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When To Take Off Masking And Pinstriping Tape

18K views 3 replies 4 participants last post by  baddbob 
#1 ·
I need help. I can never get my tape off after painting. It could be plain masking or pin striping tape. I always seem to peel the paint off. When is the best time to remove the tape? After the paint has dried or while it is still wet? What am I doing wrong? I get so Pis*** after all the hard work and I dread taking off the masking for the pin striping. Any help you can give me is appreciated.

Jim
 
#2 ·
I do mine as soon as the paint gets just past the tacky stage. Success also depends on technique. Pull the tape at a sharp, 120deg? angle, away from the joint and flat with the panel. Tape edge should be 'tearing' away from the paint, not pulling up from it.

If all else fails, a fool proof way is to trace the joint w/ a fresh single edge razor before stripping. A lot of extra work but pretty much guarantees success.
 
#3 ·
everything willys said is true and you should be ok if you follow his tips. there is one other thing, assuming you are using a bc/cc system. be sure and let the basecoat flash off extremely well. if your clearing over base that hasn't quite hardened up then it isn't bonded with the substrate as well as should. i will usually let the base flash off for atleast a few hours or overnight then clear and remove the tape as soon as it gets tack free
 
#4 ·
Try to never pull the tape straight up from the work surface, it is best especially when masking for stripes to pull the tape back against itself as though you were folding the tape and pulling it back against itself. The tape should cut it's own edge this way. Something else that causes trouble is paint bridging from the painted surface to items that are masked off, this can be eliminated by removing as many components/trim as possible.- or you may need to cut through the paint bridge with a razor blade prior to unmasking. Bob
 
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