Preventing Tape Goo

General Discussion
1

I find that when I’m masking the drip edge for gloss my tape always leaves adhesive on the board. This requires a clean up before glossing the other side. That means I’ve got to wait longer so the first side is hard enough to hold up to the cleaning of the edge area. Not liking it. The cleaning or the waiting.

I think it’s because the gloss takes longer to kick meaning I leave the tape is in contact with the resing longer. Is there something I can do. I’ve thought about kicking the gloss faster but I’ve heard forcing gloss to go faster is a bad idea.

Doesn’t matter if I use tan 3M tape or green tape which is supposed to be more solvent resistent. I still get the goo. Using poly, not epoxy.

Any tips?

Thanks

2

Hey Ryan,

my first reaction is that it was the brand, but looks like you got that covered. Does it

say “233” or “233+” on the inside sleeve of the tape? If it is “9912” it is junk and will

leave goo.

Years ago, I had some “knock off” 3M tape, it was horrible. Not likely for you.

If it is 233, be sure to mash it down pretty darn good. Standard “tool” is a tongue depressor

wrapped with tape.

To get the goo off, try sticking some tape on it (233 is best for this, but 231 kinda works) and

mash it down on the goo then lift it off. DON’T start rubbing the goo as it will be much

harder to remove once human skin touches it…

HTH,

George

3

P1S, thanks for the quick reply. P1S? Did I just make up a nickname? Sorry PlusOne.

Well, the plot thickens. Checked both tapes. Both 3M.

Tan says “Masking tape for production painting #2020”.

Green says “Masking tape for hard-to-stick surfaces #2060”.

From your reply, sound like masking tapes are not created equal. I’ll look for the numbers you mentioned. Is 233+ the better?

Assuming I’ve got a tape type problem, what should I expect with the right tape? Should I be able to wait for the gloss to gel then pull tape with no goo?

To tell you the truth, now that I think about it, I get goo from these tapes almost all the time. Even when I’m taping off an area for a repair using lam resin that gels in like 15 minutes. These tapes must be crap. I did buy them at Home Depot.

Got any regular retail sources for the 233+?

Thanks.

4

I was just thinking. I did a resin pinline a Friday and didn’t have any goo. Went and checked my 1/2" green. 233+! Bought that at Crystaliner in Costa Mesa. Even the Greens are different.

Well kids, the lesson for today is “Don’t judge a tape by it’s color”. We could probably also throw in “All rookies learn the hard way”.

Friggin’ tape $!#$% dang color #$%%…all this time *&%$%$ tape…ARG!

Okay, all better now. I’ll look for better tape.

In the mean time I’m going to have to use my 1/2" 233+ to try and do this gloss. That’ll be fun. Can you say layers? Look newbie up in the dictionary and you’ll see my face.

Thanks a bunch for setting me straight.

5

Hey Ryan,

trying to figure good sources in your area, the boat places tend to be spendy,

as are some of the composite and walk-in auto shops.

Actually, you might be able to get good tape online through some autobody places

shipping could be offset by not having to drive around town (you know, a two

hour trip to get a roll of tape, you could have rough shaped a board)…

Another thing,

tape is time-dependent. In our industry we use “cheap tape” and “good tape”

(that’s how we get it delivered from our suppy sources).

Cheap tape is used for quick pulls and non-critical sealing, read: hotcoats.

As soon as the resin gels, the hotcoater pulls the tape, if he leaves it on,

there would be that gooey mess.

Good tape is for slower things like glosses, and for situations where sealing

is important such as pinlines.

In the case of pinlines, you want good tape for its’ sealing properties but it

gets pulled the instant the wet work is done (most cases). You can see

some pinline vid on my website, look under our guy Larry Crow- been doing

it since '67…

Lastly, in a pinch you can double-up on cheap tape and gloss over it. Expect

about a 75 percent success rate (not sure how hot you shoot your glosses,

I will do one board (pint) with about 25cc (Norox 926S). Gel times are about

20 minutes.

Oh yeah, a little tip:

when you use good tape for glosses, you still might get some residue, but we

hit that with 3M abraisives.

Here’s a trick, takes some skill but leaves a nice minimal tapeline to polish:

when taping the second gloss, don’t hit the residue yet. Just leave about 1/8 inch

of gloss showing above the tape line. Then, use a hard sanding block with 180 or

150 grit and fair-sand the exposed gloss and juuuust the edge of the tape. Don’t

kill the tape though.

By knocking down the lip, you do three things.

  1. Residue goes away.

  2. First gloss edge is blended away.

  3. and the edge of the tape is reduced so the new gloss will flow smoothly down the

    tape. When you pull this tape, there will barely be any tape line to rub out and polish…

HTH,

George

6

Oops!

I just saw the next post. Don’t waste your good tape bro! Just do a “once around” with

your good 1/2 inch tape, then do wider cheap tape over the good stuff to prevent overages…

7

George,

Thanks. That’s a great tip. I had to read it a couple time to make sure I got it, but, I got it and will try it.

I liked the video of Larry Crow. Does he just put it on normal consistency. I was worried that it would run downhill to the tape edge making for a kinda thick-thin type of deal where the high side is thin. I put in some cabosil to add body. Overkill?

BTW, that black and white of Larry looks like he’s standing in the LaJolla Shores parking lot. Brings back my high school days.

Yah, after I posted, I was thinking about it and decided I’d use cheap tape just short of where I want the tape line then go over it with the good stuff. I guess that’s a double up of sorts. I’ve got plenty of cheap stuff. Maybe I’ll double it first. At only 1/2" of good stuff, I’m pretty much guaranteed I’ll get gloss on the cheap stuff. It’s worth it. Now that I know there’s light at the end of the goo tunnel I’m eager to do a gloss without goo. Free at last!

