masking tape

[rocket]

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Originally Posted on: Sat Aug 14, 2010 7:16 pm

Hello people, I'm half way through laquering this curly maple job some of you might be familiar with, I've finished applying the burst and removed the masking tape before applying the finishing clear coats. I must say my masking job was pretty good as no colour got underneath that i'd have to scrape back. But what gives me the screaming heeby jeebys is the gum residue from the masking tape. Now i've used good quality 3M Blue low tack but i'm still left with a sticky residue that i have to scrape or clean off before i continue laquering. Does anyone else have this problem? Can anyone recommend a tape that doesn't leave its crap behind?
Cheers all,,, Rod

[Paul B]

Try Shellite to remove the tape residue - the yanks call it Naptha. Same stuff - different country, works fine so long as the pigments in your burst don't dissolve in it.

The tape only leaves the residue behind if you leave it on for too long (like a couple weeks).

[Lillian]

The most readily available from of natha we have here is lighter fluid for zippo lighters.

[Allen]

Tape will loose it's adhesive to the substrate when it cheaply made, it gets a bit old, exposure to sunlight and some solvents including water.

As 3M tape is generally of good quality, so it's one of the others.

Clean up is with a mild solvent such as Shellite. We use a wax and grease remover at work. They won't attack most finishes we run across, but every once in a while we get a nasty surprise.

[rocket]

Thanks for the helpfull tips gang, Cheers Rod.

[Peter T]

Paul B wrote:
Try Shellite to remove the tape residue - the yanks call it Naptha. Same stuff - different country

The penny drops! Thanks Paul. I haven't been able to find this naptha stuff that is mentioned in all the luthiery books, but have walked past shellite a hundred times at the hardware. I had exactly the same experience when searching for "de-natured alcohol" to mix with my shellac, only to realize much later that we know it as plain old metho.
It may be a good idea to have a section on the forum for a glossary of luthier terms. This would be a helpful reference to many I suspect.

[Luke]

alright plain old metho now feel better thanks,
I have had the same problem.

[WaddyT]

Naphtha is also called lighter fluid. It's more expensive that way, but for removing adhesive, it works fine.

[Localele]

Plain old metho is just that.It can have all sorts of rubbish in it . Mainly water.
De-natured Absolute Alcohol (DAA) is a much more refined product and doesn't contain water. This is the stuff to use for French Polishing.It is also great for cleaning your glasses.
White Spirits (Home dry-cleaning fluid) is also good for cleaning off gum residue.If you use oil finishes it is also best to use as the thinner as it doesn't go "yellow" like turps.

[Kim]

If you do shell out to pay the extra for DAA, keep in mind that its 'extremely' hygroscopic, so much so that it is near impossible to create 'pure' alcohol and as I understand, even the best DAA is only rated @99%...What does this mean? It means that if you leave the lid off the container or have it otherwise exposed to a moderate RH, you will have plain old metho again in no time flat.

Cheers

Kim

[vandenboom]

Localele wrote:
White Spirits (Home dry-cleaning fluid) is also good for cleaning off gum residue.If you use oil finishes it is also best to use as the thinner as it doesn't go "yellow" like turps.

I am doing a job at the moment with Whittle's wax and they say to use "White Spirits" for thinning & cleanup.
Can I get that at Bunnings? Is that what it is called here, or does it go by some other name here?
Frank

[Allen]

Shellite is what it's called here, but at Bunnings you can get a Diggers brand that they call white spirits. In the paint section along with the Turps and metho.

[vandenboom]

Allen wrote:
Shellite is what it's called here, but at Bunnings you can get a Diggers brand that they call white spirits. In the paint section along with the Turps and metho.

Thanks Allen, so white spirits is yet another name for Naptha?

[John Maddison]

rocket wrote:
... Now i've used good quality 3M Blue low tack ... can anyone recommend a tape that doesn't leave its crap behind?

Scotch makes a green 5-day medium adhesion tape #2055 for 'Pro' painting that seems to have less gum residue than the blue variety. Have used it to mask fretboards, and on finished tops when doing bridge work, with good results. I stick it down using only light pressure. It's also available from Bunnies.

[Allen]

Actually John, I neve use the blue tape. I always use green. Made in Canada you know.

It costs less, and I think it is a better product. I also find it a lot easier to see where I'm masking when I'm trying to follow a line.

[Allen]

vandenboom wrote:

Allen wrote:
Shellite is what it's called here, but at Bunnings you can get a Diggers brand that they call white spirits. In the paint section along with the Turps and metho.

Thanks Allen, so white spirits is yet another name for Naptha?

Yes Frank. Coleman stoves might be the one that coined the term. They call the fuel for their camp stoves "White Gas". At least in North America. All the same thing.

[Lillian]

Isn't white gas just cleaned up kerosene?

[Allen]

I don't know Lillian. I've got a can of Coleman fuel and it smells and feels exactly like what they call Shellite here.

[Lillian]

Gotta love the internet.

"White gas is a common name for two flammable substances. In its most common modern usage, it is used as a generic name for camp stove and lantern fuel, usually naphtha."

[kiwigeo]

(From Turnerpaedia)

"Gas........one of the unfortunate side effects of an over indulgence in baked beans or draught beer".

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R6dm9rN6oTs

[Lillian]

Thought that was Brown's Gas.

[DarwinStrings]

I am not sure that "Diggers white spirit" is shellite or naphtha as you can buy a "Diggers shellite" as well.

Jim

I was introduced to naphtha in woodworking terms as "white spirit" in the UK, talk about confusing

[Puff]

Pretty much every fuel company has its own trade name for naptha. Shellite is Shell's, BP have theirs etc. It is just a further refined petroleum product most used - as Lillian pointed out- as lighter fuel. Essentially they get rid of most of the stink. Great as the final stage of preparing bone for nuts etc.

[Tim Mason]

Allen wrote:
Actually John, I neve use the blue tape. I always use green. Made in Canada you know.

It costs less, and I think it is a better product. I also find it a lot easier to see where I'm masking when I'm trying to follow a line.

Linky Linky please please please

[Paul B]

Gotta be careful - White spirits here is a totally different animal in Oz than it is in other countries (kinda like the Naptha/Shellite thing). But White gas is the same as Naptha - go figure...

Maybe we should find somewhere to stick this international fuel names list some place around here ( http://members.iinet.net.au/~mbuckler/fuel/index.shtml). Took all the mystery out of it for me some years ago, and may help everyone else from making nasty mistakes.

I'd make it a sticky in one forum or another, but can't think where... Maybe we need another forum for basic translations, or something - Bob? other admins? Ideas?

I've seen this same question come up again and again - and I'm wearing out my typing fingers answering it (all both of them).

Cheers,


Paul




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