Tape, tape, tape! There are so many different kinds and so many applications. Tape can be used for the jankiest repairs up to near-permanent fastening.Tape can be quite useful in the workshop and in the making process if you know which type is best for different situations and materials.
I’d like to dispel some misconceptions about how different kinds of tapes should be used, and throw in some tricks that you might not know about. Here are ten of them. As always, feel free to chime in with your own tape tricks in the comments section.
Cardboard is an invaluable material for creating iterations of your project. Even Caine knew that when building his arcade, packing tape was the best stuff to hold it all together. It’s made for cardboard — use it for cardboard!
I know there is sort of a “cult of duct tape,” but it is by no means a panacea. It comes off in strips, melts into mush over time, and leaves a horrible mess when taken off. Even though it’s a bit spendy, I’ll take gaffer’s tape over duct any day. There’s a reason it’s used by stage hands all over the world.
This tape doesn’t have a name because it hasn’t been released yet. On a whim, I once called 3M for a double-sided tape for paper on one side and plastic on another. It turns out that they had some, and sent me three rolls for free! YMMV, but they want to get new products into the hands of people who can make them useful.
The thick type of double-sided tape is great for securing components to your enclosures. If you need to affix a proto-board like this Arduino into a material that won’t take screws, the double-sided tape will hold it strongly for a very long time.
If you want a clean cut when using a circular or table saw, put some masking tape along the part where the blade pokes out. It prevents chips and splinters.
This trick is especially for thin tape that is hard to peel off the roll, eg: masking and packing. Just fold a corner over and you’re good to go for the next time.
It’s not just for your apartment walls. Use masking tape and a razor blade to carve out the spots you don’t want to hit when prettifying your project. It tears off easily and makes for clean lines once the paint is dry.
Electrical tape is good for temporary cable bundling, but it seems there are usually better alternatives. Zip ties hold cables together better, shrink wrap protects bare wires better, and neither leave any residue. Keep this in mind before grabbing that roll.
Tape, especially when left for a long period of time, will leave residue. Goof Off, Goo Gone, or plain Acetone can be great for removal. Just make sure you test the solvent on an inconspicuous spot. If all else fails, use a metal or ScrapeRite plastic razor blade.
If you need to use tape on the exterior of your project, consider placing it in a way that will bolster your piece’s aesthetic. You can use it to make trim, pin stripes, or go all out and make art out of the tape itself.
13 thoughts on “Ten Tips for Adhesive Tape”
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Instead of normal electrical tape get what’s called wiring loom tape (especially if you ARE using it on a wiring loom). It’s not as sticky as the normal electrical insulation tape so won’t leave a horrible mess over time.
Another trick is if you are using masking tape to mask an engine block before painting is put the tape over the bits you don’t want to paint but overlapping the edges then tap over the edges with a ball pein hammer to cut the tape against the edges of the metal. This works for raised bosses where rocker covers, tappet chest covers, thermostats, etc bolt on. Same method as used for making paper gaskets around parts.
Your experience with 3M was better than mine. I couldn’t even get a special tape they already make locally and no one was interested in bringing any of it in to NZ unless I ordered hundreds of rolls. Unfortunately shipping from the US to NZ makes it ridiculously expensive to get individual directly. I’ll make so with clear duct tape instead.
Great tips, Michael! I especially like the one about preventing chip-out; that’ll come in handy :)
It also works for drilling holes. I also put tape on both sides of the cut when cutting brittle materials like melamine covered mdf and acrylic.
Wow, TIL! Great to know, thanks Steve.
Packaging / waterproofing small stuff. An Oldy-But-Goody. Lay down a strip of wide tape. Fold end back on itself to form tab. Layout items. Fold back over, securing edges. End with tab. Pull both tabs to open. Sticky surface can (may) hold parts on opening of package. For non-sticking, pre-wrap bundle with la ayer of sacrificial paper, film, foil. To secure bundled parts on opening, use individual layers.
Thank you for telling people about gaff tape. It is by far the best tape around (just don’t use it on grainy wood and let it get warm :).
I used to literally ask people to leave if they started using duct tape in my theatre. They could come back, they just had to think about what they had done.
One of the best ways I’ve found to attach a paper pattern for cutting on a scroll saw is to cover the surface of the material to cut with a layer of masking tape. Then attach the pattern to the top of the masking tape with 3M super 77 spray adhesive. It works with any type of paper pattern and prevents chip-out at the same time.
The masking tape sticks well to the material and usually doesn’t peel up while cutting as long as the surface was clean before application and the tape was pressed down firmly. It peels off easily and doesn’t leave any residue.
I haven’t found a spray adhesive that works by itself nearly as well as that combination. However, if leaving the pattern on is acceptable or you don’t mind sanding or scraping the pattern off, you can skip the tape.
Great post… I actually started a blog post about my favorite tapes last year, but never finished it. Gaff tape is my favorite, followed by blue painter’s tape, and masking tape, but Kapton is on the list as well. I don’t care for duct tape, and it’s been years since I used drafting tape, but it was a favorite of mine at the time.
For taping cables to the floor start off by laying 2 strips of duct (or better, gaffer) tape the length you need sticky side up, next to each other. Take another length and stick it down onto those two in the middle so you now have a length of double-wide tape that’s only sticky on the outer edges. Place than on top of your cable, so that when you have to pull it all back up the cable doesn’t have sticky goo all over it.
Alternatively they actually make tunnel tape that’s already set up like this but if you don’t have to make cable tunnels for a living it might be overkill to have a dedicated roll just for this.
Two words for removing tape residue: mineral spirits. It dissolves the adhesive, doesn’t damage paint or plastic, and evaporates clean.
Has anybody used ‘suction cup tape’?
https://www.inventables.com/technologies/suction-cup-tape
I’m still waiting for Gecko tape.
Another tape to consider is silicone rescue tape. Somewhat stretchy thick tape that sticks only to itself, and since it’s silicone it is electrically insulating and can stand high temperatures. I use it to electrically insulate the wiring on my 3d printer hot-end. More common use is to wrap a broken hot water or engine hose.
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