Taping Off Trim

[rusty bumper]

Hi All,

I was wondering how many of you bother to tape off you vehicle's trim before using a PC-G100 type of buffer, and do you tape off the trim when applying a product by hand too?

I think it's a good idea to protect the rubber & plastic trim this way, but it is a pain to mess with if you just want to put on a second coat of wax or polish a few days later.

I mainly use the PC for my detailing chores.

[2000]

I only do it with the rotery...and theres pently of times I have done a isolated area and decided I don't need to tape for that little area only to regret it.

[gb387]

If I am doing a full detail, clean/polish/wax I will tape off makes things much easier. Now I do not tape off if its just a wax, I will watch that I do not hit the black trim.

For the most part I love painters tape!

[Lt1Corvette]

I always tape. It is quicker than accidently hitting the trim. I kill a lot of tape. .

[rusty bumper]

Sometimes I run into places that are tedious to tape off, but I guess it's best to cover those areas in the long run.

[bluemoon]

When I am applying a cleaner/polish with a pc, I will tape off the trim. But if I am just putting on a coat of wax, i don't. For me taping is slow tedious work, but pays off in the long run versus marring the trim.

[JG_Detailing]

I don't tape off. I'm just careful. I usually wax close to the trim by hand first. Then I use the PC on the rest of the car.

[taylor192]

I'm lazy, I don't tape anything off.

I'll just go back and hit the trim with some #40 and get rid of the wax. Polishing is different, I won't get near the trim with the G100, so there's very little to clean except splatter.

Usually the trim needs cleaning at the same time, so if I'm gonna clean it anyways, why bother taping?

In the future I will tape off some areas, like black mesh grills, things that are a PITA to clean by hand.

[Ranger72]

I always tape off when using the rotary. Especially body side molding that is painted. You dont want to hook an edge which runs the risk of taring the paint off of it. Normally, once all rotary work is done on that panel, I will take the tape off and do that area by hand or DA.

[2000]

Rusty, if I my borrow your thread a moment...
do any of you guys have problems getting the tape to stick? I get about half wat around and the other side of the vehicle has tape falling off.

[Tim Lingor]

Hey,

When using the rotary, I tape off edges, moldings, seams etc anywhere you do not want polish to land on.

But when using the G100, I tend to only tape off seams especially if the vehicle has a tendency to collect polish in those areas.

Tim

[Lt1Corvette]

2000,
I have that problem on weather stripping. If it is falling off, try smaller pieces and overlap them. Also doing a horizontal one on to the glass or and area your arn't going to be polishing helps.

[rusty bumper]

Originally posted by 2000
Rusty, if I my borrow your thread a moment...

Sure 2000, I was hoping for a long thread anyway.

Originally posted by 2000
....do any of you guys have problems getting the tape to stick? I get about half way around and the other side of the vehicle has tape falling off.

What color tape are you using, and what brand is it?

I use the tan 3M painters tape, and I have tried the blue too. I like both, but I think the tan does a better job of sticking to trim.

[rusty bumper]

Originally posted by 2hotford
But when using the G100, I tend to only tape off seams especially if the vehicle has a tendency to collect polish in those areas.

Tim

I have had problems with trim turning white if I don't tape those areas off while using the DA, and it's hard to buff certain areas without the pad making contact with the trim.

The GC Trim Detailer can help some, but the tape works best......Even though it's (Tape) a pain to apply in some places.

[2000]

What color tape are you using, and what brand is it?

3M blue, guess I should try the tan, but where I really have the trouble with the tape sticking is the paint more than the trim. especially where the door post do that double direction bend.( seam cruves toward the front of vehicle, door bend in toward middle of vehicle.) tape is probably the reason you'll never see me work at a body shop. the simplist things can be so hard