car a chore, but I guess it is an advice i should diligently heed...

I find it takes me an average of 15 minutes to tape off the mouldings and trim on an average vehicle... it sure beats spending hours getting polish and wax off the trim!

[SOLDSHORT]

I don't tape my plastic trim since i use the Meguiar's trim detailer after I wax anyway.

[Mike Phillips]

Originally posted by Gonzo0903
I find it takes me an average of 15 minutes to tape off the mouldings and trim on an average vehicle... it sure beats spending hours getting polish and wax off the trim!

I find it depends on the car, how much trim it has or how complex it it. If you're working on your car and wax in the cracks or wax on trim doesn't bother you then that's one thing. If you're working on a customer's car, then you need to know what their expectations are. My guess based upon experience is that people that pay to have their car detailed don't want their plastic trim creamed over with any kind of paint cleaner, polish or wax, (anything that will turn white on the trim), nor do they want to see left over polish or wax residue in the cracks and crevices of the car years down the road.

It's virtually impossible to be so good with a machine to avoid the problem 100% on each car you work on so the next best thing is to be pro-active in your approach.

[DaGonz]

Mike...

I too find that it depends on the vehicle you are detaiiling. Most window trim, door handles and door mouldings are pretty straightforward when it come to taping.

Out of curiostity.. how long did it take to tape off that Lotus Elise?

[Mike Phillips]

Originally posted by Gonzo0903

Out of curiosity.. how long did it take to tape off that Lotus Elise?

About an hour, I find most cars take me about an hour to an hour and a half. I'm not fast, but I don't try to be, I try to be good. I also covered up the engine to prevent splatter from getting on the engine or in the engine compartment.







Anytime I cover an engine, I first remove the key from the car place some tape over the ignition with a note explaining there is a sheet over the engine and don't start the car.

Then immediately after removing the tape off the outside of the car, I remove the sheet and then the note.


Note the bed sheet over the engine in the Panic Parrot. If you were to detail this car, you would not want to risk getting splatter over the beautiful engine, nor would you want to risk ruining your relationship with the owner because you got splatter on the engine.

[Tom Weed]

My two cents and I just do this on the side to make some side money and to curb my detailing fetish. These are from last summer and I normally don't go to this much trouble to use newspaper on the windows, but I always tape the trim off when I am doing a customers car. I find it takes an average of 1 hour on a typical vehicle.



I did rotary work in this vehicle with a cutting pad, then followed by a polishing pad. Clean up was a breeze and I didn't have to keep going back over the car to see if I had missed anything.

Tom

[TKDDAD]

great example Tom Weed....nice work too!!