How to remove old masking tape

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steve yates

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So I made the cardinal mistake. I thought leaving the masking tape in place for the second voat when painting the decks would be a time saving idea. Then When it wasnt coming off, i left it to think of a solution, and kept ignoring it. 6 months later, I realise it really looks shot and has to come off! Anyobe got any ideas how to do it, it obviously doesn't just peel off any more where it was painted on :)
 
In future use the 'blue' painters tape.

For the existing solidified tape. Try a 50/50 mixture of acetone and automatic transmission fluid.
OR

use a steam iron and a wet cloth

OR

Damp it with water and use a hair dryer to 'soften' the glue'.

OR

just the hair dryer
 
You certainly have a few hours hard work ahead. This is not just any old masking tape this is the best of the worst.. If this is what your chandler sells then it needs to be removed PDQ however some of the named brands that are available can be removed up to weeks after applying. I use Frog if there might be a delay in removing.

I hope someone comes along with a solution. I know of a marina made this mistake when antifouling a customers boat. Not sure how they removed it but took a few days. :)
 
Presumably the stuff you would use to remove vinyl coving tape might work? There's some product you paint onto the outside of the tape itself, leave a few minutes, and then it all lifts off.

I wouldn't vouch for the survival of the paint.
 
Had the same problem last year when I had to drop tools whlist repainting the deck (Westerly blue!) and head home in a hurry.
Looks great now.

1. A wet sponge to soak the fabric of the tape.
2. A wooden spatula (from the kitchen ofcourse - so many useful 'tools' there, to remove the tape.
3. When dry, white spirit on a kitchen sponge/scrubber (the yellow/green ones) to remove the adhesive.
 
Airscrew said:
Had the same problem last year when I had to drop tools whlist repainting the deck (Westerly blue!) and head home in a hurry.
Looks great now.

1. A wet sponge to soak the fabric of the tape.
2. A wooden spatula (from the kitchen ofcourse - so many useful 'tools' there, to remove the tape.
3. When dry, white spirit on a kitchen sponge/scrubber (the yellow/green ones) to remove the adhesive.
Click to expand...
I think the white kitchen scourers, being non-scratch are what you want?
Other than that I agree.

I used petrol last time. Not clever, but effective, nothing else to hand. Didn't affect Interdeck which had been on a week FWIW.
 
I did same mistake few years ago; it was a pain trying to remove it, since then, I use blue type masking tape. To remove it, I used WD40 and petrol where I could.; comes off easily but it is tedious job.
 
CAPTAIN FANTASTIC said:
I did same mistake few years ago; it was a pain trying to remove it, since then, I use blue type masking tape. To remove it, I used WD40 and petrol where I could.; comes off easily but it is tedious job.
Click to expand...

We still have some the masking tape stuck on that we used last year when antifouling. This is the absolute worst masking tape we've ever used. To make matters it was the very expensive blue stuff from 3M (emergency buy from chandlers) It's supposed to still be easy to remove afrer a couple of days but was stuck fast by the next day.
 
I am thinking a tungsten carbide scraper might help?! Not tried it but I don't see why it would not work. Just be careful and if there are any minor scratched polish out.
 
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