Re-painted my car "painter's blue"
11-07-08, 04:48 PM
#35
Driver
Join Date: Jul 2008
Location: CA
Posts: 197
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Honestly, I believe this was a bad idea and may do more damage to the car than the benefit it was supposed to give (by avoiding rock chips that might not have happened anyway - you'll get rock chips after you enter California's busy freeways...)
Why a bad idea I would never do, even for a square inch of my car? Because painter tape uses glue to adhere and that glue can create a chemical reaction with your car finish, unless you remove it quickly (those painter tape are supposed to be used on drywall or wood and are not even supposed to be left in place for a long time).
This happened to me a couple years ago when a supposedly reputed body shop repainted my MBZ hood because the dealer had damaged it (at the dealer expense obviously). I don't know what tape they used (they likely used tape more "designed" for car paint related work) but my car had weird traces (kind of unglossy areas) everywhere after I picked it up. I could not see it immediately but after a a wash or two I realize those did not go away, and they had the exact shape and form of tape strips.
Basically, the clear coat had been "attacked" by the tape. The shop did not recognize it at first but that was of their own making. A $300 wax/polish job got rid of them, mostly, since I could still see some fade areas (under some light conditions) when I sold it. That week I learned that not all tapes are created equal and the tape they use in paint shops are probably designed for cars and are probably not designed to be left there for more than 24 or 48 hours. I would simply assume that the body shop that did mine did not use car "friendly" tape. I will never know.
So, good luck untaping...
Why a bad idea I would never do, even for a square inch of my car? Because painter tape uses glue to adhere and that glue can create a chemical reaction with your car finish, unless you remove it quickly (those painter tape are supposed to be used on drywall or wood and are not even supposed to be left in place for a long time).
This happened to me a couple years ago when a supposedly reputed body shop repainted my MBZ hood because the dealer had damaged it (at the dealer expense obviously). I don't know what tape they used (they likely used tape more "designed" for car paint related work) but my car had weird traces (kind of unglossy areas) everywhere after I picked it up. I could not see it immediately but after a a wash or two I realize those did not go away, and they had the exact shape and form of tape strips.
Basically, the clear coat had been "attacked" by the tape. The shop did not recognize it at first but that was of their own making. A $300 wax/polish job got rid of them, mostly, since I could still see some fade areas (under some light conditions) when I sold it. That week I learned that not all tapes are created equal and the tape they use in paint shops are probably designed for cars and are probably not designed to be left there for more than 24 or 48 hours. I would simply assume that the body shop that did mine did not use car "friendly" tape. I will never know.
So, good luck untaping...
11-07-08, 06:51 PM
#36
Lexus Champion
some of my clear coat came off my front bumper when i took off 3m painters tape after a 150mile road trip to the beach. heres a pic....
hope this doesn't happen to you. Good luck on your trip! Be safe and most importantly, have fun!
hope this doesn't happen to you. Good luck on your trip! Be safe and most importantly, have fun!
but at least its only the clear coat and no the actual paint...
11-07-08, 08:40 PM
#39
Tech Info Resource
iTrader: (2)
Congrats on the long road trip! I had to drive from Sacramento to Atlanta three times in May of 2007 when we moved from CA to GA. Straight through it's 35 hours including stops. I built a spreadsheet to track the whole trip. New York to CA is a tad longer I would think. Best of luck and safe travels!
11-07-08, 09:36 PM
#40
Lexus Test Driver
iTrader: (6)
Join Date: Jul 2008
Location: HI
Posts: 1,358
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
How many rolls of tape did you use? I'm just curious why you taped the whole car, instead of just the front end. Have fun on your trip!
BTW, are you re-taping it on the return trip?
BTW, are you re-taping it on the return trip?
11-07-08, 11:20 PM
#42
11-08-08, 03:18 PM
#45
I talked to Cathy today and she made it to socal just fine. She said most of the tape came off during the trip, and she only got one little rock chip on the front lip.
Now post some cross country pixs already Cat
Now post some cross country pixs already Cat