I’ll figure out the tape source thing. Internet is good for that. I know where I can get it. I’ll just try and find it cheaper. One thing’s for sure, I’m getting the right stuff now.

Goo gone.

Thanks much.

Ryan

8

Yeah, my tips tend to run-on a bit, sorry about that…

"Does he just put it on normal consistency. I was worried that it would run downhill to the tape edge making for a kinda thick-thin type of deal where the high side is thin. I put in some cabosil to add body. Overkill? "

From what a lot of the older/experienced guys have told me, they want to use straight gloss because of the “capillary action”. Right after you pull the tape, the gloss pulls away from the edge and leaves a “half-round” cross-section. If the gloss is too thick it won’t “spring back” like they want it to. This is why they peel the tape so soon. I think he pulls the “uphill” tape first to make the resin start its’ “climb”. Does he say it in that clip?

He shoots his gloss super-hot, if you saw that dixie cup, he added about 6cc of catalyst so it kicks in about 5 minutes. He uses quite a bit of pigment, he tests the “hide” by watching the film on the inside-sides of the paper cup.

Also, I’ve seen Larry pinline on some pretty steep areas, the resin seems to spring back on surfaces as steep as 35 degrees, even uphill. Any steeper and he tilts the board. I’ve seen him also “gel time” and pull tape but that is too risky and could wreck the $25 brush…

You got the pic right! Larry hangs with his buddies over there at LJS. He grew up at Sunset Cliffs, Maui in the late 60’s to 70’s, then back to the Cliffs, then a stint in South Carolina to learn how to build violins (!/?) 'til the early

90’s. Now he pinlines fulltime at Chris’, Josh’s, and my place and shapes at my place…

Have fun!

George

9

Howzit Ryan, Even the 233+ tape will leave residue if the gloss takes to long to kick. I only use the 233 tape ( the beige tape ). You want your gloss to kick about 10 minutes after your last brush stroke, good tape, 3M 2050 or 233 will work just fine and not leave residue if it kicks like I said. If you are using silmar for gloss try adding some lam resin to kick it faster,I’ve done this with bad gloss resin and it works. Aloha,Kokua

10

…is very simple

that residue is because you leave the tape too much time…

but its very easy to fix; clean with monomere and its done

11

Speaking of taping issues … my last freelap was pretty crappy and I decided to try my first cutlap on #6. My tape job turned out better than I expected. My mind started rolling and I thought ‘why not try another new road at the same time - tape a skirt to the bottom of the rail and have a go with some spray painted rails before I laminate’

any thoughts/advice to throw out before I bumblef**k this one again :slight_smile:

12

Uh…monomere? No comprende senior. What’s monomere. Better than acetone I presume, for that job.

Yah, I know I’m leaving it on too long. The crap tape goes to goo even in just a couple minutes though. Won’t use that anymore. Lesson learned there. My problem is that I SUCK. No, okay, maybe I don’t suck. Maybe I’m just new. The real problem is that I haven’t glossed much and it’s pretty cool lately (high 50s) so figuring the catalyst is guess work. Part of the whole newness thing. I did some gloss a few days ago, similar weather, and it took WAY too long. Came out nice and flat though. Tonight I kicked the cat up about 30%. We’ll see I guess. Just did it. I’ll go check it in a couple minutes.

PlusOne, more great tips on pinlining. Some of the best I’ve read. I’ll bookmark this thread for future reference. LJS used to be my primary beach back in high school. Surfed the Shores, Scripps and Black’s from there. I lived inland. Tierra Santa from '79-'81. Good memories.

Your explaination wasn’t run-on. It’s just one of those mental picture things. Had to read it a couple times to see it correctly.

Can I just take a moment and praise Sway’s. I mean really, where would I be without Sway’s and all you guys that make it what it is? I’d be all jacked up that’s where. As a newbie, I’m astounded by what a valuable resource is. Not trying to toot my own horn, but last month I paypal’d them some cash just because I should. It’s the least I can do. This place is priceless.

I know some people are here just to be blowhard-hard know-it-alls but it’s clear to me that most are just here to share, give back, pay forward, educate, etc. Whatever you call it, it’s a good thing. I used to do the occaisional ding repair. Y’know popsicle sticks and dixie cups. Since Sway’s I’ve fixed two badly broken longboards, a few delams, many dings, fin box, and leash plugs. Now I’ve got my blank, a design, and soon I’ll be onto my first board. I’ve got tools, materials, yada yada, it’s my fullblown hobby and I love it!

I love you Swaylock’s :slight_smile: XOXO

Seriously, I really appreciate all the help. I’ve had the chance to meet a few people from here and they were really cool. Swaylock’s is a good thing.

Thanks,

Ryan

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Quote:

Swaylock’s is a good thing.

yep!!!

14
Quote:

Uh…monomere? No comprende senior. What’s monomere. Better than acetone I presume, for that job. …

Monomer, the unpolymerized form of (in this case) styrene. It used to be very common to use styrene monomer as a general purpose cleaner and solvent in surfboard glassing and repair. More versatile than acetone, if not better in every application. Also, possibly, more hazardous.

MSDS for styrene: http://www.jtbaker.com/…nglishhtml/s6986.htm

MSDS for acetone: http://www.jtbaker.com/…nglishhtml/A0446.htm

-Samiam

15 
 Howzit Ryan, Another way to remove the tape residue is to tape over the residue and pull it off,this works pretty well.Aloha,Kokua
16

Thanks Sam.

I’ve got styrene and use gloves an organics respirator and a fan when I use it.